Bahmani was a dynasty of Indian kings who ruled over an area of western central India from A.D. 1347 to the early 1500’s. Their kingdom was based in the Deccan Plateau, which now makes up much of the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and the northeastern part of the state of Karnataka. The Bahmanis’ reign was marked by numerous battles with the Vijayanagar Empire to the south, other Hindu kingdoms to the east, and Muslim kingdoms to the north (see Vijayanagar Empire).
The Bahmani dynasty takes its name from its founder, Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, who claimed to be the descendant of Bahman, a legendary Persian hero. Bahman Shah established his capital at Gulbarga. Under his rule, the Bahmani kingdom expanded rapidly by means of a series of wars. Bahman Shah’s ambitions for expansion met fierce resistance from the Vijayanagar Empire at the Krishna River. The main disagreement between the Bahmanis and the Vijayanagar Empire was over possession of the fertile area between the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers, known as the Raichur doab. The Krishna River remained the boundary between the two kingdoms for most of the next 200 years.
Muhammad Shah I, Bahman Shah’s son, came to the throne in 1358 after his father’s death. A war with the Warangal kingdom led to the Bahmani capture of Golconda. Muhammad Shah I’s war with the Vijayanagar Empire is notable because the two sides agreed not to kill civilians or prisoners of war.
The Bahmani dynasty was marked by palace intrigues that led to the deaths of several kings. After the death of Muhammad Shah I in 1375, a series of kings followed, all coming to power and dying rapidly because of such plots. These struggles weakened the Bahmani kingdom. It was during this period that the Vijayanagar Empire was able to gain control of the western coast of southern India.
Firuz Shah Bahmani, who ruled from 1397 to 1422, was another of the Bahmani dynasty’s great conquering kings. He was also a patron of the arts. Firuz supported great building plans, among them a new city, Firozabad.
Firuz’s successor, Ahmad Shah, ruled from 1422 to 1436. He fought a number of successful wars, defeating Warangal and the Vijayanagar Empire. Ahmad Shah moved the capital of the kingdom from Gulbarga to Bidar, where it remained until the fall of the Bahmani dynasty.
The last period of greatness for the Bahmani dynasty came with the reign of Muhammad Shah III, from 1463 to 1482. Muhammad Shah III was a child when he came to the throne. The actual ruler of the kingdom until the king grew up was a vizier (regent) called Mahmud Gawan. It was during this time that the Bahmani kingdom captured Goa, a very important port on India’s west coast, from the Vijayanagar Empire. Mahmud Gawan was a brilliant administrator, and it was largely because of his efforts that the Bahmani kingdom remained united during this period.
The main conflict in the kingdom during Mahmud Gawan’s rule was between two groups of nobles: the Indian Muslims (Deccanis) and the “foreign” Muslims (Pardesis). Mahmud Gawan was a Pardesi. His enemies persuaded the king, in a moment of drunkenness, to order Mahmud Gawan’s death. The later Bahmani rulers were weak rulers and were unable to reconcile the interests of the Deccanis and Pardesis.
The Bahmani kingdom fell apart not long after the death of Muhammad Shah III in 1482, splitting into five independent kingdoms: Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. These kingdoms maintained enough unity to continue fighting the Vijayanagar Empire. There were still Bahmani sultans until 1526, but they were sultans in name only. All five kingdoms eventually came under the rule of the Mughal Empire, which ruled most of India in the 1500’s and 1600’s (see Mughal Empire).
