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A History of Agriculture in India v2.c66: Chapter 14. The Bahmani Kingdom of the Deccan

A History of Agriculture in India v2.c66

Language
English

Contents

Chapter 14. The Bahmani Kingdom of the Deccan

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THE SULTANATES OF DECCAN, BENGAL, GUJARAT, MALWA AND KASHMIR

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CANAL IRRIGATION SCHEMES OF ZAIN-UL-ABIDIN IN KASHMIR VALLEY

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A.D. 1338-1687

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A YEAR after the foundation of the Vijayanagar kingdom in A.D. 1347, Hasan, an officer of Tughlak Sultan of Delhi, occupied Daulatabad in the Deccan, and proclaimed his independence. He is known as Sultan Ala-ud-din I. He claimed descent from the Persian king Bahman Shah. Most of South India between the Lodi Sultanate and Gondwana in the north and Vijayanagar kingdom in the south was included in Bahmani kingdom. It also included the ports of Goa and Dabhol on the West Coast (Fig. 17). Ala-ud-din I established his capital at Gulburga. During the eighty years (A.D. 1347-1428) that Gulburga was the capital, it was adorned with many buildings, including a great mosque, in which the entire central area was roofed.

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Ala-ud-din I was followed by thirteen successors, who ruled from A.D. 1338 to 1482. Their favourite pastime was war with Vijayanagar.

Firuz (A.D. 1397-1422)

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The eighth Sultan Firuz defeated the Hindus and married a Vijayanagar princess. This marriage was contracted to enhance his prestige and to humiliate the ruler of Vijayanagar. Firuz had a large harem with women from many countries, including Europe, and was reputed to be able to talk with each lady in her own language. This was possible not because he was a linguist, but the subject-matter of conversation was limited, and a brief vocabulary sufficed.

Contribution to Agriculture and Condition of Peasants

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Meadows Taylor states, ‘The Bahmanis constructed irrigation works in the eastern provinces, which incidentally did good to the peasantry while primarily securing the crown revenue.’ Vincent Smith points out that those items to their credit weigh lightly against the wholesale devastation wrought by their wars, massacres, and burnings.¹ Their rule was harsh and showed little regard for the welfare of Hindu peasants, who were seldom allowed to retain the fruits of their labour much more than would suffice to keep body and soul together.

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¹ Smith, V. A., *The Oxford History of India*, p. 288

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[Figure: INDIA

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BABUR'S KINGDOM OF KABUL KASHMIR PUNJAB (DAULAT KHAN LODI) SULTANATE OF DELHI (IBRAHIM LODI) R. Chenab R. Ravi R. Sutlej Panipat Delhi Agra R. Ganges R. Jumna R. Brahmaputra R. Brahmaputra BIHAR BENGAL BUNDELKHAND GONDWANA R. Mahanadi MALWA R. Narvada KHANDESH GUJARAT ARGHUN KINGDOM OF SIND BERAR AHMADNAGAR R. Godavari GOLCONDA R. Krishna BIJAPUR Goa (Portugues) VIJAYANAGAR R. Kaveri Cannanore Calicut Cochin THE LODI KINGDOM ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS (INDIA) LAKSHADWEEP (INDIA) INDIA IN 1525]

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FIG. 17. India in 1525. The Lodi Empire embraced the Indo-Gangetic plain. In the south was the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar. The Deccan was ruled by five Sultans. Bengal, Malwa, Gujarat and Kashmir were independent Sultanates.

Muhammad Shah III (A.D. 1463-1482)

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Athanasius Nikitin, a Russian merchant, happened to reside for a long time at Bidar and to travel in the Bahmani dominions between the years A.D. 1470 and 1474 in the reign of Muhammad Shah III. He observes, ‘The land is overstocked with people; but those in the country are very miserable, whilst the nobles are extremely opulent and delight in luxury. They are wont to be carried on their silver beds, preceded by some twenty chargers caparisoned in gold, and followed by 300 men on horseback, and by 500 on foot, and by horn-men, ten torch-bearers, and ten musicians.

