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{{Short description|Kingdom in Deccan India (1518–1687)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| conventional_long_name = Sultanate of Golconda
| common_name            = Sultanate of Golconda
| date_start             = 7 December
| year_start             = 1518<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.68551|title=The Bahmanis of the Deccan – An Objective Study |last=Sherwani |first=Haroon Khan |year=1946 |author-link=Haroon Khan Sherwani|publisher=Krishnavas International Printers, Hyderabad Deccan |oclc=3971780|page=386}}</ref>
| date_end               = 22 September
| year_end               = 1687<ref>{{cite wikisource  |title=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 3 |volume=3  |year=1911  |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=En }}</ref>
| p1                     = Bahmani Kingdom
| p2                     = Gajapati Empire
| p3                     = Vijayanagara Empire
| s1                     = Hyderabad Subah
| native_name            = {{lang|fa|{{nq|قطب شاهیان}}}}
| image_flag             = Qutbshahi Flag.svg
| flag_type              = Flag of the Qutb Shahis
| image_map              = Map of Golconda.png
| image_map_caption      = Map of Golconda.<ref>For a map of their territory see: {{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=147, map XIV.4 (l)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=186}}</ref>
| religion               = '''State religion:'''<br />[[Shia Islam]]
----'''Other:'''<br />[[Religion in South Asia|Other religions in South Asia]]
| capital                = [[Golconda]] (1518–1591) <br /> [[Hyderabad]] (1591–1687)
| common_languages       = [[Persian language|Persian]] (official)<ref>Brian Spooner and William L. Hanaway, ''Literacy in the Persianate World: Writing and the Social Order'', (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012), 317.</ref><br /> [[Telugu language|Telugu]] (official after 1600)<ref>{{cite journal
| last       = Alam
| first      = Muzaffar
| date       = 1998
| title      = The Pursuit of Persian: Language in Mughal Politics
| journal    = Modern Asian Studies
| volume     = 32
| issue      = 2
| pages      = 317–349
|quote = "Ibrahim Qutb Shah encouraged the growth of Telugu and his successor Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah patronized and himself wrote poetry in Telugu and Dakhni. Abdullah Qutb Shah instituted a special office to prepare the royal edicts in Telugu (dabiri-ye foramina-i Hindavi). While administrative and revenue papers at local levels in the Qutb Shahi Sultanate were prepared largely in Telugu, the royal edicts were often bilingual. '06 The last Qutb Shahi Sultan, Abul Hasan Tana Shah, sometimes issued his orders only in Telugu, with a Persian summary given on the back of the farmans."
| doi=10.1017/s0026749x98002947| s2cid = 146630389
}}</ref><br />[[Deccani Urdu]]
| government_type        = Monarchy
| title_leader           = [[Sultan]]
| leader1                = [[Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk]]
| year_leader1           = 1518–1543
| leader2                = [[Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah]]
| year_leader2           = 1543–1550
| leader3                = [[Subhan Quli Qutb Shah]]
| year_leader3           = 1550–1550
| leader4                = [[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah]]
| year_leader4           = 1550–1580
| leader5                = [[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]]
| year_leader5           = 1580–1612
| leader6                = [[Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah]]
| year_leader6           = 1612–1626
| leader7                = [[Abdullah Qutb Shah]]
| year_leader7           = 1626–1672
| leader8                = [[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah]]
| year_leader8           = 1672–1687
| stat_area4             = <!--500,000sq/mi : this must be a number of square kilometres (no comma); can't see a source-->
| currency               = Mohur, Tanka
| today                  = [[India]]
}}

The '''Sultanate of Golconda''' ({{langx|fa|{{nq|سلطان‌نشین گلکنده}}}}; {{langx|ur|{{nq|سلطنت گولکنڈه}}}}) was an [[early modern]] kingdom in [[southern India]], ruled by the [[Persianate society|Persianate]],<ref>Christoph Marcinkowski, ''Shi'ite Identities: Community and Culture in Changing Social Contexts'', 169-170; "''The Qutb-Shahi kingdom could be considered 'highly Persianate' with a large number of Persian-speaking merchants, scholars, and artisans present at the royal capital.''"</ref> [[Shia Islam|Shia Islamic]] '''Qutb Shahi dynasty'''{{efn|({{langx|fa|{{nq|قطب شاهیان}}}}; {{langx|ur|{{nq|قطب شاہی خاندان}}}})}} of [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] origin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Syed |first1=Muzaffar Husain |title=Concise History of Islam |date=2011 |publisher=Vij Books India Private Limited |isbn=978-9-382-57347-0 |page=258 |quote=The Qutb Shahi dynasty was the ruling family of the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. They were '''Shia Muslims''' and belonged to a '''Turkmen tribe'''.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | chapter-url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315141664-12/da-irat-ul-ma-arif-unique-language-institute-hyderabad-mohd-suleman-siddiq | doi=10.4324/9781315141664-12 | chapter=The Da'irat-ul-Ma'arif: A Unique Language Institute of Hyderabad | title=Languages and Literary Cultures in Hyderabad | date=2017 | last1=Suleman Siddiq | first1=Mohd. | pages=203–216 | isbn=978-1-315-14166-4 }}</ref> After the decline of the [[Bahmani Sultanate]], the Sultanate of Golconda was established in 1518<ref>{{EI3|first=Pevyand|last=Firouzeh|title= Maḥmūd Shihāb al-Dīn Bahmanī |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_36029|url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EI3O/COM-36029.xml|date=2018}}</ref> by [[Quli Qutb Shah]], as one of the five [[Deccan sultanates]].

