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Medieval India

11 Notes

EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL
STATES IN INDIA: TWELFTH TO
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
There are twenty-eight states in India today. Each of these states has a specific
language, geography, food and culture that make the culture of India rich and full of
varieties. Have you wondered how these different states and the regional cultures in
them developed? Were they like this from time immemorial? When we go back to
history, we realise that these states existed in different forms undergoing a constant
process of change in different periods of time.
In this lesson, you will study the history of various regional states that existed from
twelfth to eighteenth century. Some of the regional states of this period are today a part of
one single state. For example, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur that existed as independent
regional states in the medieval period are all today districts of the state of Rajasthan.
Some of the regional states are now a part of more than one state. For example, the
Vijayanagar Empire (1336–1565AD) is now a part of the modern states of Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. There are some regional states that had the same
names as those of the modern states today, but were different in terms of areas they
covered. For example, the modern states of Gujarat, Bengal, Kashmir and Orissa existed
from twelfth and eighteenth century under same names, but their respective geography
today is different from what it was in the period between twelfth and eighteenth century.

OBJECTIVES
After studying this lesson you will be able to:
give brief account of different regional states from twelfth to eighteenth century.
Understand the meaning of the term regional states?
Understand the nature of relations between the regional states and the Delhi
Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.
appreciate the relations between various regional states themselves
Describe the political ideas and organisations of these regional states.
Explain the Economic and cultural conditions in the regional states.
List Some of the primary sources or documents of that time that give us Informa-
tion about the regional states.
It is very difficult to provide account of all the regional states in one small lesson
only a few of them have been selected here for the study. They are as follows:

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1. From north India, we will look at the history of two regional states one Jaunpur,
which is today in Uttar Pradesh and another Kashmir.
2. From south India, we will study the history of the Vijayanagara and Bahamani
kingdom. As stated earlier, the Vijayanagar Empire can be found in current
Notes states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and the Bahamani king-
dom can be found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
3. From west India we will study Gujarat, and the Marathas. Gujarat exists with
the same name today, and the Marathas had control over today’s Maharashtra,
Tamil Nadu and some other parts of India.
4. Finally, from eastern India we will study the history of Bengal.
11.1 THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE TERM REGIONAL STATE
AND REGIONALISM:
In the history of India, there has been a constant evolution and development of re-
gionalism and regional states. How does one explain the rise of regional states? From
the seventh century AD onwards which is the early medieval period till the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries, agriculture and agricultural activities played a very
significant role in the development of regional states. Wherever, good agricultural
activity took place, it not only fed the population but generated a large surplus that
could be sold and wealth could be generated. Trade and trading activities, overland as
well as maritime, also provided an important source of revenue. One finds the rise of
powerful sections in the society that controlled the agricultural surplus. Sometimes,
some members of this powerful section asserted themselves and acquired political
power and became kings and established ruling dynasties. This led to laying the foun-
dation of the states. Sometimes, some groups came from outside and conquered the
land, controlled the administration and became powerful.
It is true that a large number of regional states after thirteenth century arose due to
internal weakness of the Delhi Sultanate. Similarly, with the decline of Mughal Empire,
there emerged important states in the eighteenth century. But all these states had a
regional history that pre-dated both the Sultanate and the Mughal state. For example,
Bengal was an important regional kingdom in the eighth and the ninth centuries under
the Palas and subsequently in the twelfth century under the Senas. It was an important
independent state in the thirteenth and fifteenth century and became a powerful provin-
cial kingdom in the eighteenth century too. We all know that Delhi Sultanate and the
Mughal Empire ruled over numerous and different cultural zones. Even the regional
state of Vijayanagar ruled over different cultural zones. Therefore, it should be remem-
bered that regionalism never disappeared though the regional dynasties gained and lost
power and the regions changed their geographical boundaries.
What is this regionalism? Apart from political features, like regional ruling dynasties,
there are some important characteristics of regionalism which developed, evolved
and changed over a period of time in these regional states. Some of the characteris-
tics of regionalism are as follows:
1. One of the important aspects is language. For example, Oriya, Gujarati, Bengali,
Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi and so on Indian languages spoken in vari-
ous regions of India are referred as regional languages. These languages devel-
oped in the early medieval and medieval period and were associated with the
specific regions. Though the languages existed in some form or the other, even
prior to this but it was primarily from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, that the

