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CHAPTER – I
INTRODUCTION
The true history of a country does not consists in the
endless procession of kingdoms, despots, the court intrigues, the
interminable wars waged by the kings and the suppression of
rebellions, but in the life of people in its different aspects.
A study of administrative institution of an empire of the
daily activities of the people, their religious and economics
progress is at least as important as its political history. A study
of political history is important as V.A. Smith rightly opined,
“The more attractive story of the development of Indian thoughts
as express in religion and philosophy, literature, art and science
cannot be written intelligibly unless it is built on the solid
foundation of dynastic history, which alone can furnish the
indispensable, chronological basis”.
In one scene the history of the world is the history of the
empires. The world has witness, rise, growth and decay of many
empires such as the Egyptians, the Babylonians and the
Assyrian, similarly India was the home of the empires, the
Nandas, the Mauryas, the Guptas, the Cholas, the Bahmani and
the Vijayanagara, have left behind valuable traces of their
existence which keeps green in our memory even till this day. It
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is in this background an attempt is made to study the history
and culture of Bidar from 14th century to 1948 A.D to examine
and compare under the Bahmanis that once ruled the
significance portion of the South India known as Deccan, still
better known as the history of Hyderabad-Karnataka during the
medieval times.
Aims and Objectives of the Study:
Establishment of Bahmani kingdom marks the beginning
of the development of Indo-Islamic culture in the Deccan, though
there had been Muslim settlement in different parts of the
peninsula, but they could not have till then made a systematic
and over all contribution to Indian culture and society.
As research is an activity to be undertaken to bring out
something new to extend the horizon of knowledge and to
contribute some original ideas. The aims and objectives of the
study are infact an academic pursuit of a researcher to know
categorically about something on the basis of new findings. They
are as follows:
* At the outset to study, the origin, growth and development of
the Bahmani kingdom in the Medieval Deccan.
* To ascertain and analyze the contribution of the Bahmani
kingdoms to the eventful and colourful history of the Bidar.
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* Bidar under Bahmani rule.
* Khwaja Mahmud Gawan’s contribution.
* Disruption of Bahmani kingdom.
* Bidar - Bijapur relation.
* Bidar - Vijayanagara relation
* Aurangzeb’s conquest of Bidar.
* History of Asaf Jahi dynasty.
* Status of Bidar under Nizams.
Significance of the Study:
The present study is aimed at examining and comparing
the political history of rulers. The study of political history has
been neglected. The present study falls in the area of
administration during the medieval period under Bahmanis. The
area of political history was exhausted that there was little scope
for further contribution. It is in this background that the
researcher wants to examine the multidimensional manifestation
of Bidar culture, the different elements, which have been
observed from different sources and assimilation to produce final
results. Hence an humble attempt is made by the researcher to
study the history and culture of Bidar.
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Nature and Scope of the Study:
The researcher working on the thesis or dissertation is
expected to define the nature, the scope and the extent of the
study. As far as the nature of the present study is concern, it
may be described as the imperial study. It has been shown
earlier that no independent research, analyzing the different
facet of history and culture of Bidar has been undertaken.
The primary sources comprising of manuscripts and
inscriptions like literary sources in the Arabic, Urdu and Persian
languages, the account of foreign travelers like, Paes, Fernao
Nuniz, Abdur Razzaque, Barbosa, Nikitin and others stands a
testimony.
The scope of the study may be determined in the different
aspects. Here an attempt is made to study the different phases
in the history of Bahmani kingdom from its foundation in 1347
A.D to its disintegration giving rise to the five independent
kingdoms. The Imad Shahi of Berar, the Adil Shahi of Bijapur,
the Nizam Shahi of Ahmednagar, the Qutub Shahi of Golconda,
and the Barid Shahi of Bidar, will be practically difficult to cover
the entire political history of above dynasties. Therefore the
present study will attempt to examine interrelationship among
the three dynasties, i.e, Bahmanis, the Barid Shahis and the
Nizams.