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‘The Sultan goes out hunting with his mother and his lady, and a train of 10,000 men on horseback, 50,000 on foot; 200 elephants adorned in gilded armour, and in front 100 horsemen, 100 dancers, and 300 common horses in golden clothing; 100 monkeys, and 100 concubines, all foreign.’

Dissolution of Bahmani Kingdom and the Rise of Sultanates

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During the reign of Mahmud Shah (A.D. 1482-1518) the provincial governors of Bahmani kingdom declared their independence, and set up five Sultanates, viz. the Imad Shahi dynasty of Berar, the Nizam Shahi of Ahmadnagar, the Adil Shahi of Bijapur, the Barid Shahi of Bidar, and the Qutb Shahi of Golkonda.

Golkonda-Qutb Shahi Dynasty

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Golkonda kingdom was founded in A.D. 1518 by a Turki officer, who assumed the title of Sultan Quli Qutb Shah. Golkonda fort was constructed by the Hindu Raja of Warangal, who ceded it in A.D. 1364 to Muhammad Shah Bahmani. In A.D. 1512 it passed from Bahmanis to the Qutb Shahis. It is surrounded by a strong crenellated stone wall, over 3 miles (4.8 km) in circumference, with 87 bastions at the angles. The river Musi flows south of the fort. In A.D. 1589 the capital was shifted to Bhagnagar, now called Hyderabad. The Sultans left a number of tombs with fantastic domes at Golkonda.

Bijapur-Adil Shahi Dynasty

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The Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur was founded by Yusaf Adil Shah, a Shia, in A.D. 1489. Firishta describes him as ‘a wise and handsome prince, a good judge of human nature, eloquent, well-read and an accomplished musician.’ He was a broad-minded monarch, who employed Hindus in responsible posts, and encouraged use of Marathi language for accounts and State business. He invited scholars and artists from Iran, Turkistan and Rum to his court.

Ibrahim Adil Shah (A.D. 1584-1626)

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Ibrahim Adil Shah was the patron of the historian Firishta, whose real name was Kasim Hindu Shah. Ibrahim was an able administrator and a broad-minded person who enjoyed the confidence of his Hindu subjects. He also encouraged painting. Meadows Taylor thus describes his interest in revenue administration, and art and architecture: ‘Ibrahim Adil Shah died in A.D. 1626, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. He was the greatest of all the Adil Shahi dynasty, and in most respects, except its founder, the most able and popular.

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‘Without the distraction of war, he applied himself to civil affairs with much care; and the land settlements of the provinces of his kingdom, many of which are still extant among district records, show an admirable and efficient system of registration of property and its valuation. In this respect the system of Todar Mull introduced by the Emperor Akbar seems to have been followed with the necessary local modifications.

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‘Although he changed the profession of the State religion immediately upon assuming the direction of State affairs from Shia to Sunni, Ibrahim was yet extremely tolerant of all creeds and faiths. Hindus not only suffered no persecution at his hands, but many of his chief civil and military officers were Brahmans and Marathas. With the Portuguese of Goa he seems to have kept up a friendly intercourse. Portuguese painters decorated his palaces, and their merchants traded freely in his dominions. To their missionaries also he extended his protection; and there are many anecdotes current in the country that his tolerance of Christians equalled, if it did not exceed, that of his contemporary Akbar. He allowed the preaching of Christianity freely among his people, and there are still existent several Catholic churches, one at Chitapur, one at Mudgal, and one at Raichur, and others, endowed by the king with lands and other sources of revenue, which have survived the changes and revolutions of more than 300 years. Each of these churches now consists of several hundred members and remains under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Goa.’²

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² Meadows Taylor, *Manual of Indian History*, quoted by V. A. Smith in the *Oxford History of India*, p. 300

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Asad Beg, an officer at the Court of Emperor Akbar, who paid a visit to the city of Bijapur, thus describes its bazar, shops, merchandise and people. ‘While the countryside was poor, towns were prosperous. ‘All round the gate of my residence were lofty buildings with houses and porticos; the situation was very healthy and airy,’ states Asad Beg. ‘It lies in an open space in the city. Its northern portico is to the east of a bazar of great extent, as much as thirty yards wide and about two *kos* long. Before each shop was a beautiful green tree, and the whole *bazar* was extremely clean and pure. It was filled with rare goods, such as are not seen or heard of in any other town. There were shops of cloth-sellers, jewellers, armourers, vintners, bakers, fishmongers, and cooks. To give some idea of the whole *bazar*, I will describe a small section in detail.