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regional languages came to be used in the official documents. Literary works and
local literature came to be written in these languages. In the medieval period, simul-
taneous with the use of the regional languages, Sanskrit also came to be used in
scholastic texts. However a large number of official documents of the Delhi Sul-
tanate and the Mughal Empire and some regional states were written in Persian. Notes
2. Another characteristic is the presence of the local regional cults and religious
affiliations. For instance, the cult of Jagannath in Orissa was regional to Orissa.
It became the cult of the state, whereby the rulers adopted it, built a huge temple
for it and celebrated festivals around it every year. Historians say that Jagannath
was a tribal god, whose popularity made the rulers adopt this as the state cult. In
the next section, we will further elaborate about the relationship between the
states and religion. A large number of sects and the bhakti religion developed in
the regions. For example, Namdev, Raidas, Tukaram, Guru Nanak were located
in the regional states. Religions also have their own myths, legends and interpreta-
tions and religious practices. Did you know that in north India, Kartikeya, the son of
Shiva and Parvati, is a bachelor and in the Tamil region he has two wives, Devyani
and Valli? Each region had different gods and goddesses, different temple and mosque
architectures. Interestingly, despite these regional differences, where each tradition
was specific to a region, there were similarities in the regional traditions too. The
saints and priests migrated from one region to another. For instance, Gesu Daraz,
(1321–1422), the Sufi saint, belonged to the Chisti Silsilah that was established in
Delhi. He migrated from Delhi to Daultabad in the Deccan region as a child in 1328.
Seven years later, in 1335 AD, he came back to Delhi and stayed there for sixty three
years. Towards the end of fourteenth century, in 1398, when Timur, a Turkish invader
from Central Asia attacked Delhi, Gesu Daraz, migrated back to Deccan.
3. The regional states were not closed isolated areas. Apart from religious interac-
tion between the states, there were networks of interaction through trade and
commerce and migration of artisans from one region to another. For example, in
the fifteenth century, the silk weavers, Pattanulkars migrated from the Gujarat
region to the Vijayanagar state. Also one finds migration of the Africans and
Iranians to the Vijayanagar and Bahamani kingdoms.
4. Another characteristic is the development of local and regional art schools like
that Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Central India, and Rajasthan and so on. Regional
identities were formed as a result of process and there have been changes and
they did not exist since time immemorial. The various regional dynasties ex-
tended their patronage to art, culture, literature and architecture.
Thus, the presence of numerous regional states did not imply chaos and confusion.
These states did wage wars amongst themselves, but provided stability over their
respective regions. As discussed above, they had a vibrant culture of their own. The
regional states influenced each other in the area of architecture and political culture.
For instance, the early Vijayanagar rulers called themselves as Hindu Suratrana,
meaning Hindu Sultan, where the term Sultan was borrowed from the Delhi sultan-
ate. Similarly, the iqtadari system of the Delhi Sultanate influenced the administrative
systems of the Vijayanagar and Bahamani kingdoms.
What is the difference between the regional states and Empire like Delhi Sultanate
and the Mughal Empire? Apart from the characteristics mentioned above of language
and culture that were specific to one area, the political and military visions of these
states were limited by the regional boundaries.

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INTEXT QUESTION 11.1

1. List any four characteristics of Regionalism in India.
Notes
2. Name the regional art Schools that developed in India during Medieval period.

3. Which bhakti religions developed in the regions of India during Medieval lines.

4. List any four characteristics of Regionalism in India.

5. Name the regional art Schools that developed in India during Medieval period.

6. Which bhakti religions developed in the regions of India during Medieval times.

11.2 RISE OF REGIONAL STATES: A GENERAL HISTORY

In the lessons you have studied about the regional states from the seventh to the thirteenth
century. What happened to these states? Did they disappear completely from medi-
eval Indian politics? A large number of these regional states continued to exist after
the thirteenth century but there were changes in the ruling dynasties and geography
of these states. In this section, you will get a general overview of the regional states
from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century.
The Delhi Sultanate expanded as a result of the annexation of the states like Bengal,
Bihar, Gujarat, Malwa, various Rajput states of Rajasthan, like Ranthambor, Jalore,
Nagore, Ajmer, the Deccan states of Warangal, Telengana, Yadavas of Deogir, and the
southern states of the Hoysalas of Dwarsamudra, Pandyas of Madurai, and so on. We
have already studied about the various campaigns of Alauddin Khalji and the shift of
capital from Delhi to Daultabad in the Deccan, during Mohammad bin Tughlaq’s period.
Those states that were annexed to the Sultanate formed various provinces and were
placed under the administration of the provincial governors. From the establishment of
the Delhi Sultanate in the thirteenth century till its downfall in the fifteenth century, there
was a constant interaction between the provinces that were once upon a time indepen-
dent states and the centre, that is, Delhi. However, rebellions from these areas never
seized. We all know that as a prince, Muhammmad bin Tughlaq spent his entire career
in crushing the rebellions in the Deccan, Orissa and Bengal.
Though these regions were now a part of the Delhi Sultanate, the regional character-
istics of language, art, literature and religion remained. In fact, when Islam reached
here, it acquired a regional flavour. These states already had settlements of Muslim
merchants and Muslims employed in the army. Though there was hardly any regional
ruling dynasty, the provincial governors of the Sultanate allied with the local rajas and
zamindars and asserted their independence. Most of the regional states that came up
after the fourteenth century when the Delhi Sultanate was declining were a result of
the rebellions of the governors. The establishment of Vijayanagar and the Bahamani
were a result of the assertion of power by the provincial officers, like Harihara and
Bukka and Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah respectively. During the same period, Ben-