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Evaluation of Sources and Methodology:
The study is historical as well as analytical and it is fully
based on the historical records which consist of primary,
secondary, contemporary and others unpublished works which
will be of great help. The history of a country is the record of
incidents. Every incidents of a country cannot said to be of a
historical important. Consequently it is the secret duty of
researcher to present before the readers only those facts which
are historically important and present them in their true
perspective.
Renowned scholars like Prof. H.K. Sherwani, S.K. Sinha,
Dr. S.A.Q. Hussain, Dr. P.M. Joshi, Dr. T.N. Devare, Dr. K.K.
Basu, Dr. K.R. Basavaraj, Sir W. Heague, K.A. Shastri, and
others, have brought to light many new materials on the history
of the Bahmani kingdom, through their numerous articles on
new inscriptions published by them. The account of foreign
travelers constitutes valuable source on the history of the
Bahmani kingdom. The sources are rich in volume, variety and
interest and gives details about the life, customs, and traditions
of the people under the Bahmani rule.
Concerned to the subject a large number of original
unpublished and published sources are available in Persian,
Marathi (Modi), Urdu and English. In this research work an
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extensive use of such sources is made. In addition, the study is
supplemented also by an epigraphic, the numismatic and the
secondary sources.
Regarding the nature of sources concerned they are
scattered and not exclusively meant for present topic. This is
same in respect of all ruling powers of Bidar. The scattered
sources are properly studied and channelised, as the bees gather
honey. This has been realized only by travelling widely,
researcher have tapped the sources from the several Libraries,
Museums, Archives and Archaeological Survey of India offices of
different states. In accordance with the ruling powers of Bidar
the evolution of the sources is made. It is as under:
Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi or Nauras Nama or Tarikh-i-Ferishtah:
The author of this celebrated chronicle was Muhammad
Qasim Hindu Shah Ferishtah. He was born at Astarabad, on the
borders of the Caspian Sea, about A.D 1570. Ghulam Ali Hindu
Shah, his father, left the country of his birth and came over to
the court of Murtuza Nizam Shah where he was appointed tutor
of Prince Miran Hussain. He, however, died shortly after leaving
Ferishtah in his early youth. Ferishtah was able to find out a
place for himself in the court. He became confidential councilor
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of Murtuza Nizam Shah and held the office of captain of the
Guard.
After the murder of Prince Miran Hussain, Ferishtah
withdrew to Bijapur in the year 1589 A.D and was kindly
received by Dilawar Khan, the regent, who presented him to
Ibrahim Adil Shah-II. He fought on the side of Bijapur in the
battle which preceded the downfall of the regent and was taken
prisoner by Jamal Khan, the general of Ahmednagar. He,
however, effected his escape shortly and was again introduced to
the king by Inayat Khan of Shiraz about the year 1593 A.D.
Ibrahim Adil Shah-II gave him a copy of Rauzat-us-Safa and
remarked that no competent had written a general history of the
Muslims in India, except Nizamuddin, and even his work was too
brief and imperfect as regards the Deccan. He was then
entrusted the task of writing a general history of India in detail,
particularly of the Deccan, based on facts and devoid of
falsehood and flattery.
In A.D 1594 Ferishtah escorted Princess Begum Sultana
from Bijapur to Ahmednagar and was present at her nuptials
with Prince Daniyal Mirza at Mungi Paitan. He attained her up to
Burhanpur in Khandesh. He was also deputed on a mission to
the Emperor Jahangir whom he met near Lahore in 1606 A.D.
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Ferishtah continued to write his history till 1612 A.D,
although his account of the history of Bijapur goes only upto
1596 A.D where it ends abruptly.
Ferishtah named his book first as Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi
and after making some changes re-named it as Nauras Nama.
The former name is connected with Ibrahim Adil Shah-II and the
latter with the new capital, Nauraspur, founded by his patron.
But his work is universally known as Tarikh-i-Ferishtah. The
first draft of the work was submitted to Ibrahim Adil Shah-II in
A.D 1606, but he continued to revise the work during the rest of
his life.
The work is divided into twelve chapters besides
introduction and conclusion. The work commences from the
early Islamic period, the history of which Ferishtah says he
compiled from thirty five different histories.
Although it is a general history of the whole country,
provincial dynasties have not been neglected. A detailed account
of some of them is given in the book1.
