A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c16.53

c16.53

The regular employment of foreigners—Turks, Arabs, Moguls and Persians—in the civil and military offices of the state gave rise to rivalry between them and the local Muslims, the Deccanis, who were backed by African negroes as well as by the offspring of African fathers and Indian mothers. The 'foreigners' alleged that the disasters of the Gujarat war were due to the cowardice of the Deccanis, and the quarrels between the rival factions often led to pitched battles and bloody massacres. The 'foreigners' were generally Shiahs while the Deccanis were Sunnis, and this added acerbity to their disputes which had no small share in weakening the Bāhmani sultanate and its succession states.