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gal in the east and Multan and Sind in the west became independent. Feroz Shah
Tughlaq tried to regain the lost territories but could not do so. He tried unsuccessfully
to take over Bengal. He attacked and plundered Jajnagar (Orissa) but did not annex
it. He plundered Kangra and suppressed revolts in Gujarat and Thatta.
With the death of Feroz Shah Tughlaq in 1338, the decline of the Sultanate began. As we Notes
have just mentioned, a large number of local governors became powerful and asserted
their independence in the provinces. The relationship between the Sultan and the nobles
worsened. The conflict with the local rulers and zamindars as well as regional and
geographical tensions weakened the Sultanate further. The declining Sultanate received
the final blow with the invasions of Timur in 1398 AD. Timur was a Turk who had come
from Central Asia to plunder the wealth of India. Timur entered Delhi and mercilessly
killed both the Hindus and Muslims and massacred women and children as well.
Fifteen years after the Timur’s raids in Delhi, the Delhi Sultanate declined. The Sul-
tanates in Gujarat, Malwa and Jaunpur near Varanasi emerged as powerful regional king-
dom. Gujarat and Jaunpur were constantly engaged in tension with the Lodhis of the Delhi
Sultanate (1451 to 1526 AD). New regional states independent of the Delhi sultanate arose
in Central and South India too, out of which the prominent ones were the Gajapatis of Orissa,
the Bahamanis and the Vijayanagara Empire. The Lodhi Sultans like Bahlol Lodhi (1451–
1485) and Sikander Lodhi (1489–1526) tried to keep these regional kingdoms under control.
Finally, during the rule of Ibrahim Lodhi (1517–1526), Bihar declared its independence. Daulat
Khan, the governor of Punjab rebelled and invited Babur to invade India in 1526.
With the establishment of the Mughal Empire in 1526 AD, and its expansion in the later
period, the ruling dynasties in the regional states gradually lost their power and these
states over a period of time became the part of the Mughal Empire. But the regional
features of language, art, literature and religion continued with changes. With the decline
of the Mughals in the eighteenth century, there were rebellions of the provincial governors
and a few annexed states declared their independence. As a result new regional king-
doms arose, for instance, Punjab, Bengal, Awadh, Hyderabad, Mysore and the Marathas.

INTEXT QUESTION 11.2

1. When did decline of Delhi Sultanate began?

2. During the rule of Ibrahim Lodhi, which two states declared their independence?

HISTORY OF THE REGIONAL STATES: A FEW CASE STUDIES

11.3 JAUNPUR:
Jaunpur is now in Varanasi division in eastern Uttar Pradesh on the banks of river
Gomati. It was a prosperous province in the eastern part of the Delhi Sultanate. The
governor of Jaunpur was Malik Sarwar, who was a prominent noble during Feroz
Shah Tughlaq’s period. In 1394, Sultan Nasiruddin Mohammad Shah Tughlaq made
him a minister and gave him the title of Sultanu-Sharq which means the master of
the east. Thereafter, he was known as Malik Sarwar Sultanus Sharq. After Timur’s
invasion and the weakening of the Delhi Sultanate, Malik Sarwar took advantage of a
weak political situation and declared himself independent. Malik Sarwar was

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succeeded by his son Mubarak Shah Sharqi. The Sultan struck coins in his name.
During his period, the ruler of the Delhi sultanate was Mahmud Shah Tughlaq, who tried to
annex Jaunpur, but failed. Thereafter, there were constant tensions between the various
rulers of Jaunpur and Delhi Sultanate. The Sharqi Sultans made several attempts to con-
Notes quer Delhi, but they could never be successful. In 1402, Ibrahim Shah Sharqi, Mubarak
Shah’s brother became the Sultan and ruled Jaunpur for thirty four years. Ibrahim was
also a scholar, well versed with Islamic theology and law, music and fine arts. He was a
great patron of architecture. A distinct style of architecture evolved called the Sharqi style
that had some Hindu influence. At its height, the Sharqi Sultanate extended from Aligarh in
western Uttar Pradesh to Darbhanga in north Bihar in the east and from Nepal in the
north to Bundelkhand in the south. It was during the reign of Hussain Shah Sharqi (1458–
1505) that a prolonged war with Bahlol Lodhi started. Bahlol Lodhi attacked Jaunpur in
1484 and Hussain Shah had to flee. Finally, Sikandar Lodhi who succeeded Bahlol Lodhi
annexed Jaunpur. Hussain Shah died and the Sharqi dynasty came to an end.
11.4 KASHMIR
Kashmir is in the northern part of India. In the eleventh century, the rulers were followers
of Saivism, and Saivism became the central religion in Kashmir. It was a closed kingdom.
Albiruni, the Arab traveller who visited India during this period remarked in his work,
Al-Hind that no one, not even Hindus from outside was allowed access to Kashmir. In
1320s, the ruling dynasty of Kashmir could not check the devastating Mongol invasions. It
therefore, lost all public support. In 1339, Shamsuddin Shah deposed the Saiva ruler and
became the ruler of Kashmir. From this period onwards, Islam influenced the Kashmiri
society. A group of Sufi saints known as the Rishis propagated a religion that combined
features of Hinduism and Islam Sufi saints and refugees migrated from Central Asia to
Kashmir and further influenced the society and religion. Gradually, the poorer section of
the population started converting to Islam. The state encouragement to Islam took place
when the Kashmiri Sultan, Sikandar Shah (1389–1413), issued an order that all Hindus
especially, the brahmanas living in his kingdom should embrace Islam or leave his king-
dom. It is said that these orders were issued at the instance of the king’s minister, Suha
Bhatt who was a Hindu and had recently converted to Islam.
Perhaps, one of the greatest rulers of Kashmir was Zainul Abidin (1420–1470). He was an
enlightened ruler and called back those Hindus who had left the state due to the persecution
of Sikandar Shah. He abolished jaziya and prohibited cow slaughter and gave the Hindus
important state posts. A large number of temples were repaired and new ones constructed.
Abul Fazl, the court historian of the Mughal Emperor Akbar noted that Kashmir had one
hundred and fifty big temples. Sultan Zainul Abidin married the daughters of the Hindu raja of
Jammu. Some scholars call Zainul Abidin as the Akbar of Kashmir. Under him, Kashmir
became prosperous and he was called the Bud Shah or the great king of Kashmiris.
The Sultan contributed to the agricultural development of Kashmir by constructing
dams and canals. Agricultural records were maintained. During the period of famine
and other natural calamities, relief in terms of loans and grains and fodder was pro-
vided to the peasants. Sultan also introduced reforms in the currency. He introduced
market control and fixed prices of the commodities. Traders and merchants were
asked to sell the commodities at fixed prices. Sultan also subsidized the import of the
commodities which were scarce in the state. To make up for the shortage of salt, he
imported salt from Ladakh and helped the traders in every possible way. Sultan also
paid attention to the development of handicrafts. He sent some people to