In short, Ferishtah’s history contains a mass of facts,
figures and dates unsurpassed in the existing chronicles of
Medieval India. The author is reputed as one of the trust
worthiest of oriental historians. His work has come to be
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regarded as a classic and still maintains a high place as an
authority.
Burhan-i-Maathir:
This book was compiled by Sayed Ali-bin-Tabatabai. It is
essentially a history of the Nizam Shahi dynasty of Ahmednagar
and desires its name from Burhan Nizam Shah-II under whose
patronage the work was written. It begins from the Bahmani
kingdom and comes down to the latter part of A.D 1595-96. The
style of the work is more ornate than Ferishtah’s history and in
general completeness is inferior to the latter. It throws light on
the relations between Bijapur and Ahmednagar and serves as
useful complement to the other source material. The part of the
work dealing with history of the Bahmani dynasty was translated
by Major J.S. King and published in 1900 A.D. Sir Wolsley Haig
translated the part dealing with Nizam Shahi dynasty.
Tazkirat-ul-Muluk:2
The author of this work was Mir Rafiuddin-bin-Nuruddin
Taufique Hussain Shirazi. He was born about 1540-41A.D. He
came to Bijapur as a merchant and gyrated into Bijapur service
in the time of Ali Adil Shah-I. He served in different capacities as
royal secretary, minter master, ambassador, governor of Bijapur,
guardian of Fateh Khan (Ibrahim Adil Shah-II’s Son), etc. He
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began to write his Tazkira in 1608 A.D and completed it in 1635
A.D.
In his work he dealt the history of Bahmanis, Adil
Shahis, Nizam Shahis, Safawi Shahs of Persia, Malik Ambar, etc.
His account is most valuable for the reign of Ali Adil Shah-I of
Bijapur, because he was a contemporary and an eye-witness in
many events of history of Bijapur. He was present in the battle of
Talikota (1565). Except some events, Shirazis history is almost
the same as that compiled by Ferishtah.
Tabaqat-i-Akbari:
Tabaqat-i-Akbari written by Khwaja Nizamuddin Ahmed,
the author has styled it Tabaqat-i-Akbar Shahi and it is also
called Tarikh-i-Nizami after the name of the author. But in the
literary circle it is best known by the title of Tabaqat-i-Akbari.
The author was the son of Khwaja Muqim Harawi who held the
office of Diwan of house hold under Babur and had also
subsequently served under Akbar. After his death Khwaja
Nizamuddin was appointed to the office of Bakshi of Gujarat. He
died in 1594 A.D near Lahore.
His work comprises and introduction, nine books and a
conclusion of few lines which is apparently incomplete. His work
is one of the most celebrated histories of India, and India alone
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forms its subject matter. Ferishtah in his introduction says that
of all the histories he consulted it is the only one he found
complete. Mr. Erskine considers Nizamuddin to be perhaps the
best historian of the period, and Col. Lees is unable to conceive
the reason why his work has not attracted more attention.
Book-II which gives the histories of the Bahmanis and Adil
Shahis has been of some use for the present work. The account
of Adil Shahis is very brief but it throws light on some obscure
points and thus supplements the information given by
Ferishtah. It has been translated by Brajendranath. The
translation was completed by Baini Prasad and was published in
Bibliotheca Indica series in 1939 A.D.
Padshah Nama:
This work was written by Abdul Hamid Lahori. Nothing is
known about the birth of the author. Shah Jahan had entrusted
him with the task of compiling the history of his reign. His work
covers the first twenty years of the reign of Shah Jahan. The
author died in 1654 A.D3.
Abdul Hamid Lahori was an admirer of Abul Fazl and
followed his style. His style, therefore, is also verbose, turgid and
fulsome but at times he narrates simple fact in simple language.
It gives the minutest details of all the transactions in which Shah
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Jahan was engaged. The work is voluminous and covers 1662
pages which are divided into two volumes. It gives detailed
information about the Deccan campaigns of the Mughals.