The kingdom covered parts of the modern-day Indian states of [[Karnataka]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[Odisha]] and [[Telangana]].<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=118}}</ref> The Golconda sultanate was constantly in conflict with the [[Adilshahi sultanate|Adil Shahis]] and [[Nizam Shahi dynasty|Nizam Shahis]], which it shared borders with in the seventeenth century to the west and northwest.<ref name="Bosworth">C.E. Bosworth, ''The New Islamic Dynasties'', (Columbia University Press,  1996), 328.</ref> In 1636, [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Shah Jahan]] forced the Qutb Shahis to recognise Mughal suzerainty and pay periodic tributes. The dynasty came to an end in 1687, during the reign of its seventh sultan [[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah]], when the Mughal emperor [[Aurangzeb]] arrested and jailed Abul Hasan for the rest of his life in [[Daulatabad Fort|Daulatabad]], incorporating Golconda into the Mughal empire.<ref>{{cite book|title=Iran and the Deccan: Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent in Circulation, 1400–1700|year=2020|isbn=9780253048943|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_yHXDwAAQBAJ|author=Keelan Overton|page=82|publisher=Indiana University Press|access-date=1 July 2020}}</ref><ref name="Farooqi">{{cite book|title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century|author=Farooqui Salma Ahmed|pages=177–179|publisher=Pearson Education India|year=2011|isbn=9788131732021}}</ref><ref name="Bosworth" />

The Qutb Shahis were patrons of [[Persianate]] Shia culture.<ref name="Farooqi"/><ref name="Chandra" /> The official and court language of the Golconda sultanate during the first 90 years of its existence (c. 1518 – 1600) was also Persian. In the early 17th century, however, the [[Telugu language]] was elevated to the status of the Persian language, while towards the end of the Qutb Shahis' rule, it was the primary court language with Persian used occasionally in official documents. According to [[Indology|Indologist]] Richard Eaton, as Qutb Shahis adopted Telugu, they started seeing their polity as the Telugu-speaking state, with the elites of the sultanate viewing their rulers as "Telugu Sultans".<ref name="Eaton" />

==History==
The dynasty's founder, [[Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk|Sultan Quli Khawas Khan Hamdani]] was born in [[Hamadan]], Iran. He belonged to the [[Kara Koyunlu|Qara Qoyunlu]], a [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkmen]] Muslim tribe and was thus a descendant of [[Qara Yusuf]].<ref name="jstor1">{{cite journal|title=The Qara-qoyunlu and the Qutb-shāhs (Turkmenica, 10)|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/609229|volume=17|year=1955|pages=50–73|publisher=Cambridge University Press|jstor = 609229|access-date=20 November 2020|last1 = Minorsky|first1 = V.|journal = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|issue = 1|doi = 10.1017/S0041977X00106342|s2cid=162273460 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Masud">{{cite book|title=Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v4UKJFLZVcEC|year=1996|page=2|first=Masud Husain|last=Khan|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788126002337|access-date=20 November 2020}}</ref> In the 16th century, he migrated to [[Delhi]] with his uncle, Allah-Quli, some of his relatives and friends. Later he migrated south, to the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] and served the [[Bahmani Sultanate|Bahmani sultan]], [[Mahmood Shah Bahmani II]], who was of [[Deccanis|Deccani Muslim]] ethnicity.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=p159EAAAQBAJ&dq=Alauddin+Ahmad+II++Chand+Minar&pg=PT26 |title= Water and Historic Settlements:The Making of a Cultural Landscape |author= Yaaminey Mubayi |date= 2022 |publisher= Taylor & Francis |isbn= 9781000641639 }}</ref><ref name="Michell">George Michell, Mark Zebrowski, ''Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates'', (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 17.</ref> He declared the independence of Golconda after the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate into the five [[Deccan sultanates]].<ref name="Michell" /> He took the title ''Qutb Shah'', and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda. He was assassinated in 1543 by his son, [[Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah|Jamsheed]], who assumed control of the sultanate.<ref name="Michell" /> Jamsheed died in 1550 from cancer.<ref name="Khan">Masʻūd Ḥusain Khān, ''Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah'', Volume 216, (Sahitya Akademi, 1996), 2.</ref> Jamsheed's young son [[Subhan Quli Qutb Shah]] reigned for a year, at which time the nobility brought back and installed [[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali|Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah]] as sultan.<ref name="Khan" />