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Samarqand for training of paper making and book binding. Sultan also encouraged
stone cutting and polishing and many other crafts. He introduced carpet and shawl
making, which make Kashmir famous till day. Sultan also founded the towns of Zaingir,
Zainket and Zainpur and laid out the islands on the Dal Lake that can be seen till
today. His chief engineering achievement was the Zaina Lanka, an artificial island in Notes
the Woolur Lake on which he built his palace and mosque.
He was a great scholar of Persian, Sanskrit, Tibetan and Arab languages and patronised
the Sanskrit and Persian scholars. Under his patronage, the Mahabharat and Kalhana’s
Rajatarangini were translated into Persian and many Persian and Arabic works were
translated into Hindi. He himself was a poet and wrote poetry under the pen name ‘Qutb’.
After him weak rulers ascended the throne of Kashmir and there was confusion.
Taking advantage of this, Mirza Haider, Babur’s relative occupied Kashmir. In 1586,
Akbar conquered Kashmir and made it a part of the Mughal Empire.
11.5 BENGAL
Bengal was an important regional kingdom under the Palas in the eighth century and
the Senas in the twelfth century. Bengal was the easternmost province of the Delhi
Sultanate. The long distance, uncomfortable climate and poor means of transport and
communications made it difficult for the Delhi Sultanate to control this province. There-
fore, it was easy for Bengal to assert its independence. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq tried to
solve the problem by partitioning Bengal into three independent administrative divi-
sions: Lakhnauti, Satgaon and Sonargaon. However, the problems remained and fi-
nally Bengal emerged as an independent regional state in the fourteenth century.
In 1342, one of the nobles, Haji Ilyas Khan united Bengal and became its ruler under
the title of Shamsh-ud-din Iliyas Shah and laid the foundation of the Ilyas Shah dy-
nasty. He tried to annex Bengal and raided Orissa and Tirhut and forced them to pay
tribute. Such expansions alarmed the rulers of the Delhi Sultanate, who tried to oc-
cupy Bengal several times but were not successful. One of the important rulers of the
Ilyas Shah dynasty was Ghiyasuddin Azam. He was a learned man and promoted
Persian literature. He was well known for dispensing free and fair justice to people. It
is said that once he killed a son of a widow by accident. The widow filed a complaint
with Qazi who summoned the ruler to the court. When the case was decided, Azam
told the Qazi that had he not discharged his duties honestly he would have killed him.
Azam had cordial relations with China. There was a prosperous trading relationship
between Bengal and China. The port of Chittagaong was an important centre for
exchange of goods. On demand from the king of China, Azam also sent Buddhist
monks from Bengal. Pandua and Gaur were the capitals of Bengal.
In 1538, Bengal was annexed by Sher Shah Suri. In 1586, Akbar conquered Bengal, and
made it into a suba. While Persian was the language of administration, Bengali devel-
oped as a regional language. The establishment of Mughal control over Bengal coin-
cided with the rise of agrarian settlements in the forested and marshy areas of south-
eastern Bengal. Soon after, with the spread of rice cultivation, this area became heavily
populated with the local communities of fisher folks and peasants. The Mughals estab-
lished their capital in the heart of the eastern delta at Dhaka. Officials and functionaries
received land grants and settled there. Alauddin Hussain Shah (1439 to 1519) was
another important ruler of Bengal. He was very efficient, and gave high administrative
posts to the Hindus and is said to have paid respect to Chaitanya of the Vaisnava sect.
He came into conflict with Sikandar Lodhi and had to make peace with him.

