Political Formations UNIT 5 DECCAN KINGDOMS* Structure 5.0 Objectives 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Geographical Setting of the Deccan 5.3 The Four Kingdoms 5.3.1 The Yadavas and the Kakatiyas 5.3.2 The Pandyas and the Hoysalas 5.3.3 Conflict Between the Four Kingdoms 5.4 Southern Kingdoms and the Delhi Sultanate 5.4.1 First Phase: Alauddin Khalji’s Invasion of South 5.4.2 Second Phase 5.5 Administration and Economy 5.5.1 Administration 5.5.2 Economy 5.6 Rise of Independent Kingdoms 5.7 Rise of the Bahmani Power 5.8 Conquest and Consolidation of the Bahmani Power 5.8.1 First Phase: 1347-1422 5.8.2 Second Phase: 1422-1538 5.9 Conflict Between the Afaqis and the Dakhnis and their Relations with the King 5.10 Central and Provincial Administration under the Bahmani Kingdom 5.11 Army Organization under the Bahmani Kingdom 5.12 Economy 5.13 Society and Culture 5.14 Summary 5.15 Keywords 5.16 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 5.17 Suggested Readings 5.18 Instructional Video Recommendations 5.0 OBJECTIVES After going through this Unit, you should be able to: * Prof. Ahmad Raza Khan and Prof. Abha Singh, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. The present Unit is taken from IGNOU Course 110 EHI-03: India: From 8th to 15th Century, Block 7, Units 26 & 28. • assess the geographical influences on the polity and economy of the Deccan, Deccan Kingdoms • understand the political set-up in South India, • examine the conflicts among the Southern kingdoms, • evaluate the relations of the Southern kingdoms with the Delhi Sultanate, • know their administration and economy, • understand the emergence of new independent kingdoms in the South, • appraise the political formation and its nature in Deccan and South India, • understand the emergence of the Bahmani kingdom, • analyze the conflict between the old Dakhni nobility and the newcomers (the Afaqis) and how it ultimately led to the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, and • evaluate the administrative structure under the Bahmanis. 5.1 INTRODUCTION The present Unit aims at covering the emergence of polities in South India and the Deccan during the 13-15th centuries. For our purpose, South India includes the region to the south of the Vindhyas which comprises of the Deccan and the peninsular south. The history of South India from the 13th to the 15th centuries presents two distinct phases: i) The beginning of the 13th century is marked by the disintegration of the Chola and the Chalukya empires. On their ruins emerged four independent kingdoms in this region. There were the Pandyas and the Hoysalas in the south (on the debris of the Chola power), the Kakatiyas and the Yadavas in the north of this region (in the Deccan as a result of the decline of the Chalukya power). These kingdoms lasted for more than a century. ii) In the second phase, beginning from the 2nd quarter of the 14th century, there emerged two powerful states; the Bahmani and the Vijaynagara. These two controlled almost the whole of South India for about two hundred years. Our discussions for the first phase will centre on the history of the four kingdoms; their relationship with each other; their polity, society and economy. In the 2nd phase, we will discuss their relations with the Delhi Sultanate. Again, by the turn of the 14th century new political formations emerged – the powerful kingdom of the Bahmanis as a result of the declining hold of the Delhi Sultans over its Deccan possessions; while in South India there emerged the mighty Vijayanagara Empire. In the present Unit we would be discussing political formations in the Deccan and South India during the 13th century as well as the emergence of the Bahmani kingdom in the Deccan. Thus, in this Unit, we will trace the story of the end of the Tughlaq rule in the Deccan and its replacement by the Bahmani Sultanate taking into account the conquests, consolidation, administrative system and the culture of the period. However, two separate Units (6&7) are devoted to the emergence and consolidation of the Vijayanagara empire. 111 Political Formations We begin our discussion with an understanding of the geographical setting of the region. 5.