Golconda, and with the construction of the [[Charminar|Char Minar]], later [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]], served as capitals of the sultanate,<ref name="Michell" /> and both cities were embellished by the Qutb Shahi sultans. The dynasty ruled Golconda for 171 years, until [[Aurangzeb]], in his campaigns in the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], conquered the Sultanate of Golconda in 1687 with the completion of his [[siege of Golconda]].<ref name="Chandra2">Satish Chandra, ''Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals'', Part II, (Har-Anand, 2009), 331.</ref> The sultante's last ruler, [[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah]], was imprisoned in [[Daulatabad Fort]], and the territory of the Golconda Sultanate was made into a Mughal imperial province, [[Hyderabad Subah]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761|year=2008|last=Eaton|first=Richard M.|pages=156–158|chapter=Papadu (Fl. 1695–1710)|author-link=Richard M. Eaton|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/iB_in/1-8/page/n166/mode/1up|publisher=Cambridge University press}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Richards |first=J. F. |date=1975 |title=The Hyderabad Karnatik, 1687-1707 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/311962 |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=241–260 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X00004996 |jstor=311962 |s2cid=142989123 |issn=0026-749X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Economy ==
[[File:Tomb of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah 01.jpg|thumb|right|Tomb of [[Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah]] in [[Hyderabad]].]]
The Golconda Sultanate was notoriously wealthy. While its primary source of revenue was a land tax,<ref>{{Citation|last=Eaton|first=R. M.|title=Ḳuṭb Shāhī|date=2012-04-24|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/kutb-shahi-SIM_4584?s.num=47&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.start=40&s.q=deccan|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|publisher=Brill|language=en|access-date=2021-12-26}}</ref> the sultanate greatly profited from its monopoly on diamond production from mines in the southern districts of the kingdom. The sultanate also had control over the [[Krishna Delta|Krishna]] and [[Godavari Delta|Godavari deltas]], giving it access to craft production in the villages of the area, where goods like textiles were produced. The town of [[Masulipatnam]] served as the Golconda Sultanate's primary seaport for the export of diamonds and textiles. The kingdom reached the peak of its financial prosperity in the 1620s and 1630s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Eaton|first=Richard Maxwell|title=A social history of the Deccan, 1300-1761 : eight Indian lives|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-25484-1|location=Cambridge, UK|pages=157|oclc=58431679}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kanakarathnam|first=N.|title=Maritime Trade and Growth of Urban Infrastructure in Port Cities of Colonial Andhra: A Study of Masulipatnam |date=2014|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158449|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=75|pages=691|jstor=44158449 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref>
=== Diamonds ===
{{Main|Golconda diamonds}}
[[File:Wittelsbach Graff Diamond.JPG|thumb|[[Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond]] first discovered by the Golconda sultanate]]
The Golconda Sultanate was known for its diamonds which were dubbed the [[Golconda diamonds]]. These diamonds were sought after diamonds long before the Qutb Shahi dynasty came to power, and they continued to supply this demand through European traders.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/fashion/18iht-acaj-diamonds-18.html The Market for Golconda Diamonds Has Mushroomed], New York Times</ref>
Diamonds from mines (especially the [[Kollur Mine]] presently in [[Guntur district]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]) were transported to the city of [[Hyderabad]] to be cut, polished, evaluated and sold. [[Golconda]] established itself as a diamond trading centre and until the end of the 19th century, the Golconda market was the primary source of the finest and largest diamonds in the world.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-11-05|title=Delving into the rich and often bloody history of Golconda Fort|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/Delving-into-the-rich-and-often-bloody-history-of-Golconda-Fort/article16437577.ece|access-date=2021-07-26|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

