TNPSC Free Notes History- Age of Vijayanagaram & Bahmani Kingdom

இந்தக் கட்டுரையில், TNPSC குரூப் 1, குரூப் 2, குரூப் 2A, குரூப் 4 மாநிலப் போட்டித் தேர்வுகளான TNUSRB, TRB, TET, TNEB போன்றவற்றுக்கான  முறைகள் இலவசக் குறிப்புகளைப் பெறுவீர்கள்.தேர்வுக்கு தயாராவோர் இங்குள்ள பாடக்குறிப்புகளை படித்து பயன்பெற வாழ்த்துகிறோம்.

Age of Vijayanagaram & Bahmani Kingdom

Introduction
 At the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Delhi Sultanate was preparing to
extend southwards, the Deccan and south India were divided into four kingdoms:
 The Yadavas of Devagiri (Western Deccan or present Maharashtra)
 The Hoysalas of Dvarasamudra (Karnataka)
 The Kakatiyas of Warangal (eastern part of present Telangana) and
 The Pandyas of Madurai (southern Tamil Nadu).
 During the two expeditions of the general Malik Kafur, first in 1304 and then in 1310,
these old states faced defeat one after another and lost most of their accumulated
wealth to the plundering raids of the Sultanate army.
 The Tughluq dynasty continued its southern expeditions into southern India under the
rule of his military officers.
 Muhammad Tughluq (1325–51) even tried to make Devagiri (renamed as Daulatabad) as
the capital to command the vast conquered territory more effectively. But his
experiments failed and brought misery to the people.
 When he shifted the capital back to Delhi, his subordinates in the south declared
independence. Thus Madurai became an independent Sultanate in 1333.
 Zafar Khan who declared independence in 1345 at Devagiri shifted his capital to
Gulbarga in northern Karnataka.
 He took the title, Bahman Shah and the dynasty he founded became known as the
Bahmani dynasty (1347–1527).
 A few years earlier, in 1336, the Vijayanagar kingdom was established by the Sangama
brothers Harihara and Bukka at Vijayanagara (present day Hampi) on the south bank of
Tungabhadra.
 During the next two centuries these two states fought continually and bitterly, to
control the rich Raichur doab, and also the sea ports of Goa, Honavar, etc.
Sources
 There are several kinds of sources– literary, epigraphical, and archaeological– available
for the study of this period. Several Persian accounts written by the court historians of
the Bahmani Sultanate, relating to Bahmani–Vijayanagar conflicts have survived.
 The Kannada and Telugu literature, like Manucharitram, Saluvabhyudayam, etc.,
patronized in the Vijayanagar court, give genealogical, political and social information.

 Several foreign visitors who came to South India during the fourteenth to sixteenth
centuries wrote about their travels which throw useful light on the political, social, and
cultural aspects.
 The Telugu work Rayavachakamu gives interesting details about the Nayankara system
under Krishnadevaraya.
Foreign Travelers
 Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveller (1333-45), Abdur Razzak from Persia (1443–45),
Nikitin, a Russian (1470–74), the Portuguese visitors Domingo Paes and Nuniz (1520–37)
provide remarkably rich information.
 Thousands of inscriptions in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu, besides a number of copper-
plate charters in Sanskrit are available and the above sources add to the epigraphical
information.
 There are a rich variety of archaeological sources in the form of temples, palaces, forts,
mosques, etc.
 Numismatic evidence is also available in abundance.
Alaudin Hasan Bahman Shah (1347 – 1358)
 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.
 Bahman Shah had also to contend in the east with the rulers of Warangal and Orissa.
 In order to facilitate smooth administration, as followed in the Delhi Sultanate, he
divided the kingdom into four territorial divisions called tarafs, each under a governor.
 Each governor commanded the army of his province (Gulbarga, Daulatabad, Bidar, and
Berar) and was solely responsible for both its administration and the collection of
revenue.
 Bahman Shah emerged victorious in all these expeditions and assumed the title Second
Alexander on his coins.
Mohammad I (1358-1375)
 Mohammad I succeeded Bahman Shah. There was a decade-long war with Vijayanagar,
most of which related to control over the Raichur doab.
 Neither side gained lasting control over the region, in spite of the huge fatalities in
battles. Two bitter wars with Vijayanagar gained him nothing.