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11.6 GUJARAT
This was a fertile and prosperous province. It had flourishing seaports and was fa-
mous for its handicrafts. Alauddin Khalji was the first Sultan to annex it to Delhi
Sultanate and since then it remained under the Turkish governors of the Sultanate.
Notes
After Timur’s invasion, in 1407, Zafar Khan who was then the governor became the
independent ruler and after sometime assumed the title of Muzaffar Shah. Zafar
Khan’s father was a Rajput who had given his sister in marriage to Feroz Shah Tughlaq.
Ahmad Shah (1411–1441), was one of the important rulers of Gujarat. He founded the
city of Ahmadabad and made it his capital in 1413. He built beautiful buildings, like Jama
Masjid and Teen Darwaza and beautified the city with gardens, palaces and bazaars.
Ahmad Shah was influenced by the Jaina architectural traditions of Gujarat. He was an
efficient administrator and consolidated the regional state of Gujarat. He subdued the
Rajput states, Jhalawar, Bundi and Durgapur. He was supposed to be an orthodox
Muslim who imposed jaziya on the Hindus and destroyed several temples. However,
the picture was complex. At the same time, he appointed Hindus to important adminis-
trative positions. Ahmad Shah fought equally fiercely against the Hindu as well as the
Muslim rulers. His main enemy were the Muslim rulers of Malwa. The rivalry between
Gujarat and Malwa was bitter and prevented both the regional states from concentrat-
ing on larger political gains in north Indian politics. He was famous for imparting justice.
He publicly executed his son-in-law who had murdered an innocent. The author of
Mirat-i-Ahmadi has rightly said that the impact of this justice lasted till his reign.
Perhaps the most important ruler of Gujarat was Mahmud Begarha. He was called
Mahmud Begarha as he had captured two powerful forts or garh, Girnar (Junagarh)
in Saurashtra and the fort of Champaner from the Rajputs in south Gujarat. Both
these forts were of strategic importance. The fort of Girnar was in the prosperous
Saurahstra region and also provided a base for operations against Sindh. The Sultan
founded a new town called Mustafabad at the foot of the hill. This town with many
beautiful monuments became the second capital of Gujarat. Similarly, the fort of
Champaner was crucial to control Malwa and Khandesh. Mahmud constructed a
new town called Muhammadabad near Champaner.
According to another version, he was called Begarha as his moustaches resembled the
horns of a cow (begarha). Mahmud is supposed to have had a flowing beard which
reached up to his waist. His moustache was supposed to be so long that he tied it over his
head. According to a foreign traveller, Duarto Barbosa, right from his childhood, Mahmud
was given some poison as his food which made him so poisonous that if a fly settled on his
head, it would meet instant death. Mahmud was also famous for huge appetite. It is said
that for breakfast he ate a cup of honey, a cup of butter and one hundred to hundred and
fifty banananas. In total, he consumed ten to fifteen kilos of food everyday. Mahmud
Begarha ruled for 52 years. He was also a great patron of art and literature. Many
works were translated from Arabic to Persian in his court. His court poet was
Udayaraja, who composed poetry in Sanskrit.
In 1507, Mahmud led an expedition against the Portuguese who had settled on the west-
ern coast and monopolised the trade there, causing immense harm to the Muslim traders.
To break the Portuguese trade monopoly he sought the help of the Sultan of Turkey
but could not get much headway and finally had to give the Portuguese a site for a
factory in Diu. He died in 1511. During the rule of his successors Akbar conquered
and annexed Gujarat in 1572 AD.

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INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.3

1. To which areas was Sharqi Sultanate extended?
Notes
2. Who is referred as Akbar of Kashmir?

3. Who laid the foundation of the Ilyas Shah dynasty?

4. Ahmed Shah founded which city?

11.7 THE BAHAMANI SULTANATE

In the fourteenth century two powerful kingdoms arose in South India. One was the
Bahamani Sultanate and the second kingdom was the Vijayanagar Empire that ruled
for 300 years. In this section we will discuss the history of Bahamani Sultanate and its
administrative features.
The Deccan region was a part of the provincial administration of the Delhi Sultanate.
In order to establish a stable administration in the Deccan, Mohammad bin Tughlaq
appointed amiran-i-sada/ Sada Amir, who were the administrative heads of hundred
villages. From 1337 the conflict between the officers in Deccan and Delhi sultanate
acclerated. This led to the establishment of an independent state in the Deccan in
1347 with the capital at Gulbarga in Andhra Pradesh. Its founders Haran Kangu
assumed the title Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah as he traced his descent from the
mythical hero of Iran, Bahman Shah and the kingdom was named after him, the
Bahamani Sultanate. After Mohammad bin Tughlaq there were no attempts by the
Delhi Sultanate to control the Deccan region. Therefore, the Bahamani Sultans with-
out any checks annexed the kingdom. One of the important acquisitions was the
control over Dabhol, an important port on the west coast.
Under Bahman Shah and his son Muhammmad Shah, the administrative system
was well organised. The kingdom was divided into four administrative units called
‘taraf’ or provinces. These provinces were Daultabad, Bidar, Berar and Gulbarga.
Muhammad I defeated the Vijayanagar kingdom and consequently Golconda was
annexed to Bahamani kingdom. Every province was under a tarafdar who was
also called a subedar. Some land was converted into Khalisa land from the
jurisdiction of the tarafdar. Khalisa land was that piece of land which was used
to run expenses of the king and the royal household. Further the services and the
salary of every noble was fixed. Those nobles who kept 500 horses were given
1000,000 huns annually. If short of the stipulated troops, the tarafdar would
have to reimburse the amount to the central government. Nobles used to get their
salary either in cash or in form of grant of land or ‘jagir’ Bahamani ruler de-
pended for military support on his amirs. There were two groups in the ranks of
amirs: One was the Deccanis who were immigrant Muslims and had been stay-
ing for a long time in the Deccan region. The other group was Afaquis or Pardesis
who had recently come from Central Asia, Iran and Iraq and had settled in the

