Bahmani Kingdom
The
founder of the Bahmani kingdom was Alauddin Bahman Shah also known as Hasan
Gangu in 1347. Its capital was Gulbarga. There were a total of fourteen Sultans
ruling over this kingdom. Among them, Alauddin Bahman Shah, Muhammad Shah I and
Firoz Shah were important. Ahmad Wali Shah shifted the capital from Gulbarga to
Bidar. The power of the Bahmani kingdom reached its peak under the rule of
Muhammad Shah III. It extended from the Arabian sea to the Bay of Bengal. On
the west it extended from Goat to Bombay. On the east, it extended from
Kakinada to the mouth of the river Krishna. The success of Muhammad Shah was
due to the advice and services of his minister Mahmud Gawan.
Mahmud Gawan
The
Bahmani kingdom reached its peak under the guidance of Mahmud Gawan. He was a
Persian merchant. He came to India at the age of forty two and joined the
services of Bahmani kingdom. Slowly he became the chief minister due to his
personal qualities. He remained loyal to the kingdom. He lived a simple life
and was magnanimous. He was also a learned person. He possessed a great
knowledge of mathematics. He made endowments to build a college at Bidar which
was built in the Persian style of architecture. He was also a military genius.
He waged successful wars against Vijayanagar, Orissa and the sea pirates on the
Arabian sea. His conquests include Konkan, Goa and Krishna-Godavari delta. Thus
he expanded the Bahmani Empire through his conquests.
His
administrative reforms were also important. They were aimed to increase the
control of Sultan over the nobles and provinces. Royal officers were appointed
in each province for this purpose. Most of the forts were under the control of
these officers. Allowances were reduced to the nobles who shirked their
responsibility. This was disliked by the nobles. So, the Deccani nobles
organised a plot against Gawan. They induced the Sultan to punish him with
death sentence. After the execution of Gawan, the Bahmani kingdom began to
decline. Muhammad Shah was succeeded by weak Sultans. During this period the
provincial governors declared their independence. By the year 1526, the Bahmani
kingdom had disintegrated into five independent sultanates. They were
Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Berar, Golkonda and Bidar and known as Deccan Sultanates.
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