Qutb Shahi dynasty

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Golconda Sultanate Qutb Shahi dynasty سلطنت قطب شاهی కుతుబ్ షాహి రాజవంశము
←  ←  1518–1687  →
Flag of the Qutb Shahis
Extent of Golconda Sultanate
Capital		Golconda / Hyderabad
Languages		Persian (official)[1] Telugu[2] Dakhni Urdu
Religion		Islam
Government		Monarchy
History
-	Established	1518
-	Disestablished	1687
Currency		Mohur

The Qutb Shahi dynasty was a Twelver Shi'i Muslim^[3] Turkoman^[4] dynasty, purportedly related to the Kara Koyunlu dynasty of Turkmenistan that initially patronized Persianate^[5] culture. Its members were collectively called the Qutub Shahis and were the ruling family of the kingdom of Golkonda in modern-day India. The Golconda sultanate was constantly in conflict with the Adil Shahis and Nizam Shahis.^[6] In 1636, Shah Jahan forced the Qutb Shahis to recognize Mughal suzerainty,^[6] which lasted until 1687 when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Golcondan sultanate.

Contents

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• 1 History
• 2 Culture
• 3 Religion
• 4 Rulers
• 5 Tombs
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 External links

History

Golkonda Painting - Finch, Poppies, Dragonfly, and Bee India (Deccan, Golconda), 1650-1670 Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Overall

Tomb of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah in Hyderabad.

The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, migrated to Delhi with his uncle, Allah-Quli, some of his relatives and friends in the beginning of the 16th century. Later he migrated south, to the Deccanand served the Bahmani sultan, Mohammad Shah.^[7] He conquered Golconda, after the disintegration of the Bahmani Kingdom into the five Deccan sultanates.^[7] Soon after, he declared independence from the Bahmani Sultanate, took the title Qutub Shah, and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. He was later assassinated in 1543 by his son, Jamsheed, who assumed the sultanate.^[7] He later died in 1550 from cancer.^[8] Jamsheed's young son reigned for a year, at which time the nobility brought back and installed Ibrahim Quli as sultan.^[8] During the reign ofMuhammad Quli Qutb Shah, relations between Hindus and Muslims were strengthened, even to the point of Hindus resuming their religious festivals like Diwali and Holi.^[9] Some Hindus rose to prominence in the Qutb Shahi state, the most important example being the ministers Madanna and Akkanna.

Golconda, and with the construction of the Char Minar, later Hyderabad served as capitals of the sultanate,^[7] and both cities were embellished by the Qutb Shahi sultans. The dynasty ruled Golconda for 171 years, until the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Deccan in 1687.^[10]

Culture

The Qutub Shahi rulers were great builders, whose structures included the Char Minar,^[11] as well aspatrons of learning. Quli Qutb Mulk's court became a haven for Persian culture and literature.^[6] SultanMuhammad Quli Qutb Shah(1580–1612) wrote poems in Dakhini Urdu, Persian and Telugu and left a huge poetry collection.^[11] Subsequent poets and writers, however wrote in Urdu, while using vocabulary from Persian, Hindi and Telugu languages.^[11] By 1535, the Qutub Shahis were using Telugu for their revenue and judicial areas within the sultanate.^[12]

Initially, the Qutub Shahi rulers patronized Persianate culture, but eventually adopted the regional culture of theDeccan, symbolized by the Telugu language and the newly developed Deccani idiom of Urdu became prominent. Although Telugu was not their mother tongue, the Golconda rulers spoke and wrote Telugu,^[11] and patronized Telugu so exclusively they were termed the "Telugu Sultans".^[13] In 1543, fearing for his life, Prince Ibrahim Quli fled to the Vijayanagaran court, which lavishly patronized the Telugu language. Upon his enthronement as sultan in 1550, Ibrahim Quli was thoroughly acquainted with Telugu aesthetics.^[13]

The Qutb Shahi architecture was Indo-Persian, a culmination of Hindu, Moorish, Mughal and Persian architectural styles.^[14] Some examples of Golcondan Indo-Persian architecture are the Golconda Fort, tombs of the Qutb Shahis,Char Minar and the Char Kaman, Mecca Masjid and the Toli mosque.^[14]

Religion

The Qutub Shahis patronized Shia Islam and at Friday sermons had the names of the Twelve Imams and the Safavids read aloud,^[15] however, this ended in 1636 when the Shah Jahan gained suzerainty over the Golcondan sultanate.^[15] Although they were Shias, Sunni Islam and Hinduism were also tolerated.^[15] As such, the culture of the Qutb Shahi dynasty has been considered a "composite" of Hindu-Moslem religio-social culture.^[16]

Rulers

The eight sultans in the dynasty were:

1. Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk (1518–1543)
2. Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah (1543–1550)
3. Subhan Quli Qutb Shah (1550)
4. Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah (1550–1580)
5. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1612)
6. Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah (1612–1626)
7. Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626–1672)
8. Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (1672–1689)

Tombs

Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.

The tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie about one kilometer north of Golkonda's outer wall. These structures are made of beautifully carved stonework, and surrounded by landscaped gardens. They are open to the public and receive many visitors.