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Deccan region recently. Between both these groups there was always tension to
appropriate better administrative positions. Because of their feuds, the stability
of the Bahamani Sultanate was affected. For the first time in India both these
kingdoms used gunpowder in the warfare. The Bahamanis were already familiar
Notes with the use of firearms. They employed Turkish and Portuguese experts to train
the soldiers in the latest weaponry of warfare.
One of the most important personalities in the Bahamani kingdom was Mahmud Gawan.
Mahmud Gawan’s early life is obscure. He was an Iranian by birth and first reached
Deccan as a trader. He was granted the title of ‘Chief of the Merchants’ or Malik-
ut-Tujjar by the Bahamani ruler, Humayun Shah. The sudden death of Humayun led
to the coronation of his minor son Ahmad III. A regency council was set for the
administration and Mahmud Gawan was its important member. He was made wazir
or the prime minister and was given the title of ‘Khwaju-i-Jahan.’ The history of
Bahmani kingdom after this period is actually the record of the achievements of
Mahmud Gawan. Despite of being an Afaqui he was liberal and wanted a compro-
mise between the Afaquis and the Deccanis. He controlled the kingdom in an effi-
cient manner and provided it stability. Gawan conquered the Vijayanagar territories
up to Kanchi. On the western coast, Goa and Dhabol were conquered. Losing these
important ports was a great loss for Vijayanagar. Bahamani strengthened its trading
relations with Iran and Iraq after gaining control over Goa and Dabhol.
Gawan carried out many internal reforms and attempted to put an end to the strife in
the nobility. In order to curb the military power of the tarafdar, Gawan ordered that
only one fort of each province was to be under the direct control of the provincial
tarafdar. The remaining forts of the province were placed under a Qiladar or com-
mander of the forts. The Qiladar was appointed by the central Government. How-
ever, soon after his death, the governors declared their independence and the Bahamani
kingdom broke up. In the fifteenth and the sixteenth century, some amirs in Bidar,
Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Bijapur and Berar established independent sultanates of
their own and formed new states. These were the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar, the
Adil Shahis of Bijapur, the Qutb Shahis of Golconda, and the Imad Shahis of Berar
and the Barid Shahis of Bidar. They formed a league of states and strengthened them
by matrimonial alliances. They maintained the traditional rivalry with the Vijayanagar
rulers. Golconda and Bijapur entered into matrimonial alliances and led the Battle of
Talikota against Vijayanagar. They finally succumbed to the Mughal armies.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.4

1. Who appointed Sada Amir and for which region?

2. Who was Mahmud Gawan?

11.8 THE VIJAYANAGAR EMPIRE

A Political History
In 1336, Vijayanagar kingdom was established by Harihara and Bukka, who were two
brothers and served in the army of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. They broke away from the
Delhi Sultanate and established an independent state in Karnataka and established the

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capital city Vijayanagar on the banks of river Tungabhadra in 1336. Their dynasty was
called the Sangama dynasty. There are several theories with regard to the origin of this
dynasty. According to some scholars, they had been the feudatories of the Kakatiyas of
Warangal and after their fall they served the Kampili state. Another view says that they
were the feudatories of the Hoysalas and belonged to Karnataka. Harihara and Bukka Notes
were helped and inspired by contemporary scholar and a saint Vidyaranya for the establish-
ment of their kingdom. It is believed that to commemorate the memory of their guru, the
brothers established the city of Vidyanagar or Vijayanagara on the banks of river Tungabhadra.
The empire included people from different cultural regions, the Tamil, Telegu and Karnataka
region who all spoke different languages and belonged to different cultures.
Between 1336 and 1565, Vijayanagar was ruled by three different dynasties- Sangama,
who remained in power till 1485; the Saluva who remained in power till 1503 and the
Tuluvas. The last dynasty was the Aravidu dynasty that ruled till seventeenth century.
Foreign travellers like Nicolo Conti, Fernao Nuniz ,Domingo Paes, Duarto Barbosa
and Abdur Razzaq wrote about the magnificence of Vijayanagar.
One of the most important rulers of the Vijayanagar states was Krishnadevaraya, the
founder of the Tuluva dynasty. He was a great commander and an efficient adminis-
trator. He fought a series of war with the independent kingdoms that came on the
ruins of the Bahamani kingdom, maintained law and order and dealt with the Portu-
guese influence in the Deccan. He completely shattered the Adil Shahi forces of
Bijapur first and attacked Gulbarga and set free three Bahamani princes who were
imprisoned there. He helped them in recovering the throne of Gulbarga and Krishna
Deva himself took the title of Yavanarajya sthapanacharya.
Krishnadevaraya built some fine stone temples and added impressive gopurams or gate-
ways to many important South Indian temples. He also founded a suburban township near
Vijayanagara called Nagalapuram after his mother. Some of the most detailed descrip-
tions of Vijayanagar come from his period. The famous temple of Tirupati developed
during his period greatly as the deity there was his titular deity. After Krishna Deva Raya,
his brother Achyuta Deva Raya ascended the throne in 1530 AD, who was also an
important ruler. During his reign the rival groups began to make his appearance. The
struggle for power was mainly between Saluva Vira Narasimha and Aravidu Rama Raya,
in which the later emerged victorious. Although Rama Raya did not assume the throne,
yet he placed Sadasiva Raya on the throne and ruled as the defacto ruler. He removed the
old nobility and replaced it with those loyal to him. Rama Raya tried to balance the Deccan
powers by playing one against the other, such a policy could not continue for a long period.
The Deccan states formed a confederacy and inflicted a crushing blow on the Vijayanagar
armies in the battle of Talikota. Rama Raya was killed. The Deccani armies entered
Vijayanagar and reduced in into ruins. Now the focus shifted to the east where the Aravidu
dynasty ruled from Penukonda and later from Chandragiri (near Tirupati).
Army and Military Organisation Of The Vijayanagar Empire
In order to wage continuous warfare there was a need to keep a large army. Artillery
was important and well bred horses were maintained. The Vijayanagar rulers im-
ported high quality horses from across the Arabian Sea from Arabia and other Gulf
countries. The port of Malabar was the centre of this trade and trade in other luxury
commodities. The Vijayanagar rulers always attempted to control the port of Malabar.
Like the Bahamanis, the Vijayanagar state also was familiar with the use of firearms
and employed Turkish and Portuguese experts to train the soldiers in the latest
weaponry of warfare. One of the rayas, Deva Raya II enrolled Muslims in his armed

