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Sultanate of Golconda
The Sultanate of Golconda (Persian: سلطاننشین گلکنده; Urdu: سلطنت گولکنڈه) 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 in 1518 by Quli Qutb Shah, as one of the five Deccan sultanates.
The kingdom covered parts of the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana. The Golconda sultanate was constantly in conflict with the Adil Shahis and Nizam Shahis, which it shared borders with in the seventeenth century to the west and northwest. In 1636, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan forced the Qutb Shahis to recognise Mughal suzerainty and pay periodic tributes. The dynasty came to an end in 1687 during the reign of its seventh sultan Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb arrested and jailed Abul Hasan for the rest of his life in Daulatabad, incorporating Golconda into the Mughal empire.
The Qutb Shahis were patrons of Persianate Shia culture. The official and court language of the Golconda sultanate during the first 90 years of its existence (c. 1518 – 1600) was also Persian. In the early 17th century, however, the Telugu language was elevated to the status of the Persian language, while towards the end of the Qutb Shahis' rule, it was the primary court language with Persian used occasionally in official documents. According to Indologist Richard Eaton, as Qutb Shahis adopted Telugu, they started seeing their polity as the Telugu-speaking state, with the elites of the sultanate viewing their rulers as "Telugu Sultans".
The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Khawas Khan Hamdani was born in Hamadan, Iran. He belonged to the Qara Qoyunlu, a Turkmen Muslim tribe and was thus a descendant of Qara Yusuf. In the 16th century, he migrated to Delhi with his uncle, Allah-Quli, some of his relatives and friends. Later he migrated south, to the Deccan and served the Bahmani sultan, Mahmood Shah Bahmani II, who was of Deccani Muslim ethnicity. He declared the independence of Golconda after the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate into the five Deccan sultanates. He took the title Qutb Shah, and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. He was assassinated in 1543 by his son, Jamsheed, who assumed control of the sultanate. Jamsheed died in 1550 from cancer. Jamsheed's young son Subhan Quli Qutb Shah reigned for a year, at which time the nobility brought back and installed Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah as sultan.
Golconda, and with the construction of the Char Minar, later Hyderabad, served as capitals of the sultanate, and both cities were embellished by the Qutb Shahi sultans. The dynasty ruled Golconda for 171 years, until Aurangzeb, in his campaigns in the Deccan, conquered the Sultanate of Golconda in 1687 with the completion of his siege of Golconda. The sultante's last ruler, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, was imprisoned in Daulatabad Fort, and the territory of the Golconda Sultanate was made into a Mughal imperial province, Hyderabad Subah.
The Golconda Sultanate was notoriously wealthy. While its primary source of revenue was a land tax, the sultanate greatly profited from its monopoly on diamond production from mines in the southern districts of the kingdom. The sultanate also had control over the Krishna and Godavari deltas, giving it access to craft production in the villages of the area, where goods like textiles were produced. The town of Masulipatnam served as the Golconda Sultanate's primary seaport for the export of diamonds and textiles. The kingdom reached the peak of its financial prosperity in the 1620s and 1630s.
The Golconda Sultanate was known for its diamonds which were dubbed the Golconda diamonds. These diamonds were sought after diamonds long before the Qutb Shahi dynasty came to power, and they continued to supply this demand through European traders. Diamonds from mines (especially the Kollur Mine presently in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh) were transported to the city of Hyderabad to be cut, polished, evaluated and sold. Golconda established itself as a diamond trading centre and until the end of the 19th century, the Golconda market was the primary source of the finest and largest diamonds in the world.
During the early seventeenth century, a strong cotton-weaving industry existed in the Deccan region. Large quantities of cotton cloth were produced for domestic and export consumption. High-quality plain and patterned cloth made of muslin and calico was produced. Plain cloth was available in white or brown colour, in bleached or dyed variety. This cloth was exported to Persia and European countries. The patterned cloth was made of prints which were made indigenously with indigo for blue, chay-root for red coloured prints and vegetable yellow. Patterned cloth exports were mainly to Java, Sumatra and other eastern countries. Golconda had a strong trading relationship with Ayutthaya Siam.
