Bahmani Sultanate

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South India in 1500

The Bahmani Sultanate (Also called the Bahmanid Empire) was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms.^[1] The sultanate was founded on 3rd of August 1347 by the Turkish governor Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah, who revolted against the Sultan of Delhi, Muhammad bin Tughluq. Nazir uddin Ismail Shah who had revolted against the Delhi sultanate stepped down on that day in favour of Zafar Khan who ascended the throne with the title of Alauddin Bahman Shah. His revolt was successful, and he established an independent state on Deccan out of the Delhi Sultanate's southern provinces. The Bahmani capital was Ahsanabad (Gulbarga) between 1347 and 1425 when it was moved to Muhammadabad (Bidar). The Bahmani contested for control of the Deccan with the Hindu Vijayanagara empire to the south. The sultanate reached the peak of its power during the vizierate (1466–1481) of Mahmud Gawan. The Bahmanis were responsible for large scale massacres and slaughter of south Indian Hindu population and destruction of temples, often overshadowing the atrocities conducted by Turks and Mughals in north India. After 1518 the sultanate broke up into five states, Ahmednagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda, known collectively as the Deccan sultanates.