 But his attack on Warangal in 1363 brought him a large indemnity, including the
important fortress of Golkonda and the treasured turquoise throne, which thereafter
became the throne of the Bahmani kings.
 He took strong measures for the suppression of highway robbery. Institutional and
geographic consolidation under Muhammad Shah laid a solid foundation for the
kingdom.
 He built two mosques at Gulbarga. One, the great mosque, completed in 1367, remains
an impressive building.
Later rulers
 The next hundred years saw a number of Sultans one after another, by succession or
usurpation. All of them fought with their southern neighbour, but without gaining much
territory.
 In 1425 Warangal was subdued and their progress further eastwards was challenged by
the Orissan rulers.
 The capital was shifted from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1429. The rule of Mohammad III
(1463–1482) is worthy of mention because of his lieutenant Mohammed Gawan, a great
statesman.
Council of ministers
 Mohammed I established a good system of government that was followed by all the
successor sultanates as well as by the Marathas later.
 He appointed a council of eight ministers of state
1. Vakil-us-sultana or lieutenant of the kingdom, the immediate subordinate of the
sovereign.
2. Wazir-i-kull, who supervised the work of all other ministers;
3. Amir-i-jumla, minister of finance;
4. Wasir-i-ashraf, minister of foreign affairs and master of ceremonies;
5. Nazir, assistant minister for finance;
6. Peshwa who was associated with the lieutenant of the kingdom;
7. Kotwal or chief of police and city magistrate in the capital, and
8. Sadr-i-jahan or chief justice and minister of religious affairs and endowments.
Muhammad Gawan
 A Persian by birth, Mohammed Gawan was well-versed in Islamic theology, Persian, and
Mathematics. He was also a poet and a prose-writer.

 The Mohammed Gawan Madrasa in Bidar, with a large library, containing 3000
manuscripts, is illustrative of his scholarship.
 Gawan served with great distinction as prime minister under Mohammad III and
contributed extensively to the dynamic development of the Bahmani Kingdom.
 He used Persian chemists to teach the preparation and the use of gunpowder. In his war
against the Vijayanagar Kings in Belgaum, he used gunpowder.
 In order to tighten the administration and to curb the power of provincial governors,
who functioned virtually as kings, Gawan divided the existing four provinces of the
Bahmani Sultanate into eight.
 He placed some districts in the provinces directly under central administration.
 Gawan sought to curtail the military powers of the governors by allowing them to
occupy only one fort in their territory.
 The other forts remained under the Sultan’s direct control.
 The administrative reforms introduced by Gawan improved the efficiency of the
government, but curtailed the powers of the provincial chiefs, who were mostly
Deccanis.
 Gawan became a victim of this tussle for power, although he remained fair and neutral
in this conflict. Jealous of his success they forged a letter to implicate Gawan in a
conspiracy against the Sultan.
 Sultan, who himself was not happy with Gawan’s dominance, ordered his execution.
 Several of the foreign nobles who were considered the strongest pillars of the state
began to leave for their provinces, leading to the disintegration of the Sultanate.
 During this period the Sultanate gradually broke up into four independent kingdoms:
Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar and Golkonda.
 Bidar where the Bahmani Sultan ruled as a puppet became the fifth one.
 Among these Bijapur became powerful by annexing Bidar and Berar in course of time.
 Vijayanagar was utterly routed in the battle of Talikota or Rakshashi-Tangadi in 1565.
Thereafter, within a century, the Sultanates were vanquished one after another and
taken over by the Mughal state.
Bahmani Confederacies
 By the year 1526, the Bahmani kingdom had disintegrated into five independent
sultanates.
 Ahmadnagar
 Bijapur
 Berar
 Golkonda
 Bidar

 They were known as Deccan sultanates.
Nizam Shahi dynsty – Ahmednagar (1490-1633)
 It was established by Malik Ahmed at Ahmednagar near Sina river.
 He established Great fortress at Dauladabad in 1499.
 Ahmednagar was annexed by Shah Jahan in 1633.
Adil Shahi dynasty – Bijapur (1490-1686)
 Important rulers are Yusuf Adil Shah, Muhammad Adil Shah.
 Gol Gumbaz built during this period is the second largest tomb.
 It is also called the whispering gallery.
 Annexed by Aurangazeb in 1686.
Imad Shahi dynasty – Berar (1490-1574)
 Established by Fatullah Khan Imad-ul-mulk.
 Annexed by Nizam shahi rulers of Ahmednagar kingdom.
Barid Shahi – Bidar (1528-1619)
 Important ruler is Adil Barid.
 Annexed by Adil Shahi of Bijapur.
Qutb Shahi – Golconda (1518-1687)
 Established by Quli Qutub Shah.
 He built Golconda fort and made it the capital.
 Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah made Hyderabad the capital.
 He built Charminar.
 Aurangazeb annexed it in 1687.
Golkonda Fort