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‘In the jewellers’ shops were jewels of all sorts, wrought into a variety of articles, such as daggers, knives, mirrors, necklaces, and also into the form of birds, such as parrots, doves and peacocks, etc., all studded with valuable jewels, and arranged upon shelves, rising one above the other. By the side of this shop will be a baker’s, with rare viands, placed in the same manner, upon tiers of shelves. Further on a linendraper’s, with all kinds of cloths, shelved in like manner. Then a clothier’s. Then a spirit-merchant’s, with various sorts of valuable china vessels, crystal bottles, and costly cups, filled with choice and rare essences, arrayed on shelves, while in front of the shop were jars of double-distilled spirits. Besides that shop will be a fruiterer’s, filled with all kinds of fruit and sweetmeats, such as pistachio-nuts, and relishes, and sugar-candy, and almonds.

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'On another side may be a wine-merchant’s shop, and an establishment of singers and dancers, beautiful women adorned with various kinds of jewels, and fair-faced choristers, all ready to perform whatever may be desired of them. In short, the whole bazar was filled with wine and beauty, dancers, perfumes, jewels of all sorts, palaces, and viands. In one street were a thousand bands of people drinking, and dancers, lovers, and pleasure-seekers assembled; none quarrelled or disputed with another, and this state of things was perpetual. Perhaps no place in the wide world could present a more wonderful spectacle to the eye of the traveller.'³

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³ Asad Beg, Wikaya, in Elliot and Dowson, The History of India..., Vol. VI, pp. 163, 164

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The Golgumbaz or great tomb of Muhammed Adil Shah (A.D. 1626-1656) has an enormous dome covering an area of 2,500 square feet (232 m²). Thrusts are provided for the dome by use of massive pendentives, hanging the weight, inside. Its internal height is 178 feet (54.26 m). An ornamental gate-way called Mihtar Mahal, Gagan Mahal (A.D. 1561), Asar Mahal and Ibrahim rauza and mosque (A.D. 1580-1627) are other notable buildings.

The End of the Deccan Sultanates

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The Sultanantes of Deccan disappeared in the course of a century from A.D. 1574 to 1687. In A.D. 1574 the kingdom of Ahmadnagar absorbed that of Berar, and in A.D. 1619 the kingdom of Bijapur that of Bidar. Between A.D. 1596 and 1600 Akbar annexed the greater part of the kingdom of Ahmadnagar, and after thirty years of intermittent warfare his grandson, Shahjahan, finally annexed it in A.D. 1633. Bijapur was annexed by Aurangzeb in A.D. 1686 and Golconda in the following year.

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BENGAL A.D. 1338-1576

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Bengal became an independent kingdom in A.D. 1338 when Fakhr-ud-din, the Governor revolted against Muhammad-bin-Tughlak. The best-known rulers of Bengal were Jalal-ud-din (A.D. 1414-1431), Husain Shah (A.D. 1493-1519) and Nusrat Shah. Jalal-ud-din was a Hindu convert to Islam and bulk of the Hindu population embraced Islam in his reign.

Husain Shah

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The greatest Moslem king of Bengal was Husain Shah. He was a patron of Bengali literature and he was held in esteem by his Hindu subjects. He constructed many buildings in his capital city Gaur, also called Lakhnauti. These include the Kadam Rasul Masjid, which contains a stone bearing the supposed impression of Muhammad’s footprint brought from Madina by Husain Shah. He extended the limits of his kingdom to the borders of Orissa.

