Mahmood Shah or Shihab-Ud-Din Mahmud was the sultan of the

Bahmani Sultanate The Bahmani Kingdom or the Bahmani Sultanate was a late medieval Persianate kingdom that ruled the Deccan plateau in India. The first independent Muslim sultanate of the Deccan, the Bahmani Kingdom came to power in 1347 during the rebellio ...

from 1482 until his death in 1518. His long rule is noted for the disintegration of the sultanate and the creation of the independent

Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...

Reign

Mahmood was born about 1470 the son of Muhammad Shah Lashkari. He ascended the throne at age 12 on 26 March 1482 (Safar 5, 887 AH). The new Regency was formed with the Queen as president and Malik Na'ib, one of the conspirators behind the death of

Mahmud Gawan Mahmud Gawan (1411 – 5 April 1481) was a Persian statesman who served as the chief minister, or Peshwa of the Bahmani Sultanate in the Deccan plateau in India from 1458 and ''de facto'' ruler as prime minister from 1466 until his death in 1481. ...

, as regent. His early reign was characterised by the conflict between the rising power of newcomers, epitomised by

Yusuf Adil Shah Yusuf Adil Shah (1450 – 5 December 1510), referred as Yusuf 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. As the founder of the Adil Shahi dyna ...

, and the traditional

Deccan The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...

i nobles, led by Malik Na'ib. After a failed attempt to assassinate Yusuf Adil Shah, the sultan retired to

Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...

and left the running of the country in the hands of a viceroy or ''Malik Na'ib'', Nizam-ul-Mulk Malik Hasan Bahri, and his fellow Deccani. The Malik Na'ib himself was assassinated in 1486. An attempt to assassinate the sultan by Deccani in 1487 led to the slaughter of many Deccani and the strengthening of the newcomers' position. The Sultan's obviously weak position led to increasing unrest amongst the nobles, particularly the powerful regional governors, some of whom, like

Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk (, ruled 1490–1504) was the founder of the Imad Shahi Dynasty and the Berar Sultanate. Originally a Hindu captive from Vijayanagara empire, Vijayanagara, Fathullah was brought up as a Deccani people, Deccani Muslim and r ...

quietly assumed the titles of royalty. Others led in open rebellion. Qasim Barid I led one of the first revolt from

Bidar Bidar ( ) is a city and headquarters of the Bidar district in Karnataka state of India. Bidar is a prominent place on the archaeological map of India, it is well known for architectural, historical religious and rich heritage sites. Pictures ...

and successfully defeated the army sent by the sultan to rein him in. Qasim Barid was raised to ''Barid-ul-mumalik'' and made prime minister and de facto ruler, while the sultan lived a life of indulgence. The King's expenditure was so high that he had jewels extracted from the

Turquoise throne The Turquoise Throne or Takht-i-Firoza (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ''Takht-e-fīrozā'', Telugu language, Telugu: ') was a famous jewel-studded royal throne of the Bahmani Sultanate, Bahmani Sultans of Deccan in India. It was a gift by Musunu ...

and used for payment. On 28 May 1490,

Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah I Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah () was the founder of the Nizam Shahi dynasty and the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Ahmad was the son of the Nizam ul-Mulk Malik Hasan Bahri, a Hindu Brahmin from Beejanuggar (or Bijanagar) originally named Timapa who converted ...

revolted and defeated the Bahmani army led by general Jahangir Khan. He built a palace, making it the center of the newly created

Ahmednagar Sultanate The Ahmadnagar Sultanate was a medieval Marathi Muslim kingdom located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur, ruled by the Nizam Shahi dynasty. It was established when Malik Ahmed, the Bahmani governor o ...

. Yusuf Adil Shah followed suit creating the

Adil Shahi dynasty The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a ''taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 1490 ...

centered at

, with Fathullah Imad-ul-Mulk creating the Berar Sultanate within the year. Qasim Barid founded the

Bidar Sultanate The Sultanate of Bidar was an early modern Indian polity that ruled a territory in the central Deccan Plateau, Deccan centred at Bidar. As one of the five Deccan sultanates, the sultanate's initial territory corresponded to that of one of the ...

centered at

in 1492 while

Golconda Sultanate The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established i ...

became independent under

Quli Qutb Shah Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, more often though less correctly referred to in English as Quli Qutb Shah (1485 – 2 September 1543), was the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, which ruled the Sultanate of Golconda in southern India from 1518 t ...

in 1518 whose capital was at

Golconda Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...

in modern

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...

marched towards

in pursuit of

Barid The ''barīd'' (, often translated as "the postal service") was the state-run courier service of the Umayyad and later Abbasid Caliphates. A major institution in the early Islamic states, the ''barid'' was not only responsible for the overland deliv ...

. Upon engaging in battle, he emerged victorious and captured the fort. As a testament to his diplomatic and strategic acumen,

restored Sultan Mahmud Shah to power in

, symbolizing his commitment to fostering discord among his Muslim neighbors. In recognition of this significant act, Krishnadevaraya adopted the title of 'Yavana-rajya-sthapana-charya.' On Qasim Barid's death in 1504, the title of prime minister was passed to his son Amir Barid. The Sultan died on 27 December 1518 (Zil-hij 24, 924 AH) and was succeeded by his son Ahmed.

Sources

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References

{{Bahmani Sultanate Sultans 1518 deaths Indian Muslims Bahmani sultans