THE DECCAN COSMOPOLIS: WHEN THE SOUTH WROTE THE MUGHAL WORLD BACK

Muslim kingdoms in the Deccan relied heavily on local Brabmins: Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur appointed Brahmins to run the revenue system, and in Golconda Telugu-speaking Niyogi Brahmins became ministers.

- TDG NETWORK

For much of Indian history, the Deccan plateau - the great landmass of peninsular India - was treated as a far-flung frontier, a footnote to the grand narratives of North India’s empires. But imagination skips at our peril.

In reality, the sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda (Hyderabad) were cultural powerhouses whose impact reverberated far beyond the South. Their courts were vibrant cosmopolitan hubs, drawing Persian nobles, Hindu Brahmins, Abyssinian slaves, and local Muslim elites into a shared space. In an era of Mughal dominance up north, these Deccan rulers were writing back, shaping pan-Indian art, architecture and literature on their own terms.

From the early 16th century until the late 1600s, Bijapur and Golconda stood as independent sultanates, carved out of the former Bahmani kingdom. Seven Qutb Shahi sultans reigned from Golconda (1518-1687) and Adil Shahis ruled from Bijapur (1489-1686), resisting Mughal conquests longer than any other regional power. Golconda’s kings built the fortified hill city and royal necropolis of Hyderabad, while Bijapur’s sovereigns left behind dazzling monuments like the Gol Gumbaz. These capitals were not backwaters but magnets for talent and trade. As one observer noted, the Deccan “was once a cultural and economic melting pot,” with Persian officials rubbing elbows with Maratha cavalry, Telugu warriors (nayakwaris), and even African Habshi generals like the legendary Malik Ambar. Chand Bibi, the warrior princess of Ahmednagar (a neighbour), and Malik Ambar himself are now finally celebrated in popular histories - testimony to how previously these remarkable figures had been sidelined.

SULTANATES OF GOLCONDA AND BIJAPUR