The Bahmani Kingdom in Deccan

Compiled By: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On April 16, 1378 AD, Mujahid Shah, the 3rd ruler of the Bahmani Sultanate of the Deccan (southern India) was assassinated at the age of 22 in his capital Gulbarga after a rule of only three years, by his jealous uncle, Daud Shah, who a month later was killed on the orders of his niece Rouh Parwar Agha (sister of the deceased king) and replaced by her younger brother, Mohammad Shah II, who reigned for 19 years. The court language of the Bahmanis, who traced their origin to the pre-Islamic Iranian hero Bahman, was Persian, and they promoted Iranian culture and fusion of Iranian-Deccani art and architecture.
On April 20, 1397 AD, Mahmud I, the 5th king of the Bahmani kingdom of Iranian origin of the Deccan (southern India) died in his capital Gulbarga after a reign of 19 years. His son Ghiyas od-Din succeeded him, but was blinded and imprisoned by the Turkish slave Lalchin Khan, who placed the younger brother, Shams od-Din on the throne. Five months later, Lalchin and his puppet were deposed by Mahmoud Shah’s cousin Taj od-Din Firouz Shah, the greatest ruler of the dynasty who reigned for 25 years.
The Bahmanis patronized and promoted Persian language and poetry, as well as Iranian art, culture, and architecture in the Deccan by inviting from Iran thousands of qualified persons in various fields. The famous Iranian poet Hafez Shirazi was also invited, but changed his mind midway through the journey, sending an excellent piece of poetry to the Bahmani court.
The famous Gnostic of Kerman, Shah Ne’matollah Wali, was also requested to come to the Deccan, and instead sent his grandson and later son, who preached the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt in the Bahmani kingdom.