Nusrat Shah

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Nusrat Shah married a daughter of Ibrahim Lodi. He added Tirhut to his kingdom. A Bengali version of the *Mahabharata* was prepared under his patronage.

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So far as agriculture is concerned nothing of significance was achieved in Bengal under the Sultan’s rule.

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GUJARAT A.D. 1401-1537

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Zafar Khan, a Rajput convert to Islam, who was appointed governor of Gujarat in A.D. 1391, became independent in A.D. 1401 and assumed the title of Muzaffar Shah.

Ahmad Shah (A.D. 1411-1441)

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The most celebrated of the Sultans of Gujarat was Ahmad Shah. He built the city of Ahmadabad, which he named after himself and made it his capital.

Mahmud Bigarha (A.D. 1459-1511)

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Another famous Sultan of Gujarat was Mahmud Bigarha who ruled for fifty-two years. He had long moustaches which he tied over his head, and a beard that reached his girdle. He was reported to be so immune to poison that if a fly sat on any part, it dropped down dead.

Bahadur Shah (A.D. 1526-1537)

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The last Sultan of Gujarat was Bahadur Shah. He annexed Malwa and stormed Chitor in A.D. 1534. He was killed by Portuguese in A.D. 1537. Gujarat was annexed to the Mughal empire in A.D. 1572.

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Under the patronage of Sultans, an elegant style of architecture developed at Ahmadabad. The mosque of Sidi Sayyid and the Jama Masjid are decorated with stone lattices, with foliate and geometric designs. These are the works of stone-cutters whose ancestors decorated Jain temples. Ahmadabad became a centre for the manufacture of textiles and wood-carving. Some of the old houses of merchants at Ahmadabad have beautifully carved doors and windows.

Malwa

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A.D. 1401-1531

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Malwa covers the territory now included in Madhya Pradesh. In A.D. 1401 Dilawar Khan Ghuri, governor of Malwa under Firoz Tughlak, became independent. He is known as Sultan Shihab-ud-din Ghuri and made Dhar his capital.

Hoshang Shah (A.D. 1405-1435)

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Hoshang Shah, the second king, moved his court to Mandu, where he erected many massive buildings. Mandu stands 2,079 feet (633.68 m) high on a plateau of the Vindhya range overlooking the valley of the Narmada. Its walls were 37 miles (59.5 km) in circumference and enclosed an area of 20 square miles (51.8 km²). Hoshang Shah also founded the city of Hoshangabad on the Narmada.

Ghiyas-ud-Din (A.D. 1469-1501)

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The third Ghuri king Mahmud was poisoned by his minister Mahmud Khan, a Khalji Turk, who founded the Khalji dynasty. The next Sultan was Ghiyas-ud-din. When he ascended the throne he gave a feast to his nobles, and told them that he was tired of war and intended to spend the rest of his life in ease and enjoyment. He collected 15,000 women in his harem. Women were the artificers, qazis and kotwals. He taught them all kinds of arts and crafts. He made a deer park, in which he used to hunt with his women. He also encouraged painting, and a volume on cookery, termed the *Niamat-nama*, with superb illustrations, was painted in A.D. 1500. In Mandu paintings, we see the mingling of Jain and Persian styles. Thus Mandu made an important contribution to pre-Mughal Indian painting.

Baz Bahadur (A.D. 1531-1561)

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The last king of Malwa was Bazid Khan, who is better known as Baz Bahadur, and is celebrated for his love of a songstress Rupmati. Mandu was conquered by Adham Khan, general of Akbar, who appropriated the spoils of Mandu, including the beauties from the harem of Baz Bahadur. For these crimes he paid with his own life. He was thrown in a ditch from parapet walls of the Agra fort under the orders of Akbar. Malwa was annexed by Akbar in A.D. 1562, and Baz Bahadur became a *mansabdar* of the Mughal emperor.

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So far as agriculture is concerned the Sultans of Mandu did not take any special interest. The Moslem historians hardly mention the condition of Hindu peasants, nor any irrigation works.