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services, allotted them jagirs and erected a mosque for their use in the city. Such
new techniques in warfare now revolutionised the warfare. The walls of the forts to
counter the firearms were now made thick and special kinds of door with fortified
walls front were constructed. On the walls of the forts, special kinds of big holes
Notes were made to rest the guns. Special kinds of parapets were constructed on the forts
to put the canons on it. Firearms were used. Some firearms were small and com-
prised of rifles and pistols. Some like canons were heavy and had to be put on a
bullock cart or on an elephant and pushed into the battlefield.
One of the important characteristics of the Vijayanagar administration was the amara-
nayaka system. In this system, the commander of the Vijayanagar army was called
the nayaka. Each nayaka was given an area for administration. The nayaka was
responsible for expanding agricultural activities in his area. He collected taxes in his
area and with this income maintained his army, horses, elephants and weapons of
warfare that he had to supply to the raya or the Vijayanagar ruler. The nayaka was
also the commander of the forts. Some of the revenue was also used for the mainte-
nance of temples and irrigation works. The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king
annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty.
In the seventeenth century, several of these nayakas became independent and estab-
lished separate states. The feudal Nayankaras used to maintain their own soldiers,
forces and elephants. They were a powerful section that challenged the Vijayanagar
authority, weakened its Internal structures and contributed to the defeat of the
Vijayangar in the battle of Talikota.
11.8.2 CONFLICT BETWEEN THE VIJAYANAGAR
AND THE BAHAMANIS
There were constant conflicts between the Vijayanagar and the Bahamani king-
doms over the control of Raichur doab which was the land between rivers Krishna
and Tungabhadra. This area was fertile and rich in mineral resources. The famous
diamond mines of Golconda were located in the eastern part of the doab region.
The geography of both the kingdoms was such that expansion was possible only
across Tungabhadra in the Deccan. It appears that the battles between the two
were not conclusive and the status quo was maintained. Sometimes, Bahamani
had an advantage and sometimes, Vijayanagar had an advantage. For instance, in
1504, the Bahamani managed to reconquer the Raichur doab. However, with the
ascent of Krishna Deva Raya, the Bahamanis lost Raichur, Mudkal, Nalgonda and
other inland towns. An important result of these wars was that both the powers
were so involved amongst themselves that they never realised the increasing power
of the Portuguese on the coast of South India. Besides, continuous warfare ex-
hausted the resources of both the states and weakened them.
The other areas of conflict were the Marathwada region and the deltaic region of
Krishna-Godavari. Both regions had fertile areas and important ports that controlled
trade to the foreign countries. For instance, the fertile area in the Marathwada region
was the Konkan belt that also had the port of Goa which was an important region for
trade and export and import especially import of horses from Iraq and Iran.
Often, the battles between the Vijayanagar and the Bahamani states are perceived as
Hindu-Muslim conflicts. The above reasons show that the struggle was not due to
any religious differences. Territorial and economic motives were the main causes for
the war. Despite hostilities between the two states, there were times when they also
co-operated with each other. Krishnadevaraya, for example, supported some claim-
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ants to power in the Sultanates and took pride in the title “establisher of the Yavana
kingdom”. Similarly, the Sultan of Bijapur intervened to resolve succession disputes in
Vijayanagra following the death of Krishnadevaraya. There were also sharing and
exchange of ideas, especially in the field of art, literature and architecture.
Notes
INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.5
1. Give names of any four foreign travellers who wrote about magnificence of
Vijay nagar empire?