 The Raja Krishna Dev of the Kakatiya dynasty with Warangal as capital constructed the
Golkonda Fort on a granite hill.
 During 1495–1496 the fort was handed over to Sultan Kali Kutub Khan as a Jagir (land
grant).
 He reconstructed and rechristened the mud fort into a granite fort and called the place
Muhammed Nagar.
 Later, the Golkonda fort came into the possession of the Bahmani dynasty.
 After that, the Qutub Shahi dynasty took over and made Golkonda its capital.
 Golkonda fort owes much of its present grandeur to Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah, the
fifth sultan of Qutb Shahi dynasty
 By the 17th century, Golkonda was so famous as a diamond market.
 It gave the world some of the best-known diamonds, including the ‘Kohinoor’.
 The Golkonda Fort located about 11 kms from Hyderabad on a hill 120 meters height.
 The Golkonda Fort is popular for its acoustic architecture.
 The highest point of the Fort is Bala Hissar.
 There is said to be a secret underground tunnel which leads from the Durbar Hall to one
of the palaces at the foot of the hills.
 The Golkonda Fort also houses the tombs of the Qutub Shahis.
 There are two individual pavilions on the outer side of Golkonda which serve as major
architectural attractions.
 The Fort comprises four other small forts within itself.
 The Fateh Darwaza or the Victory Gate is the entrance to the fort.
 Aurangzeb laid siege to this Golkonda fort in 1687 for about eight months but in vain.
 It was due to the treachery of an Afghan gate-keeper, the fort finally fell.
Education

 The founder of the Bahmani kingdom Alaud-din Hasan Shah was educated at Multan at
the initiative of Zabar Khan, a general of Alaud-din Khalji.
 On his accession, he took special care in founding a school to educate his sons.
 His son Muhammad I was a patron of learning.
 He opened institutions for the purpose of educating the children of noble families in the
art of soldiery.
 Sultan Firoz, the eighth Bahmani king was a linguist and a poet.
 Later his successors founded schools in Gulbarga,Bidar, Daulatabad and Kandahar.
 Mahmud Gawan’s World-famous madrasa in Bidar, with a large library, containing a
collection of 3000 manuscripts, is illustrative of the importance given to scholarship and
education by Gawan.
Vijayanagar Empire
 Sangamas were earlier serving the Hoysala rulers of Karnataka.
 Harihara and Bukka, the eldest sons of one Sangama, asserted their independence and
laid foundation for a new kingdom in about 1336.
 This happened soon after the death of the Hoysala king Ballala III at the hands of the
Madurai Sultan.
 Initial capital- Anegondi on the north bank of the Tungabhadra river.
 Later shifted- Hosapattana (near Hampi) on the south bank.
 The capital was expanded and renamed as Vijayanagara, the city of Victory.
 Harihara celebrated his coronation in 1346 at this city.
 Vijayanagara rulers adopted the emblem of the Chalukyas, the boar, or varahaas as
their royal insignia.
 Vidyaranya (also called Madhava), a renowned Saiva saint and Sanskrit scholar,
is said to have persuaded the brothers to abandon their service to the Tughluqs
and also to renounce Islam that they had adopted when they were imprisoned by
the Sultan in Delhi.
 The three big states of the thirteenth century Pandyas in Tamil Nadu, Hoysalas in
Karnataka, Kakatiyas in Andhra had almost been destroyed by the military expeditions
of the Delhi Sultanate in the first three decades of the fourteenth century, leaving a big
political vacuum.
 The turbulent political situation provided an opportunity to the five Sangama brothers,
headed by Harihara, to consolidate and expand the territory.
 The Vijayanagar kingdom was successively ruled by four dynasties over a period of more
than three hundred years:
1. The Sangama dynasty (1336–1485)
2. The Saluva dynasty (1485–1505)