Kashmir

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A.D. 1089-1586

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The name Kashmir refers to the valley on the upper course of the Jhelum. Many of the Hindu Rajas of Kashmir were tyrants. Harsa (A.D. 1089-1101) melted gold and silver images of gods and goddesses for the sake of metal required for minting coins. In A.D. 1099, Kashmir was ravaged by plague and a disastrous flood.

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During the reign of Jayasimha (A.D. 1128-1155) the feudal landlords, the Damaras who had built fortresses were practically in control of the countryside.

Kota Rani (A.D. 1318-1330)

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The last Hindu ruler of Kashmir was a lady known as Kota Rani. During this period Rinchin, a Tibetan prince, came to Kashmir as a refugee from Ladakh with an escort of several hundred armed men. He eventually became the ruler of Kashmir and paramour of Kota Rani. Kota Rani urged him to embrace Hinduism, but he was not acceptable to the Brahmans. In disgust Rinchin embraced Islam and thus became the first Moslem ruler of Kashmir. Rinchin died in A.D. 1320. Shah Mir, a Moslem adventurer from Swat, seized the throne in A.D. 1342 and also married Kota Rani. He is known as Sultan Shams-ud-din and ruled Kashmir up to A.D. 1342.

Sultan Sikander (A.D. 1393-1416)

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Skipping over three insignificant Sultans, we come across Sultan Sikander. Sikander acquired notoriety as an idol breaker, and he destroyed the famous temples of Martand, Vijayeshwri and Sureshwari. He compensated for this by building mosques. He conquered Ladakh.

Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin (A.D. 1420-1470)

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Of the Sultans of Kashmir, Zain-ul-abidin was the greatest and noblest. He was a scholar, an administrator and a builder. Above all, he adopted the policy of universal toleration like Akbar. The Kashmiri Brahmans, who had left the valley due to oppression by Sikander, were recalled and were entrusted with responsible posts in the administration. He got the Mahabharata translated into Persian. ‘Hindus looked upon him as their best protector during the dark period of religious bigotry,’ states Bamzai. ‘Many of the temples which had been demolished in the preceding reign were rebuilt and permission was granted to erect new temples. The king remitted the poll tax and granted jagirs to deserving Hindus. He penalized the killing of cows and himself abstained from eating meat during the holy festivals of the Hindus. The *Rajatarangini* gives a detailed account of how the king took part in the annual Nagayatra festival, when he would don the robes of a Hindu mendicant and perform the pilgrimage in company with other pilgrims. On the way he fed thousands of ascetics and Brahmans. To expiate for the wrongs done to the Hindus by his father he built numerous homes for the widows of the Brahmans killed in the preceding reigns.’

Dispensaries

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Many famous physicians from Central Asia and India came to Zain-ul-abidin’s court, and he opened dispensaries in various parts of the kingdom where free medicines were given to the patients.

Patronage of Learning

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Zain-ul-abidin was also a scholar and patron of learning. He collected books, and had a magnificent library. He patronized poets and scholars. Jonaraja, the historian, observes, ‘Even women, cooks and porters were poets; and the books composed by them exist to this day in every house. If the king be a sea of learning and partial to merit, the people too become so. Zain-ul-abidin for the purpose of earning merit built extensive lodging houses for students and the voices of students studying logic and grammar arose from these houses. The king helped the students by providing teachers, books, houses, food and money, and he extended the limits of learning in all branches.’

Arts and Crafts

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Zain-ul-abidin invited craftsmen from Samarkand to train Kashmiris. It was thus that cottage industries like papier-maché, paper-making, and silk and carpet weaving were introduced in Kashmir. The Kashmiri workers soon acquired skill in these crafts and made Kashmir famous for these products.

Langar and Free Food for the Poor

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Jonaraja records that in various towns food was distributed free to the poor and infirm. At special festivals which were frequently held, feeding of the poor was a regular feature. The Sultan built rest houses for travellers at the outskirts of villages.