2. Temple of Tirupati was developed during the reign of which king?

3. Where was Amir Nayaka System prevalent?

4. What were the areas of conflict between the Vijaynagar & the Bahamanis?

11.8 REGIONAL STATES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

You must have studied about the crisis in the Mughal Empire in the eighteenth century
that finally led to the collapse of the Mughal Empire. As the Mughal authority weak-
ened, the governors of the provinces, subedars, and the big zamindars became pow-
erful and asserted their independence.
The regional states of this period can be divided into three categories:
1. There were some states whose founders were important Mughal nobles and held
high mansabs. Though they became independent, they never broke fromal ties
with the Mughal state. Some of the important states in this category are Awadh,
Bengal and Hyderabad. The founder of the Awadh state was Sa’adat Khan. The
founder of Bengal was Mushid Quli Khan and the founder of Hyderabad state
was Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah. All three were powerful members of the Mughal
nobility and were the governors of these provinces. As the Mughal Empire weak-
ened, there was a large-scale migration of soldiers and administrators from Delhi
to these new states that promised numerous opportunities.
In these states the position of the previous zamindars changed. For example,
Sa’adat Khan seized a number of Rajput zamindaris and the agriculturally fer-
tile lands of the Afghans at Rohilkhand. Similarly, in an effort to reduce Mughal
influence in Bengal, Mushid Quli Khan transferred all Mughal jagirdars to Orissa
and ordered a major reassessment of the revenues of Bengal. Revenue was
collected in cash with great strictness from all zamindars. As a result, many
zamindars had to borrow money from bankers and moneylenders. Those un-
able to pay were forced to sell their lands to larger zamindars.
Another change in these states was the rise of the bankers and moneylend-
ers or mahajans. The state and the landed class depended on them for
loans. These bankers in turn became powerful and influenced the adminis-
tration. The state auctioned its right to collect taxes to the highest bidders,
who were usually bankers and mahajans. In turn, the bankers promised to

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pay a fixed sum of money to the state. Thus, the state was assured of a fixed
income. This system was called the ijaradari system and those who bought
the right to collect taxes were known as ijaredars. The Mughal state had
always discouraged this system. There were chances that those who col-
Notes lected the tax would collect much more than fixed, exploiting the peasants
and would give less to the state thereby causing a loss to the state revenue.
2. The second category of regional states in the eighteenth century was those states
that had already enjoyed a lot of independence during the Mughal rule as watan
jagirs. The Rajput states belonged to this category.
3. The third category of regional states was those that had emerged after rebelling
against the Mughal authority. The Sikhs, the Marathas and the Jats belonged to
this group. For example, the Sikh rebellion against the Mughals led to state-
building in the Punjab.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.6

1. Regional States in 18th century have been divided into which categories?

WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNT

The rise of regional states from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century is due to
internal weakness of Delhi Sultanate and decline of Mughal Empire. An under-
standing of the nature of these regional powers will help you see the Delhi sul-
tanate and Mughal Empire in a clear perspective. It will be useful if the regional
states of this period are seen in continuation with the regional states from sixth to
the twelfth century also. To understand the regional states, one has to first un-
derstand the concept of regionalism, which has political features, language, reli-
gious affiliations, Art & Culture as developed and evolved over a period of time
as discussed in this lesson. There were a large number of such states but we
have taken only a few as case studies. Jaunpur, Kashmir, Gujarat, Bengal,
Vijayanagr and Bahamani were discussed. It should be remembered that though
these states fought with each other, but they also borrowed ideas in the field of
art, architecture and religion from each other. Their relationship with the central
authority as well as among themselves kept changing from time to time.

TERMINAL EXERCISE
1. Trace the development of regional States from 13th Century to 18th Century in India.
2. How were regional States different from Central Empire?
3. How Bengal was able to assert its independence so easily!?
4. What was unique about Mahmud Begarha and why he is considered an impor-
tant ruler of Gujarat?
5. Describe Amara – nayaka System of administration?
6. The Vijay Nagar & the Bahamanis were neighbours but were not at peace, why
it was so, Discuss?

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ANSWER TO INTEXT QUESTIONS

11.1
Notes
1. Language, religions affliations, Interaction through trade & Commerce, Regional
Art Schools
2. Bihar, Bengal, Assam, Central India & Rajasthan
3. Namdev, Raidas, Tukaram, Guru Nanak
11.2
1. In 1338 after the death of Feroz Shah Tuglaq
2. Bihar & Punjab
11.3
1. Aligarh in West, Darbhanga in East, Nepal in North & Bundel Khand in South
2. Zaimil Abidin
3. Haji Ilyas Khan
4. Ahmedabad
11.4
1. Mohamed bin Tughlaq, Deccan
2. Reached Deccan as a trader, granted Malik-ut-Tujjar made Wazir later on
11.5
1. Nicolo Conti, Fernao Nuniz, Domingo Paes, Duareto Barbosa & Abdur Razzaq.
2. Krishna Deva Raya
3. Vijay Nagar administration.
4. Control of Raichur doab; Marathwada region deltaic region of Krishna-Godavari
11.6
1. Founded by Mughal nobles; Watan Jagirs; Rebelled from Mughal authority.

HINTS TO TERMINAL QUESTIONS

1. Refer 11.2
2. Refer 11.1 last two paras
3. Refer 11.5
4. Refer 11.6
5. Refer 11.8.1
6. Refer 11.8.2

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GLOSSARY
Silsilah – Different orders of Sufis
Zamindars – Owner of private land having hereditary rights
Sultanu – Sharq – Master of the East
Notes Jaziya – A kind of tax, other than land tax on non-muslims for
not rendering Military service
Khalisa – Land controlled directly by the king & not assigned to
any Zamindar or officer
Tarafdar – Head of a province
Jagir – A piece of land assigned to a government officer by the
State
Amir – Commander, the third highest official grade in Delhi
Sultanate

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