Maasir-i-Alamgiri:4
This is an official history of Emperor Aurangzeb compiled
by Muhammad Saqi Mustaid Khan in a chronological order from
the court circulars and secret correspondence made between the
court and the news writers, posted at all important places in the
Empire. The author had held a number of offices and also acted
as Waqai Navis. The work of this chronicle was completed in
1710 A.D, which is extremely valuable for the reign of
Aurangzeb, his Deccan campaigns, against Bijapur, Golconda
and the Marathas. It gives in details Aurangzeb’s diplomacy, his
military movements, fall of Bijapur, organization of
administration of Bijapur Subaa, its Subedars, Mughal conquest
in ex-kingdom of Bijapur, etc. This work is just like a day to day
record of Aurangzeb’s reign.
Afnasy Nikitin:
He was a Russian traveller, came to India in 1468 A.D and
remained here upto 1472. He met Khwaja Mahmud Gawan, the
Bahmani minister, and traveled through the Bahmani kingdom.
His account throws light on the prodigal way of life of the ruling
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class and on the extreme poverty of the general people who were
not even able to get a square meal daily. He mentions the
diamond mines had a number of superstitious customs. His
account is very valuable for the social history of the Deccan. It
has recently been published by the Indo-Soviet cultural society
in Russian, Hindi and English.
Sakhawi:
A part from the letters from Khwaja Mahmud Gawan which
will be dealt with latter, we have the voluminous dictionaries of
the biography of eminent of the 15th century A.D. written by a
famous contemporary of the Mahmud Gawan, Shamsuddin
Muhammad Ibn-i-Abdur Rahman-us-Sakhawi. He was born in
1428 A.D living upto 1497 A.D and thus his life corresponds
almost exactly with that of the Mahmud Gawan. The work
contains a fairly long notice on Mahmud Gawan’s life with quite
useful information about him. A part from given the names of his
father and grandfather as well as his brother Shihabuddin, he
mentions the date of his birth as 1411 A.D and thus contradicts
Ferishtah’s 1406 A.D. which seems to be a latter mistake
Sakhawi further throws some light on the itinerary of the
Mahmud Gawan from Gilan to India and corroborates the
numismatic evidence that the full name and little of Humayun
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Shah’s father Alauddin Ahmed-II. Moreover the circumstances
under which the Mahmud Gawan was murdered are related
differently by Sakhawi to those found in Ferishtah and Burhan.
We must remember that Sakhawi lived in Mahmud Gawan’s life
time and was at Mecca when the news of his death reached
there, so that we should give the work all the credence it
deserves.
Abdur Razzaque:
Abdur Razzaque was also a contemporary of Khwaja
Mahmud Gawan, Timurid Sultan Shah Rukh’s ambassador to
Vijayanagara, Abdur Razzaque, has left a short note on his
connection with his description of the kingdom Sultan Alauddin
of Gilan. Writing in 1471 A.D i.e. in Mahmud Gawan’s life time,
he cites him as an instance of the great men that Gilan had
produced. He says that the Mahmud Gawan was “Like a Mid-day
sun in the world in general and India in particular”, and also
outwardly he was the chief of the nobles of the kingdom of the
Deccan, his inner self was full of the life of the mysterious”. He
gives us full name of his father and tells us the fact that Resht
was not a kingdom as suggested by Ferishtah but only a
“Wilayat” or province of the kingdom of Gilan. His book
demonstrates that Mahmud Gawan had already created a
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special place for himself in the world of learning in his own life
time.
Muntakhab-ul-Lubab:
Muhammad Hashim Khafi Khan produced this valuable
contemporary source of Mughal history. This work is very useful
to the study the Mughal-Bijapur relations, the aggressive policies
of Aurangzeb and the causes for the fall of Bijapur. He also deals
with the history of the Deccan from the invasions of Alauddin
Khilji to the Bahmanis and its successive states. From this
source we can glean some important events occurred in the
Mughal Subaa of Bijapur. A part from Maasir-i-Alamgiri, this
work is a chief authority on the history of the Mughals in the
Deccan ending in 1733 A.D.