Agriculture

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Zain-ul-abidin revised the land assessment and reduced it to one-foruth of the gross produce in some places, and to one-seventh in others. The revenue officers were ordered not to accept gifts from cultivators. Registration of documents was introduced to prevent fraud in sale of land. Law and order was enforced and lawlessness curbed. A good deal of land which had gone out of cultivation due to insecurity of life was brought under the plough.

Construction of Canals and Planting of Gardens

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Bamzai thus describes the contribution of Zain-ul-abidin to irrigation. ‘To increase agricultural production, he constructed several canals. Noted among which were the Utpalapur, Nandashaila, Bijbihara, Advin, Amburher, Zainagir, and the Shahkul at Bawan. Many of these canals supplied water to the otherwise dry *karewa* lands.’ During the past fifty years many of them have been repaired and reconstructed and put in use. ‘The long and peaceful reign of Zain-ul-abidin,’ says Stein, ‘was productive of important irrigation works.’ Jonaraja’s and Srivara’s chronicles give a considerable list of canals constructed under the Sultan.

Gardens

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Zain-ul-abidin planted gardens wherever he went, four of his well-known gardens being Baghi Zainagiri, Baghi Zaina Dab, Baghi Zainapur and Baghi Zainakut.

Roads

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Jonaraja mentions that one of his engineers, Damara Kach, paved a road with stones and thus made it fit for use even during the rainy season. Similarly he built the first wooden bridge in Kashmir which is known by the name of Zainkadal (Zain-ul-abidin’s bridge).

Famine

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Towards the end of Zain-ul-abidin’s reign a severe famine occurred in Kashmir. The contemporary historian, Srivara, describes the sufferings of the people. The cause of the famine was an early fall of snow which destroyed the ripe paddy crop. The succeeding winter was also a severe one. The price of rice shot up enormously. Gold lost its value in comparison with paddy. ‘A hungry man,’ records the Chronicler, ‘distressed with the thought of what he should eat entered a house at night, and discarding gold and other riches, stole rice from a pot. Feeble, emaciated men in the villages longed to obtain rice. A large number of people died. Famine-stricken people ate leaves, roots and even twigs of trees. Formerly one *khari* of paddy could be had for three hundred *dinaras* but owing to the famine the same *khari* of paddy could not be obtained even for 1500.’

Famine Relief

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‘The king exerted every nerve to alleviate the sufferings of the people. He gave out paddy from government stores free to the hungry people. Fortunately the following year’s crop was a bumper one which relieved the distress of the people. It goes to the credit of Zain-ul-abidin that after normal conditions were restored the black marketeers and hoarders, who had swindled the people by selling foodstuffs at abnormal rates, were brought to book and made to return the excess of the prices charged by them. He also, by a royal decree, cancelled all the debts incurred by needy people in their hour of distress when unscrupulous money-lenders and baniyas had taken undue advantage of the sufferings of the people.⁴

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⁴ Bamzai, P.N.K. *A History of Kashmir*, pp. 303-307

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Out of all the Sultans of India, Zain-ul-abidin stands out as a man liberal in spirit, creative and innovative, whose work has left an impress on the art, culture and agriculture of the Kashmir Valley.

Yusuf Shah Chak (A.D. 1529-1586)

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The last Sultan of Kashmir was Yusuf Shah Chak. He was fond of music and married a peasant girl by the name of Zooni, also known as Habba Khatun, who was a poetess and a singer. Yusuf Shah was a lover of nature and he discovered the natural beauty of Gulmarg and Sonamarg, which became holiday resorts. The Mughal army of Akbar occupied Kashmir in A.D. 1586, and thus ended the Sultanate.

References

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Bamzai, P. N. K. *A History of Kashmir*, Delhi, 1962 Elliot, Sir H. M. and Dowson, J. *The History of India as Told by Its Own Historians*, Vol. VI (Indian reprint), Allahabad, 1964 Meadows Taylor, *Manual of Indian History*, London, 1895 Sastri, K. A. N. and Srinivasachari, G. *Advanced History of India*, New Delhi, 1970 Smith, V. A. *The Oxford History of India*, Delhi, 1976

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