Yusuf Adil Shah |
This is the first comprehensive and profusely illustrated work which brings under one cover almost all the existing antiquities of the heritage of the multi-faceted Adil Shahi cultural history of Bijapur kingdom. The Adil Shahi kingdom was one of the five off-shoots of the Bahmani kingdom (1347-1518). The dynasty and the kingdom was founded by Yusuf Beg, an emigrant from Anatolia (Asia Minor). He belonged to the Aq-Quyunlu (White Sheep) tribe of Diyarbykir. On migration to the Deccan he joined Bahmani service under the minister Khwaja Mahmud Gawan. He was granted title of "Adil Khan". Subsquently he was appointed governor of the Bahmani province of Bijapur in 1481. During the disintegration of the Bahmanis, he gradually consolidated the power and became autonomous in 1489. But he was loyal to the Bahmani Sultans and did not declare independence nor assumed royal title. From this Bahmani province of Bijapur, gradually evolved the Bijapur kingdom under the successive Adil Shahs. They ruled from 1489-1686 for 202 lunar year till the kingdom was annexed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb