Deccan sultanates

The Deccan Sultanates were five late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. The sultanates had become independent during the break-up of the Bahmani Sultanate. The five sultanates owed their existence to the declaration of independence of Ahmadnagar in 1490, followed by Bijapur and Berar in the same year. Golconda became independent in 1518, and Bidar in 1528.

Although the five sultanates were all ruled by Muslims, their founders were of diverse, and often originally non-Muslim origins: the Ahmadnagar Sultanate was founded by a Deccani Muslim of Brahmin origins; the Berar Sultanate by a Kannadiga Hindu Brahmin slave brought up as a Deccani Muslim; the Bidar Sultanate was founded by a Georgian slave; the Bijapur Sultanate was founded by a Georgian slave purchased by Mahmud Gawan; and the Golconda Sultanate was of Iranian Turkmen origin.

All the Deccan Sultanates based their legitimacy as the successor states of the Bahmanid dynasty, and continued to use Bahmanid coins rather than issue their own coins. Although generally rivals, the sultanates did ally with each other against the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, permanently weakening Vijayanagara in the Battle of Talikota. Notably, the alliance destroyed the entire city of Vijayanagara, with important temples, such as the Vitthala Temple, being razed to the ground.

In 1574, after a coup in Berar, Ahmadnagar invaded and conquered it. In 1619, Bidar was annexed by Bijapur. The sultanates were later conquered by the Mughal Empire: Berar was stripped from Ahmadnagar in 1596; Ahmadnagar was completely taken between 1616 and 1636; and Golconda and Bijapur were conquered by Aurangzeb's 1686–87 campaign.