3. The Tuluva dynasty (1505–1570)
4. The Aravidu dynasty (1570–1650)
 Within the first four decades the small principality became a big kingdom through the
military activities of the five brothers in different directions.
 Entire Karnataka was soon taken over.
 Port towns were administered by Pradhani or Governors.
 Under Bukka I, attention was turned to Tondai-mandalam, covering the northern
districts of tamil area, which was under the rule of the Sambuvaraya chiefs.
 The prince Kampana (Kumara Kampana), son of Bukka I, carried out this work
successfully with the help of his faithful general Maraya-Nayak.
 He is also given credit for slaying the Madurai Sultan and bringing to an end that
Sultanate in about 1370.
 This is mentioned in Madura-vijayam, a Sanskrit work written by Kampana’s wife,
Gangadevi.
 Only the northern and central parts of the Tamil country, up to the Kaveri delta were
under the direct administration of the Sangama and Saluva dynasties.
 Pandya kingdom was annexed only around 1500.
Sangama dynasty
Harihara II
 When King Bukka died, he had left behind a large territory to his son Harihara II to rule.
 Harihara II’s impressive achievement was securing Belgaum and Goa from the Bahmani
kingdom.
Devaraya I
Harihara’s son Devaraya I defeated Gajapati kings of Odisha.
Devaraya II
 Devaraya II was the greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty.
 He strengthened his cavalry by recruiting trained Muslim cavalry for his army and giving
archery training to his soldiers.
 Abdur Razaak, the Persian ambassador who visited the Zamorin of Kochi and the
Vijayanagar court during this time states that Devaraya II controlled a vast area.
 He received tribute from the king of Sri Lanka too.
 Vijayanagar Empire went through a crisis after Devaraya II.
Saluva dynasty

 Power passed on to the trusted commander Saluva Narasimha who defended the
Sangama kingdom from the Gajapatis and recovered parts of coastal Andhra.
 Around 1485 Saluva Narasimha usurped the throne.
 He was assisted by his general and great warrior Narasa Nayak.
 Saluva Narasimha died in 1491 leaving his young sons under the care of Narasa Nayak.
 Narasa Nayak became the de facto ruler and took several steps to safeguard the country
until his death.
 In about 1505, his elder son Viranarasimha started the third dynasty, known as the
Tuluva dynasty.
Vijayanagar – Tuluva & Aravidu
Tuluva Dynasty (1505 – 1570)

 In about 1505, Viranarasimha started the third dynasty, known as the Tuluva dynasty.
He had a short but eventful reign and was succeeded by his younger brother
Krishnadevaraya.
 Krishnadevaraya is considered the greatest of the Vijayanagar kings. He built upon the
strong military base laid by his father and elder brother.
 He tried to keep the greatness of the kingdom intact, by undertaking many military
expeditions during much of his reign.
 He then had to fight almost continuously on two fronts, one against the traditional
enemy, the Bahmani Sultans and the other against the Orissa king Gajapati.
 There are several inscriptions graphically describing his seizure of many forts like
Udayagiri, under the control of Gajapati, during the course of this eastern expedition.
Finally, he put a pillar of victory at Simhachalam.
 Early in his reign he fought with the rebellious Ummattur chief (near about Mysore) and
brought him to submission.
 Krishnadevaraya had to undertake more than one expedition to repulse the Bahmani
forces, which were intruding into his territory on a regular annual basis.
 In some of these ventures the Portuguese, trying to establish their power in the Malabar
and Konkan coast, helped Krishanadevaraya with military aid, and got permission to
build a fort at Bhatkal.

Repulsion of Bahmami
 Krishna Deva Raya’s first task was to repulse the Bahmani forces which invaded his
territory on their annual raid into the Raya kingdom.
 Yusuf Adil Shah died in 1509-10 while engaged in an ‘annual jihad’, possibly a plundering
expedition, against the Vijayanagara empire to the south. The practice was initiated by

Sultan Mahmood Shah Bahmani II in 1501, in which all the Bahmani chieftains
participated.
 However, in 1509, Krishnadevaraya ascended the throne of Vijayanagara. He countered
the Bahmani expedition at a location called Dewani and decisively defeated it.
 Krishna Deva Raya invaded the Raichur doab and took the Raichur fort. Victory over the
Bijapuri kingdom earned him the title of ‘Yavana rajya sthapanacharya’ (Establisher of
the Yavana or Muslim kingdom). From there he marched on Bidar and captured it.
 Amir Barid initially ruled with members of the Bahmani dynasty on the throne, however,
after the last Bahmani Sultan fled from Bidar, he was practically independent.
 The Bahmani sultan, Mahmud Shah, had been overthrown and kept in imprisonment by
his minister. Krishnadevaraya freed the sultan and restored him to the throne.
 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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