Ibrahim Adil Shah I

Ibrahim Adil Shah I (1534–1558) was a Sultan and later Shah of the Indian kingdom of Bijapur. He succeeded his elder brother, Mallu Adil Shah, through the machinations of the Afaqi faction at the court. He was the first Adil Shahi ruler to assume the royal title of Shah.

Faith

Having a strong penchant for Sunni Islam—the religion of most Deccani Muslims^[1]—on his accession he deleted the names of the twelve Shi'ah Imams from the Khutbah, discontinued previous Shia practices and restored the exercise of the Sunni practices.^[2]^[3]^[4] He deviated from the traditions of his predecessors and introduced many innovations in the political and religious policies. He degraded most of the afaqi faction (with a few exceptions), and in their place enrolled the Deccani (including the Marathas and Habashis) to the services, retaining only four hundred afaqi troops as his bodyguard. Consequently, he brought Sunnis to power and ended Shia domination by dismissing them from their posts^[5]^[6] and many Marathas acquired great influence at his court and public accounts began to be maintained in Marathi.

Policies

Ibrahim's anti-afaqi policy, however, considerably weakened the kingdom as the dismissed personnel joined the service of the neighbouring rulers. This exposed the kingdom to a series of invasions. Yet it was the veteran afaqi leader Asad Khan Lari (Buried in Belgaum), who acting as a diplomatic counselor to Ibrahim, saved the kingdom in the hour of crisis.

Reign

The reign of Ibrahim, which lasted twenty-four years and a few months, was full of alliances and counter-alliances with and against Ahmadnagar, Bidar, Berar, Golkonda and Vijayanagar. Although there were continuous expeditions little territorial expansion was made, for gains in one direction were compensated by loss on the other side. Thus while Bidar was conquered, Solapur and Kalyani were lost to Ahmadnagar. On the other hand, considerable acquisitions were made in the south along the west-coast. The farthest point of Bijapur territory now extended south of Goa. Further, though Golkonda was not subdued, Bijapur arms were able to reach the walls of Golkonda fort and return triumphantly.

Death

Ibrahim was buried near the famous Sufi saint Hazrat Chandah Hussaini Ashrafi in Gogi, where his father, Ismail and grandfather Yusuf were also buried. On his mausoleum is an inscription of the names of Allah, Muhammad, the Rashidun Caliphs, and other Sahaba.^[7]

References

↑ Navina Najat Haidar; Marika Sardar (13 Apr 2015). Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy (illustrated ed.). Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 6. ISBN 9780300211108.
↑ Shanti Sadiq Ali (1 Jan 1996). The African Dispersal in the Deccan: From Medieval to Modern Times. Orient Blackswan. p. 112. ISBN 9788125004851.
↑ Sanjay Subrahmanyam (2011). Three Ways to be Alien: Travails and Encounters in the Early Modern World (illustrated ed.). UPNE. p. 36. ISBN 9781611680195.
↑ Richard M. Eaton (17 Nov 2005). A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives, Volume 1 (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780521254847.
↑ Radhey Shyam Chaurasia (1 Jan 2002). History of Medieval India: From 1000 A.D. to 1707 A.D. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 101. ISBN 9788126901234.
↑ Shihan de S. Jayasuriya; Richard Pankhurst (2003). The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean (illustrated ed.). Africa World Press. pp. 196–7. ISBN 9780865439801.
↑ Farooqui Salma Ahmed (2011). A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century. Pearson Education India. p. 176. ISBN 9788131732021.

Wakiyate Mamlakate Bijapur by Basheeruddin Dehelvi.
Tareekhe Farishta by Kasim Farishta
External Relation of Bijapur Adil Shahis.

Preceded by Mallu Adil Shah	Adil Shahi Rulers of Bijapur 1534–1558	Succeeded by Ali Adil Shah I

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