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING OF THE DECCAN1 Geography plays a crucial role in the politico-economic developments. Certain salient geographical features of South India and Deccan influenced the developments in the region. Broadly, the whole tract lying south of the river Narmada is known as South India. However, technically speaking, this tract consists of two broad divisions, Deccan and South India (Here we will discuss geographical setting of the Deccan only for details on deep senth, senth of the Tungabhadra doab see Section 6.2). Deccan Deccan is bounded in the north and northeast by Narmada and Mahanadi rivers, while Nilgiri hills and Pennar river form its southern boundary. To the west and east lie the Western and Eastern Ghats along with long coastal strip on both the sides. The area between the vast western sea-coast and the Sahyadri ranges is known as Konkan, a sub-region of Deccan. The whole strip is full of dense forest, and the soil is not adequately fertile. The area boasts of great strategic importance. Therefore, a number of strong forts were built there. The famous ports of Chaul and Dabhol also come under this region. On account of its difficult access, local chieftains (deshmukhs) often manifested shifting loyalties and at times defied the Central authority. You would find that it was this geographical location that played a crucial role in the rise of the Marathas. On account of its hilly and forest tracts, the Deccan states were difficult to penetrate, but from the side of southern Gujarat it had an easy access through the fertile Baglana tract. For this reason, it repeatedly fell under the sway of the Gujarat rulers. Finally, in the 16th century, the Portuguese altered the balance in that region. With minor variations, Goa marked the boundary between the Bahmani and the Vijaynagara states. The central Deccan (from the Ajanta ranges to the Nilgiri hills and Palaghat gap) possesses black soil which is good for cotton cultivation. The Khandesh and Berar tracts of Maharashtra lying along the banks of the Tapti and the Wardha and Painganga rivers were known for their fertility. This led to frequent encounters between the Malwa and the Bahmani rulers for the occupation of Kherla and Mahur. Between the Krishna and Godavari lies the flat plain which is also famous for its rich ‘cotton’ soil. Then comes the Telangana region: its soil is sandy and does not retain moisture. The rivers, too, are not perennial; as a result, tank irrigation became important. Along the Krishna valley lies the Kurnool rocks where the famous Golconda mines were located. The southern Deccan plateau (parts lying in modern Karnataka) is also rich in mineral resources (copper, lead, zinc, iron, gold, manganese, etc.). 5.3 THE FOUR KINGDOMS The decline of the Chola and the Chalukya empires gave rise to a number of smaller kingdoms and principalities in the South. The four important ones were: 1 This Section is taken from Unit 3, Section 3.1 of IGNOU Course EHI-04: India from 16th 112 Century to mid-18th Century. i) the Yadavas Deccan Kingdoms ii) the Kakatiyas iii) the Pandyas iv) the Hoysalas 5.3.1 The Yadavas and the Kakatiyas During the 14th century, the Yadavas and the Kakatiyas succeeded in establishing their hegemony over an area almost equal to the modern Andhra Pradesh and the Deccan. The Yadavas The history of the Yadava dynasty may be traced to the 9th century. For around 300 years, they ruled as the feudatories of the Rashtrakutas and the Chalukyas. With the decline of the latter, they emerged as independent rulers with a big territory under their control. Bhillama V (1175-1191), the feudatory of the Chalukya ruler, Somesvara IV (1181- 1189), acquired independent status in CE 1187 and laid the foundation of the Yadava rule. During Simhana’s reign (1210-46), the Yadava boundaries extended to southern Gujarat; Western Madhya Pradesh and Berar; parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, the Western half of Hyderabad State and the northern districts of Mysore. Krishna (1246-60) and Ram Chandra (1271-1311) were other important rulers of the Yadava dynasty. With the latter’s death came the end of the Yadava power itself (1311-12). The Kakatiyas The Kakatiyas were the feudatories of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Kakati Rudradeva (Prataprudra I), the founder of the Kakatiya state, succeeded in overpowering the Chalukya ruler, Tailapa III, during the second half of the 12th century (c. 1162). He also succeeded in capturing Kurnool district from the Velananti chiefs sometime around 1185. Ganapati (1199-1262), Rudrambe (1262-95) and Prataprudra II (1295- 1326) were other important rulers of the dynasty. Their rule extended over most of the Andhra region up to Godavari, Kanchi, Kurnool and Cudappah districts. Ulugh Khan (later Muhammad Tughlaq) overran the whole of Telingana in 1322 and thus sealed the fate of the Kakatiya rule. 5.3.2 The Pandyas and the Hoysalas These two kingdoms controlled the region beyond the Deccan and almost the whole of Southern peninsula. The Hoysalas The Hoysalas ruled over parts of the present Karnataka and most of the Tamil region. The first independent ruler of the kingdom was Ballala II (1173-1220). The kingdom achieved independent status by the close of the 12th century but its end came at the beginning of the 14th century.