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Sultanate of Golconda
The Sultanate of Golconda (Persian: سلطاننشین گلکنده; Urdu: سلطنت گولکنڈه) 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 in 1518 by Quli Qutb Shah, as one of the five Deccan sultanates.
The kingdom covered parts of the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana. The Golconda sultanate was constantly in conflict with the Adil Shahis and Nizam Shahis, which it shared borders with in the seventeenth century to the west and northwest. In 1636, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan forced the Qutb Shahis to recognise Mughal suzerainty and pay periodic tributes. The dynasty came to an end in 1687 during the reign of its seventh sultan Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb arrested and jailed Abul Hasan for the rest of his life in Daulatabad, incorporating Golconda into the Mughal empire.
The Qutb Shahis were patrons of Persianate Shia culture. The official and court language of the Golconda sultanate during the first 90 years of its existence (c. 1518 – 1600) was also Persian. In the early 17th century, however, the Telugu language was elevated to the status of the Persian language, while towards the end of the Qutb Shahis' rule, it was the primary court language with Persian used occasionally in official documents. According to Indologist Richard Eaton, as Qutb Shahis adopted Telugu, they started seeing their polity as the Telugu-speaking state, with the elites of the sultanate viewing their rulers as "Telugu Sultans".
The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Khawas Khan Hamdani was born in Hamadan, Iran. He belonged to the Qara Qoyunlu, a Turkmen Muslim tribe and was thus a descendant of Qara Yusuf. In the 16th century, he migrated to Delhi with his uncle, Allah-Quli, some of his relatives and friends. Later he migrated south, to the Deccan and served the Bahmani sultan, Mahmood Shah Bahmani II, who was of Deccani Muslim ethnicity. He declared the independence of Golconda after the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate into the five Deccan sultanates. He took the title Qutb Shah, and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. He was assassinated in 1543 by his son, Jamsheed, who assumed control of the sultanate. Jamsheed died in 1550 from cancer. Jamsheed's young son Subhan Quli Qutb Shah reigned for a year, at which time the nobility brought back and installed Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah as sultan.
Golconda, and with the construction of the Char Minar, later Hyderabad, served as capitals of the sultanate, and both cities were embellished by the Qutb Shahi sultans. The dynasty ruled Golconda for 171 years, until Aurangzeb, in his campaigns in the Deccan, conquered the Sultanate of Golconda in 1687 with the completion of his siege of Golconda. The sultante's last ruler, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, was imprisoned in Daulatabad Fort, and the territory of the Golconda Sultanate was made into a Mughal imperial province, Hyderabad Subah.
The Golconda Sultanate was notoriously wealthy. While its primary source of revenue was a land tax, the sultanate greatly profited from its monopoly on diamond production from mines in the southern districts of the kingdom. The sultanate also had control over the Krishna and Godavari deltas, giving it access to craft production in the villages of the area, where goods like textiles were produced. The town of Masulipatnam served as the Golconda Sultanate's primary seaport for the export of diamonds and textiles. The kingdom reached the peak of its financial prosperity in the 1620s and 1630s.
The Golconda Sultanate was known for its diamonds which were dubbed the Golconda diamonds. These diamonds were sought after diamonds long before the Qutb Shahi dynasty came to power, and they continued to supply this demand through European traders. Diamonds from mines (especially the Kollur Mine presently in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh) were transported to the city of Hyderabad to be cut, polished, evaluated and sold. Golconda established itself as a diamond trading centre and until the end of the 19th century, the Golconda market was the primary source of the finest and largest diamonds in the world.
During the early seventeenth century, a strong cotton-weaving industry existed in the Deccan region. Large quantities of cotton cloth were produced for domestic and export consumption. High-quality plain and patterned cloth made of muslin and calico was produced. Plain cloth was available in white or brown colour, in bleached or dyed variety. This cloth was exported to Persia and European countries. The patterned cloth was made of prints which were made indigenously with indigo for blue, chay-root for red coloured prints and vegetable yellow. Patterned cloth exports were mainly to Java, Sumatra and other eastern countries. Golconda had a strong trading relationship with Ayutthaya Siam.