Yusuf Adil Shah
Emir
Painting created c. 1680 in Bijapur. Yusuf Adil Shah, shown seated, is being handed the key of legitimacy by Shah Ismail I of Safavid Iran, symbolizing the unwavering allegiance of the Adil Shahi family to the Shia creed of Islam. All nine Adil Shahi sultans are depicted in the painting in a dynastic assembly probably inspired by Mughal paintings.
1st Sultan of Bijapur
Reign1490–1510[1]
PredecessorPosition established
SuccessorIsmail Adil Shah
Died1510
Gogi, Shahpur, Karnataka
Burial1510
SpouseBubuji Khanum
IssueIsmail Adil Shah
Mariam Sultan
Khadija Sultan
Bibi Sati
Names
Abul Muzaffar Yusuf Adil Shah Safavi
DynastyAdil Shahi dynasty
ReligionShia Islam

Yusuf Adil Shah (1450–1510[1]), referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries.[2] As the founder of the newly formed Bijapur dynasty (as the Adil Shahi dynasty is also known), Yusuf Adil Shah is credited with developing the town of Bijapur and elevating it to significant status.

Legend of origin

The founder of the dynasty, Yusuf Adil Shah, may have been a Georgian slave[3][4] who was purchased by Mahmud Gawan from Iran. Other historians mentioned him of Persian[5] or Turkmen[6][7] origin.

It was rumoured that Yusuf was a son of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II.[8][9] Another theory states he was a Turkman of the Aq-Quyunlu.[10]

Career

Yusuf's bravery and personality raised him rapidly in the Bahmani sultan's favor, and resulted in his being appointed Governor of Bijapur.

In 1489, Yusuf took advantage of the decline of the Bahmani power to establish himself as an independent sultan at Bijapur. He waged war against the Vijayanagar empire, as also against Bijapur's Muslim neighbours.

Adil Shah is personally responsible for building the imposing Citadel or Arkilla[11] and the palace named Faroukh Mahal. Yusuf was a man of culture and invited poets and artisans from Persia, Turkey and Rome to his court. He was also an accomplished musician and scholar with deep religious tolerance that was reflected in art and architecture from this time.

Adil Shah died in 1509 in an expedition against the Vijayanagara empire to the south. The practice was initiated by Sultan Mahmood Shah Bahmani II in 1501, in which all the Bahmani chieftains participated. However, in 1509, Krishnadevaraya ascended the throne of Vijayanagara. He countered the Bahmani expedition at a location called Dewani (unidentified) and decisively defeated it. The Sultan was thrown off the horse and had to be carried away from the battlefield. Raya then pursued the retreating army of Bijapur. Adil Shah turned around to give him battle at Koilkonda, in which he was killed.[12][13][14]

His death occurred shortly after the loss of Goa to the Portuguese governor Afonso de Albuquerque in 1510. He was succeeded by his son Ismail Adil Shah, who being a minor, was aided in his rule by a certain Kamal Khan.[15]

Yusuf left behind a strong if small state, one which persisted through two relatively chaotic centuries in a region rife with political ferment. The Bijapur sultanate he founded was a formidable force for close to two centuries until it succumbed to Maratha power and finally resolved by Aurangzeb in 1686 in an ineffective bid to check Maratha power.[9]

Family

Yusuf Adil Shah married Poonji (Punji), the sister of a Maratha lord Mukundrao Kadamba, later renamed Bubuji Khanum.[9] By this marriage he had a son and three daughters:[16][17][18]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Farooqui, A Comprehensive History of Medieval India 2011, p. 174.
  2. ^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. p. 119. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
  3. ^ Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam (2002). History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. p. 101.
  4. ^ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2012). Courtly Encounters: Translating Courtliness and Violence in Early Modern Eurasia. p. 101.
  5. ^ Meri, Josef W. (January 2006). Medieval Islamic Civilization, Volume 1 An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-415-96691-7. In 1481, Yusuf 'Adil Khan, a Persian slave who claimed to descend from the Ottoman sultan Murad III, became the governor of Bijapur.
  6. ^ Vernon O. Egger (2016). A History of the Muslim World since 1260: The Making of a Global Community. ISBN 9781315511078.
  7. ^ Clifford Edmund Bosworth (2007). Historic Cities of the Islamic World. p. 55. ISBN 978-9004153882.
  8. ^ Nikki R. Keddie,Rudi Matthee (2011). Iran and the Surrounding World: Interactions in Culture and Cultural Politics. University of Washington Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780295800240.
  9. ^ a b c Farooqui, A Comprehensive History of Medieval India 2011, p. 174
  10. ^ Bolar, Varija R (2012). "Turks in Karnataka" (PDF). International Journal of Social Studies 4 (1): 423.
  11. ^ Ahammad, Mustak (2013). Military Architecture under the Adilshahis of Bijapur. p. 2.
  12. ^ Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India 1958, pp. 268–269.
  13. ^ Eaton, Richard M. (2005), A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives, Cambridge University Press, p. 88, ISBN 978-0-521-25484-7: "The string began in 1509, when at Koilkonda, sixty miles southwest of Hyderabad, Krishna Raya defeated the last remnant of Bahmani power, Sultan Mahmud, along with Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur, who was killed in the engagement."
  14. ^ Sarma, P. Sree Rama (1992), A History of Vijayanagar Empire, Prabhakar Publications, p. 79: "The Bahmani army headed by Mahmood Shah II marched out off Bidar. It was accompanied by Malik Ahmed Bahri, Nuri Khan, Khwaja-i-jahan, the Adil Khan, Qutb-ul-Mulk, Dastur-i-Mamalik, Mirza Latf-ul-tab and others. The progress of Bahmani troops was checked by Vijayanagara troops at Diwani, which place tremains unidentified."
  15. ^ Farooqui, A Comprehensive History of Medieval India 2011, p. 175.
  16. ^ Hari Narain Verma, Amrit Verma, Indian Women Through the Ages (1976), p. 29
  17. ^ Abraham Eraly, Emperors of the Peacock Throne: The Saga of the Great Moghuls (2007), chp. 11
  18. ^ K.K Basu, Career of Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur, Indian Culture, Vol. III, Issue I (1937), p. 117

Bibliography

Further reading

Preceded byFounder of the Dynasty Adil Shahi Rulers of Bijapur 1489–1511 Succeeded byIsmail Adil Shah
Categories