Sawan-i-Dakhan:
The author of this work is Munim Khan Hamdani
Aurangabadi. He was in service of Nizam Ali. He composed this
work in 1782-83 A.D. He worked as Faujdar and latter governor
(Killedar) of the Fort of Gulbarga (1774) of Darul-Zafar of the
Nizams. In his work, first he dealt with the six subaas of the
Deccan. He was then taken up each subaa with its total revenue.
The sarkars of each subaa have been described along with their
revenue. The sarkars heve been divided into Mahals or
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Parganahs. Lastly, the number of villages under each Mahal has
been recorded along with the revenue of that Mahal. This work
also included history of the Nizams from Asaf Jah-I to Nizam Ali,
and biographies of prominent Amirs (nobles) of the period.
Munim Khan’s treatment of the subject is fuller and more
detailed. Probably he utilized Deh-ba-Dehi, an anonymous work
of the last years of Aurangzeb’s reign.
Maasir-i-Nizami:
Lala Mansaram who was a secretary of religious
establishment during the rule of Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, wrote
a biographical account of his master. This work includes
anecdotes of the Nizam, which throw new light on various
aspects of his character and the general conditions prevailing in
the Deccan.
Tuzuk-i-Asafi:
The author, Tajjali Shah completed this work in 1794. He
accompanied the Nizams in some of the battles fought against
the Marathas. He covers the history of the Nizams from the rise
of Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah to 1800 A.D. He also discusses the
events leading to the battle of Udgir and the Nizam-Maratha
relations. This work also contains some political events occurred
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in the subaa of Bijapur. Its lithograph was printed in 1892-93 at
Hyderabad.
Hadiquat-ul-Alam:
Probably Mir Abu Turab Mir Alam compiled this work some
time in 1807. He was a minister and trusted adviser of Nizam
Ali. His work is divided into two parts the first deals with the
history of the Qutub Shahis and the Second with that of the
Nizams of Hyderabad. The account of Asaf Jah-I is useful for the
study of the internal conditions prevailing in the Deccan at that
time. In addition, in the second part the author has mentioned
events concerning the subaa of Bijapur. In 1849 A.D the
lithograph of this work was published at Hyderabad.
Research Design:
The present work comprises nine chapters, the nine
chapters divided into two sections -A and B.
Section A is political history covering three chapters,
Section B is cultural history covering six chapters. The rest of
chapters in both section represent the truer events or various
aspects of the erstwhile ruling powers of Bidar. The details of
Chapterisation are as under:
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Section A
Political History
Chapter-I Introduction
Aims and Objectives
Significance of the Study
Nature and Scope of Study
Evaluation of Sources and Methodology
Research Design
Chapter-II Extension of Bahmani rule at Bidar Ahmed
Shah Wali to Kalimullah
Chapter-III Genesis and Growth of Barid Shahis in Bidar
A. Factor responsible for Barid Shahi rule
B. Brief Political history of Barid Shahi Sultans
Chapter-IV Establishment of Barid Shahi Rule
Bidar - Bijapur relation
Bidar - Vijayanagara relation
Aurangzeb’s conquest of Bidar
Asaf Jahi rule in Bidar
Status of Bidar under Nizams
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Section B
Cultural History
Chapter-V Administration
Military
Judiciary
Revenue
Chapter-VI Economic conditions
Agriculture and Irrigation
Trade and Commerce
Transportation
Chapter-VII Social condition
Caste and Class
Education and Learning
Fairs and Festivals
Chapter-VIII Cultural synthesis
Hinduism
Buddhism & Jainism
Sufism
Sikhism
Christianity
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Chapter-IX Art and Architecture
Secular
Palaces and Darbars
Religious
Masjid, Maktabs, Madrasahs, Temples, Churches and
Gurudwara
Defence
Fort, Bastions, Gunpowder Magazine and Cannons
Conclusion
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References:
1. Dr. Nayeem, M.A., The external Relations of the Bijapur
kingdom, Hyderabad
2. Verma, D.C., History of Bijapur, New Delhi, 1974, p.272
3. Lahori, Abdul Hameed, Badshah Nama, Hafiz Press, Lahore,
Pakistan, p.3
4. Saqi, Mustaid Khan, Maasir-i-Alamgiri, (Tran’s by Sir Jadunath
Sarkar), Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta,