Serish Nanisetty is the City Editor of The Hindu. A Post Graduate in English Literature from Nagpur University, he has worked with the Pioneer, ToI, New Indian Express, Deccan Chronicle and has written extensively about Hyderabad and Telangana.
Serish starts by giving some background about how in 1971, archaeologists discovered a treasure in the form of a distillery, Syrian wine jars, bangles, ivory, chess pieces, fragments of jewellery all dated to the times of Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (1518-1687) at Golconda. Sultan Quli transformed the fortunes of Golconda, a sleepy outpost of the Bahmani kingdom, into a mart for diamonds first and 80 years after, Hyderabad into a mart for deluxe goods dealing with faraway countries such as Europe, Persia and the Spice Islands to the East. Serish takes us through their journey in a well written captivating manner, adding details which I have not found in other books and making the entire story come alive very visually.
He starts the book dramatically with the murder of Sultan Quli in a hammam (with 12 stone petals being a tribute to the Twelver sect of Shiaism) one can see in the Qutb Sahi tombs area, assassinated by a man hired by his son Jamsheed. But perhaps we can go more chronologically and address the story of Sultan Quli first.
Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk (Born in 1470, ruled 1512-1543)
Belonging to a tribe known as the Black Sheep tribe from the Hamadan area of Persia (opposed by the White Sheep tribe), Quli's witnessed his tribe being brutally destroyed by their opponents. Quli and his family escaped the massacre thanks to an elder being a spiritual man. Quli travelled with his uncle Allah Quli on a ship to India with fine Arabian horses with a dream of unfurling the banner of Shiaism in India. Quli was all of ten years when he landed on the Gujarat coast and wound his way to Bidar which was then the centre of activity of the Bahmani kingdom. Bidar was bustling with riches, libraries, wise men and trading activity after the Bahmani kings moved their capital from Gulbarga to Bidar in 1484. Sultan Quli gifted his fine horses to the King and earned his trust. When the able Prime Minister of Bidar, Mohammad Gawan was killed due to an unfortunate error by the king, Quli was asked to handle tax collections and streamline affairs in the western region of the kingdom which he achieved successfully by adopting a zero crime policy and inflicting immediate and heavy penalties on criminals in ways that no criminal thought of committing crimes.
Meanwhile, back in Bidar the Deccanies (Sunnis) rebelled and held the King hostage in the Bidar fort. When all seemed lost with the King trapped in the main burj, a few Persians fought off the rebels and in a miraculous manner, saved the King. Quli was among the fighters. Recognising Quli's abilities the Bidar Sultan asked him to be tarafdar (turf keeper) of Golconda after the existing tarafdar of Golconda fell in battle. Quli came to Golconda, which was neglected by both the Bahmanis and the Kakatiyas, and at the mud fort found a cave temple where some locals prayed every monsoon (they still pray at the Jagdamba temple every Bonalu). Golconda was then a thin unwanted strip between the Bahamani kingdom and the Kakatiya capital at Warangal.
In Bijapur, Yusuf Adil of the Adil Shahi dynasty ordered that a Shia prayer be held at Jama Masjid in Bijapur and thus started a change in tradition from Sunni practices to Shia practices. Around this time Quli constructed the first masjid in Golconda called the Safa masjid for group prayer. On the battlefront Quli locked horns with Yusuf Adil at Koilkonda and lost and then to Shitab Khan of Warangal, ending up holding very little land on his turf.
Quli started transforming and strengthening Golconda fort. One of the first things he did was to arrange a system of aqueducts and pipes from Durgam Cheruvu (then Durg ka Talab) which was at a higher sea level than the fort, so water flowed through gravity through two channels to the fort, one of them underground. This ensured that there was water and food supply within the fort to hold for long periods. Then he built formal resting places, palaces, masjids, temples.
Having sufficiently strengthened Golconda fort against invasion, Quli, the warrior began expanding his kingdom by attacking Shitab Khan at Warangal and taking control over Warangal, then Khammam and then went eastward and conquered the Gajapati king's land, gaining control over all the forts upto the east coast including the critical Machilipatnam fort. This gave him access to the diamond mines at Kollur and the port gave access to the markets of the world.
Quli never rested on his laurels and right up to his old age was always improvising, planning and strategising how to strengthen his kingdom - buying Portuguese guns, developing new war strategies. Quli rebuffed Adil Shah when the Bahmani king attacked Golconda and laid siege at Koilkonda which lasted until the death of Ismael Adil Shah in 1534. By now he had conquered Nalgonda fort as well.
In his Safa masjid was where Sultan Quli was attacked and murdered by a murderer hired by his son Jamsheed, stabbed to death. Sultan Quli's tomb is in the magnificent Qutb Shahi necropolis near Golconda.
Jamsheed Qutb Shah (ruled 1543-1550)
Sultan Quli had six sons one of whom was Jamsheed who played his cards up front. He had his father killed in the Safa mosque and made it appear like a murder for gain by his planted assassin, blinded one of his brothers, imprisoned another at Bhongir. Before he could harm his youngest brother Ibrahim who was at the Devarakonda fort, 13 year old Ibrahim was spirited away to Vijayanagara empire where he took refuge from Ramaraya the king, and son-in-law of Sri Krishna Devaraya. Interestingly Ramaraya had been a subordinate to Sultan Quli, managing his Rachakonda fort until he messed up and was removed from the job. Ramaraya went to Krishna Devaraya who was the king of Vijayanagara and became his son-in-law and later the king.
Jamsheed was constantly pitting one Muslim ruler against the other and led an uneasy life as the Sultan. He died of cancer, a rather painful death.
Jamsheed's tomb is a two storeyed structure, not far from his father's, lying to one end of the necropolis.
Subhan Qutb Shah (1550-1550)
Subhan was Jamsheed's infant son who was put on the throne for a short period. Jamsheed's trusted regents Mustafa Khan and Salabat Khan propped Subhan Quli on the throne and put a naikdar who supported Ibrahim's candidature for the King's job, Jagadeva Rao, in prison. When Ibrahim started his march to regain control of Golconda from Vijayanagara, Ain-ul-Mulk, the commander of the Qutb Shahi forces stepped out of Golconda to counter him. The moment the Commander stepped out, Jagadeva Rao was released from prison by his aides and he proclaimed Ibrahim the king and assassinated young Subhan. It is said that Subhan's tomb was built after his death (unlike other rulers who built their tombs during their lifetime). It lies close to his grandfather's and is perhaps the smallest tomb of all the Qutb Shahi kings.
Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah (Ruled 1550-1580)
Jamsheed, despite crowning himself king, had to put up with a spirited counter attack by Ibrahim all of 13, who teamed up with the Barid Shah of Bidar and laid siege to Golconda for 3 weeks. It was only when the Nizam Shah king from Ahmed Nagar sent support to Jamsheed that Ibrahim had to retreat, too refuge in Vijayanagara where he stayed for 7 years in an estate provided to him by Ramaraya. He married a Telugu lady named Bhagirathi, learned Telugu and waited. When Jagadeva Rao proclaimed him as King, Jamsheed's aide Mustafa Khan switched sides. Commander Ain Ul Mulk fled to Ahmed Nagar and Sultan Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah took over the reigns of Golconda which lasted 30 years.
Much like his father, Ibrahim cracked the whip against crime, transformed the fortress, extended the Naya Qila part, invested in gunpowder and mine warfare, constructed the Makki darwaza, the Hussain Sagar lake (built by his son-in-law Hussain Shah Wali who married his daughter Khairatunnisa), the Ibrahimpatnam lake called Ibrahim Cheruvu, envisioned Ibrahim bagh gardens, built the Purana Pul bridge. Much of what he constructed and envisioned - irrigation systems, garden cities, stepwells, funerary gardens - remain till date. A diplomat and a warrior, given to local customs, he was called by some Telugu poets as Mallikabhirama.
Ibrahim was part of the coalition of the five Sultans - Adil Shahs of Bijapur, Barid Shahs of Bidar, Nizam Shahs of Ahmed Nagar and Imad Shahs Berar. The combined armies assembled across the Krishna river to face off with the superior Vijayanagara army. It was no Hindu-Muslim battle as it may appear because the Vijayanagara King frequently teamed up with some of the Sultans against the others. On this occasion however, he somehow managed to unite all the Sultans against him. So confident was the 81 year old Ramaraya that he gave orders to kill Adil Shah on sight and Ibrahim (his one time guest) and others to be imprisoned. The much touted battle which was supposedly in favour of the Vijayanagara king, started at 12 noon and was over by 4 pm as Ramaraya fell and was captured. Instantly his army went into chaos, as he was betrayed by his Muslim captains and cavalry, his brothers left the battlefield and fled to the capital to recover the treasures which they feared would be lost. Ramaraya was beheaded. The five Sultans went to Vijayanagara and quarelled over the spoils. It was during this time that Ibrahim's commander Mustafa Khan fell out with Ibrahim, perhaps on his keeping a large part of the bounty himself, and went away to Bijapur. His mosque in Naya Qila remains unfinished but in good condition.
Ibrahim changed Golconda from a trading hub to a finished goods market. During his time he captured Bidar fort. Ibrahim was a secular man and hired Hindus and Muslims in key positions. There was a time when on either side of him would sit Kishnamatiya, a Hindu, and Amin Khan a Sunni Muslim (known for constructing the Ameenpur lake). Thanks to the Machilipatnam port Golconda became a part of global trade. He left a lasting legacy on the city.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (ruled 1580-1612)
From Ibrahim Qutb Shah's marriage with Bhagirathi was born Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah. The moment Ibrahim died, the palace intrigues started about who would succeed him. The elder brother was locked up in Devarakonda Fort, the heir apparent Hussain Quli, while one of the noblemen Rai Rao anointed the 14 year old Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah as king. The young King was fond of wine, women and song, was a poet, and kept away from statecraft and war craft.
With the young King not too interested in statecraft, Rai Rao became head of Kondaveedu fort which gave him access to the diamond mines. Meanwhile Mohammad Quli fell in love with a local dancer Bagamma or Bhagmati (who he called Haider Pyaari, thus leading to Hyder Mahal or Hyderabad as some say). The popular story if that he would come from the Golconda Fort to the hamlet across the Musi River to meet Bhagmati, and that his father Ibrahim Qutb Shah had the Purana Pul constructed for his safe passage across the temperamental river. Having seen the possibility of an expansion of the city of Golconda which was now filled to capacity, he decided to build a new city here. In 1591 he laid the foundation for Charminar, as a measure of his gratitude for a devastating plague that ravaged the city. Mohammad Quli prayed for the plague to end and when it ended he set about building the Charminar and around it Hyderabad.
The city was envisioned with no walls, had 40 palaces, exquisite gardens, tall trees, 14000 shops. Entrusted to Mir Momin, a Persian nobleman, the brief was that the city should be a replica of paradise, the architect did exactly that. Mir Momin was a poet, archietct, warrior and statesman, and he was also involved in the expansion of the kingdom by adding Gandikota and parts of Vijayanagara like Penugonda. Mir Momin also gave the old city the graveyard called Daira-Mir-Momin where many great personalities are buried.
It was during Mohammad Quli's time that there was a Persian embassy in Hyderabad and the Persian noble Shah Alam wanted his son Mohammad Said to marry Quli's daughter Hayath Bakshi Begum (who would turn out be as powerful as any king of that era being daughter, wife and mother of three successive kings and as good a diplomat as any - Masab Tank is a distortion of Ma Saheba Tank, Hayath Nagar is named after her and her tomb in the necropolis is one of the grandest). Quli instead got her married to her cousin Sultan Mohammad, who was a pious man after a 7 year long diplomatic delay. Mohammad Said would come back into the lives of the Qutb Shahi Kings later.
The Badshahi Ashoorkahna near Charminar was a spectacle with 10000 lamps lit during Muharram time when people of all faiths would pray. There would be constant undertones of religious differences between the Deccanies or Sunnis, Shias and Mughals. There was an uprising by Quli's younger brother Khuda Banda which was put down. It was during Quli's time that the diamond mines grew and famous diamonds like the Hope diamond, Orloff, Koh-i-Noor, Golconda, Nizam were found. He was known to design buildings and dealt with the Portuguese and the Dutch with a firm hand. Clearly the man who built Hyderabad, Quli left behind a lasting legacy of arts, buildings, trade and progress. His tomb is perhaps the grandest in the Qutb Shah tomb necropolis.
Mohammad Qutb Shah (1612-1626)
Serish begins this chapter interestingly by mentioning the triangle of Hayat Bakshi Begum (b 1592), Sultan Mohammad (b 1593) who she married and who succeeded Mohammad Quli as King, and Mohammad Said (b 1591) who was the Persian prince who was rejected from Hayat's alliance. This was the time when the Dutch and other European traders resorted to gunboat diplomacy with kidnappings and murders etc as they tried to control trade at the Narsapur, Machilipatnam and Nizampatnam ports. A change in policy from a transaction tax to a one time tax weakened the control the Kingdom had over these traders.
Mohammad Qutb Shah had the Mecca Masjid near Charminar built with bricks made from clay brought from Mecca (and thus named Mecca Masjid) as the Jama masjid was not able to accomodate the growing number of people for prayers. At the ground breaking ceremony for the Mecca masjid he asked anyone who has never missed a prayer to do the honours and when no one stepped forward, he said he had not missed a single prayer and conducted the ceremony. Interestingly Mohammad was forbidden from meeting his son Abdullah because the astrologers foretold that the king would die were he to meet his son before the prince turned fourteen. The Queen Hayat Bakshi Begum constructed a new area called Sultan Nagar where the young Prince lived. Interestingly three tutors who were hired to teach Abdullah died during this period.
The revenues of the Golconda kingdom were high these years with the Dutch carrying on active trade - slave trade where children were bought and sent to Jakarta where they had massacred thousands.
Abdullah Qutb Shah (1626-1672)
Abdullah Qutb Shah ruled the longest, and it was during his reign that the Mughal gaze turned towards Golconda which was enjoying tremendous prosperity. The Mughals first took over forts in Orissa and then Nanded. Shah Jahan came to Daulatabad with a large army and sent word to the Golconda king that he must replace the name of the King of Persia in the Friday prayers. Abdullah agreed and even changed the gold coins to bear the sign and symbol of the Mughal emperor. A submission deed was signed and the Mughals took away diamonds, jewels, elephants. Satisfied with the submission deed, Shah Jahan left 18 year old Aurangazeb in charge of Deccan as Viceroy and returned to Delhi.
Having earned some respite from the Mughals, Abdullah issued farmans to both English and Dutch for trade. He faced resistance from some parts of his kingdom including Kondapalli fort. It was here that Mohammad Said, the Persian noble, entered the scene as a horse trader first, and then slowly grew to be Commander in Chief of the Qutb Shahi army. A shrewd businessman, Said owned ten ships and continued trade with the Far East on the side. When Abdullah wanted a palace to be built for his mother Hayat Bakshi Begum, the job was entrusted to Mohammad Said who quickly realised the importance of his job and built a beautiful palace - a bed of gold and stuff like that.
Mohammad Said got hold of a traitor who was leaking secrets to the Bijapur king, firmed up his trust with the King, and then went out to capture forts in the South - Gandikota, Gooty, Ananatapur, Tadipatri and soon became the Prime Minister or Mir Jumla of the Kingdom. He captured forts up to Pulicat, Madurai, Tanjore and then San Thome (which is modern day Mylapore). While serving the king, Said also made good for himself.
A loose comment by Said's son with Abdullah Qutb Shah got him into prison and that's when Said switched sides. He got Shah Jahan to save his son's life. In the escalating tensions, Aurangzeb, who had begun to covet the Golconda kingdom, hid missives from Shah Jahan, pardoning Abdullah and instead chose to attack. Said joined the Mughal army, gave Shah Jahan the KohiNoor and along with Aurangzeb attacked Bijapur.
The ageing warrior-administrator Mohammad Said was sent to do some work in the North East where he died and he is buried there in the Garo hills of Meghalaya in what is known as the long tomb in Khizpur. There is an annual Urs in his honour.
Abdullah Qutb Shah however weathered a turbulent time in his long reign.
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (1672-1687)
A distant relative of the Qutb Shahi kings, Abul Hasan grew up in the royal palace. A mischievous boy he was banished from the palace for some misdemeanour and was sent to the khanqah (spiritual hospice) of Shah Raju Qattal II (grandson of Shah Raju Hussain) where he spent the next 14 years. For his mischief, he was called Tana Shah by his spiritual leader. King Abdullah married his daughter to Tana Shah on the advise of his spiritual guru Shah Raju Quattal (whose dargah is in the old city). Under Tana Shah, his Commander in Chief Neknam Khan conquered San Thome (Neknam who had a significant role in Abul Hasan's period is buried in Qutb Shah tombs)
When Abdullah Qutb Shah died, he left three daughters and had named no heir. Of the three sons-in-law the most likely to take charge was Mirza Nizamuddin who had brokered peace with Aurangzeb the first time around, but he was locked up and Abul Hasan was made king. Mirza Nizamuddin and his wife Fatima then disappeared from history and are buried in unfinished tombs in the Qutb Shah tomb complex. Musa Khan and Syed Muzaffar were the two main actors who were behind putting Abul Hasan on the throne, hoping perhaps to control the kingdom with him as a puppet king. For their good work they were given top posts - Musa Khan as (Sarkhail - Commander In Chief with the title of Khan-e-Khanan) and Muzaffar (Mir Jumla or Prime Minister with the title of Ameer Ul Umra).
It was at this time that the French, the Dutch and English were vying for control of San Thome and perhaps Machilipatnam as their ambitions grew and their gunboat diplomacy came into the fore. While Syed Muzaffar supported the French, Musa Khan sided with the Dutch and English. The French wanted control of San Thome and Machilipatnam to compete with the English who had Fort St George and the Dutch who had control over Pulicat. The French pushed their hand - set fire to ships at Machilipatnam. Abul Hasan decided to sell San Thome to the Frecnh for one lakh gold coins - a sum that the French did not have. Musa Khan was obviously opposed to this deal and Abul Hasan had had enough of him by now and replaced him with an African soldier - Miyan Mishk (whose palace is some place in Hyderabad).
And this marked a major turn in events as Abul Hasan hired Syed Muzaffar's deputy Madhav Bhanoji alias Madanna as a Minister. Until then no Hindu had held such high ranks. It was the growing power of Hindus, especially the brothers Akkanna and Madanna that became a sore point with some of the Muslim noblemen. First Golconda sided with the Dutch and blocked the French from San Thome. Then Abul Hasan, with Madanna's help, first stripped Syed Muzaffar and imprisoned him. Then they stripped Musa Khan of his power and had him under house arrest. With both the top ranked posts gone, Madanna became a very powerful figure. He set about making many administrative changes which were good for the King but were seen with resentment by the nobles.
One one hand there was Shivaji to deal with, who made Tana Shah bankroll his wars in the South. On the other, the internal strife. Despite all this Tana Shah promoted arts and it was during his time that on one of his sojourns to Machilipatnam that he witnessed the dance drama Parijata Natakam near the village of Kuchipudi, was impressed with the dance form, and gifted land to the Kuchipudi artists.
In 1683 Aurangzeb (63) left Ajmer for Deccan, never to return to Delhi. Shivaji had died by then. Aurangzeb's son Akbar rebelled and teamed up with Shambhaji. Seeing the currents, Abul Hasan prepared for war. Initially he tried to pay his way out of war by giving Shah Alam, Aurangzeb's son, whatever he asked for. However when the Mughals still attacked and took Malkhed fort, the war between Golconda and the Mughals began. Tana Shah wanted what he gave, back.
Once again the scales tilted when their Commander In Chief, Md Ibrahim turned traitor and joined the Mughals. In 1685 the Mughal army circled Golconda and settled down at the Gosha Mahal Palace grounds. The king and noblemen left the city of Hyderabad and fled to Golconda. Meanwhile, sensing their opportunity, some noblemen waylaid Akkanna and Madanna in the royal quarter, had them dragged through the mud, strung up by their feet and beheaded. Their heads were sent to the Mughal Commander - thus meeting one of the conditions the Mughals had laid - getting rid of the Hindu Ministers.
The war was long as there was drought. Mines meant to breach Golconda blew their own soldiers, there was rain, hunger, attempts to scale the walls given away by stray dogs. It was during this war that Aurangzeb found out about two holy men, Baba Yousufuddin and Baba Sharfudin, who were two soldiers in the Mughal army, whose tent remained upright despite the rain which had struck down all other tents. He found out that they were reading the Quran and asked them to find a way into Golconda and end their misery. The two holy men (whose tombs are famous as Yousufain dargah near Nampally) go to a cobbler who tells them that the fort is protected by a charm. They somehow get that charm to break.
Finally a traitor Abdul Khan Panni opens a window at the Bagnagar Darwaza (I'd like to go and see this) and a few solders climb in and let the waiting army inside. For the Qutb Shahis, the heroic Abdul Razzak Larri fought on single handedly and bravely, and lived to see another day. When the Mughal officials walked in to apprehend Abul Hasan, he welcomed them calmly, asked them to partake of breakfast and then left with them for Daulatabad where he was imprisoned for 14 years at Daulatabad. He is supposed to have said that he had lived the first 14 years in the palace, the second 14 years in a khanqah and the last 14 years in prison.
Aurgangzeb did not get his hands on the wealth that he imagined he would get and had the floor of the Safa Masjid torn open for any hidden treasures. It is still left in the same condition in teh Qutb Shahi complex.
Serish concludes with some evidence that Bhagmati was real (unlike many who doubt her existence on the basis of the fact that there is no tomb in her memory - but then he argues that there is no tomb even for Bhagirathi, Ibrahim's wife). The name Bagnagar is mentioned in many texts by Ferishta, Faisi, Abul Fazul and a painting of the marriage of Mohammad Quli and Bhagmati is at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology at Oxford. He also gives a nice little insight into how the Musa burj was earlier called Hyder Burj which is also an indication that it was what Bhagmati was named after.
Overall it was a very interesting read with a lot of details that I had not read about earlier. Serish has quoted from various sources and has furnished exhaustive notes at the end of the book.
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