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Fragmentation of the Bahmani Sultanate (1470s)

Type Event Region Asia Time 1471–1480

In the 1470s the Bahmani Sultanate of the Deccan disintegrated under the dual pressures of weakening central authority and rising provincial governor…

Timeline

  1. 1471–1475Deccan Plateau · Deccan PlateauDuring the reign of Muhammad Shah III Bahmani, the governors of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda, and Berar controlled military power and taxation, while the court's actual control over outlying regions weakened steadily, undermining the foundation of unified rule.
  2. 1478Bidar · BidarThe distinguished chief minister Mahmud Gawan was framed for treason through court factional strife and executed. After his death, central administrative and military coordination collapsed, provincial governors no longer obeyed Bidar, and the sultanate's fragmentation accelerated sharply.
  3. 1479–1480Deccan provinces · Deccan PlateauBy around 1480, the five major political centers of the Deccan each maintained their own armies and competed for territory; nominally they still acknowledged the sultan of Bidar as overlord, but in practice they were embryonic independent kingdoms. The Bahmani Sultanate as a unified polity had effectively ended.

Sources