Mahmood Shah or Shihab-Ud-Din Mahmud was the sultan of the
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate, or Deccan, was a Persianate Sunni Muslim Indian Kingdom located in the Deccan region. It was the first independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan, from 1482 until his death in 1518. His long rule is noted for the disintegration of the sultanate and the creation of the independent
Deccan sultanates
The Deccan sultanates were five Islamic late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. Th ...
.
Reign
Mahmood was born about 1470 the son of
Muhammad Shah Lashkari
Muhammad Shah III Lashkari or Shamsuddin Muhammad Shah III was the sultan of the Bahmani Sultanate from 1463 to 1482.
Ascension
Muhammad Shah III was 8 or 9 years old when he ascended the throne on 30 July 1463 on the death of his brother, Niza ...
. He ascended the throne at age 12 on 26 March 1482 (Safar 5, 887 AH). The new Regency was formed with the Queen as president and Malik Na'ib, one of the conspirators behind the death of
Mahmud Gawan, as regent.
His early reign was characterised by the conflict between the rising power of newcomers, epitomised by
Yusuf Adil Shah, and the traditional
Deccani nobles, led by Malik Na'ib. After a failed attempt to assassinate Yusuf Adil Shah, the sultan retired to
Bijapur
Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
and left the running of the country in the hands of a viceroy or ''Malik Na'ib'', Nizam-ul-Mulk Malik Hasan Bahri, and his fellow Deccani. The Malik Na'ib himself was assassinated in 1486. An attempt to assassinate the sultan by Deccani in 1487 led to the slaughter of many Deccani and the strengthening of the newcomers' position.
The Sultan's obviously weak position led to increasing unrest amongst the nobles, particularly the powerful regional governors, some of whom, like
Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk
Fathullah Imad-ul-mulk ( fa, , ruled 1490–1504) was the founder of the Imad Shahi Dynasty and the Berar Sultanate. Originally a Hindu captive from Vijayanagara, Fathullah was brought up a Muslim and rose to command the army of Berar under the ...
quietly assumed the titles of royalty. Others led in open rebellion.
Qasim Barid I led one of the first revolt from
Bidar and successfully defeated the army sent by the sultan to rein him in. Qasim Barid was raised to ''Barid-ul-mumalik'' and made prime minister and de facto ruler, while the sultan lived a life of indulgence. The King's expenditure was so high that he had jewels extracted from the Turquoise throne and used for payment.
On 28 May 1490,
Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I
Malik Ahmed Nizam Shah ( fa, ) was the founder of the Nizam Shahi dynasty and the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.
Ahmed was the son of the Nizam ul-Mulk Malik Hasan Bahri, a Hindu Brahmin from Beejanuggar (or Bijanagar) originally named Timapa who conve ...
revolted and defeated the Bahmani army led by general Jahangir Khanbuilt. He built a palace, making it the center of the newly created
Ahmednagar Sultanate. Yusuf Adil Shah followed suit creating the
Adil Shahi dynasty
The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's ...
centered at
Bijapur
Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
, with Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk creating the
Berar Sultanate within the year. Qasim Barid founded the
Bidar Sultanate centered at
Bidar in 1492 while
Golconda Sultanate
The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the coll ...
became independent under
Quli Qutb Shah
Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, more often though less correctly referred to in English as Quli Qutb Shah (1485–1543), was the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, which ruled the Sultanate of Golconda in southern India from 1518 to 1687. Of Turkmen o ...
in 1518 whose capital was at
Golconda
Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparu ...
in modern
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
.
On Qasim Barid's death in 1504, the title of prime minister was passed to his son Amir Barid. The Sultan died on 27 December 1518 (Zil-hij 24, 924 AH) and was succeeded by his son Ahmed.
Sources
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References
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Sultans
1518 deaths
Indian Muslims
Bahmani Sultans