=== Cotton-weaving ===
During the early seventeenth century, a strong cotton-weaving industry existed in the Deccan region. Large quantities of cotton cloth were produced for domestic and export consumption. High-quality plain and patterned cloth made of muslin and calico was produced. Plain cloth was available in white or brown colour, in bleached or dyed variety. This cloth was exported to Persia and European countries. The patterned cloth was made of prints which were made indigenously with indigo for blue, chay-root for red coloured prints and vegetable yellow. Patterned cloth exports were mainly to Java, Sumatra and other eastern countries.<ref name=":2" /> Golconda had a strong trading relationship with Ayutthaya Siam.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marcinkowski |first=Christoph |title=Persians and Shi'ites in Thailand: From the Ayutthaya Period to the Present |url=https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/nscwps15.pdf |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215224411/https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/nscwps15.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Finch, Poppies, Dragonfly, and Bee India (Deccan, Golconda).jpg|thumb|Golkonda Painting, 1650-1670 Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Overall]]
The Qutb Shahis were patrons of [[Persianate]] Shia culture.<ref name="Farooqi"/><ref name="Chandra" /> Over the first 90 years of their rule (c. 1518 – 1600), they championed Persian culture. Their official edicts and court language were in Persian only.<ref name="Eaton" /> Quli Qutb Mulk's court became a haven for Persian culture and literature.<ref name="Bosworth" />  In early 17th-century, with Sultan [[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]] (1580–1612) a change began. He began to patronize the Telugu language and culture as well. Edicts began to be issued both in Persian and Telugu. Towards the end of the dynasty, these were primarily in Telugu with a summary in Persian. As they adopted Telugu, they saw their territory as the Telugu-speaking region, states Indologist Richard Eaton, with their elites considering the rulers as "Telugu Sultans".<ref name="Eaton">Richard M. Eaton (2005), A Social History of the Deccan, 1300-1761: Eight Indian Lives, Vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, 142-143</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=John F. |title=Mughal administration in Golconda |date=1975 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198215615}}</ref>

Sultan [[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]] (1580–1612) wrote poems in Dakhini Urdu, Persian and Telugu.<ref name="Chandra" /> Subsequent poets and writers, however, wrote in Urdu, while using vocabulary from Persian, Hindi and Telugu languages.<ref name="Chandra" /> During the reign of [[Abdullah Qutb Shah]] in 1634 AD, an ancient Sanskrit text on love and sex ''[[Ratirahasya]]'' by Kokkoka was translated into [[Persian language|Persian]] and named ''Lazzat-un-Nisa'' (Flavors of the Woman).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/lazzat-un-nisa-hyderabads-own-kamasutra-back-in-focus/articleshow/67391978.cms|title=Lazzat-Un-Nisa: Hyderabad's own Kamasutra back in focus - Times of India|last=Akbar|first=Syed|date=2019-01-05|website=The Times of India|access-date=2019-01-05}}</ref>

=== Architecture ===
The Qutb Shahi architecture was [[Indo-Islamic architecture|Indo-Islamic]], a culmination of Indian and Persian architectural styles.<ref name="Farooqui1">Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd, 2011), 181.</ref> Their style was very similar to that of the other [[Deccan sultanates|Deccan Sultanates]]. The Qutb Shahi rulers built the [[Charminar|Char Minar]].<ref name="Chandra">Satish Chandra, ''Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals'', Part II, (Har-Anand, 2009), 210.</ref>

Some examples of Qutb Shahi Indo-Islamic architecture are the [[Golkonda|Golconda Fort]], [[Qutb Shahi Tombs|tombs of the Qutb Shahis]], [[Charminar|Char Minar]] and the [[Char Kaman]], [[Makkah Masjid, Hyderabad|Makkah Masjid]], [[Khairatabad Mosque]], [[Hayat Bakshi Mosque]], [[Taramati Baradari]] and the [[Toli Masjid|Toli Mosque]].<ref name="Farooqui1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5573/|title=The Qutb Shahi Monuments of Hyderabad Golconda Fort, Qutb Shahi Tombs, Charminar - UNESCO World Heritage Centre|last=Centre|first=UNESCO World Heritage|website=whc.unesco.org|language=en|access-date=2018-09-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201205635/https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5573/ |archive-date=1 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Tombs===
{{main|Qutb Shahi Tombs}}
The [[Qutb Shahi Tombs|tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans]] lie about one kilometre north of [[Golkonda|Golkonda's]] outer wall. These structures are made of beautifully carved stonework, and surrounded by landscaped gardens. They are open to the public and receive many visitors.<ref name=":0" />

== Administration ==
[[File:The Bahmani Kingdom, Kandesh, and the Five Sultanates.jpg|thumb|The Bahmani Kingdom, Kandesh, and the Five Sultanates]]
The Qutb Shahi Kingdom was a highly centralized state. The sultan enjoyed absolute executive judicial and military powers. When he was away, a regent carried to carry on the administration on behalf of the king. The ''Peshwa'' (Prime Minister) was the highest official of the sultanate. He was assisted by a number of ministers, including ''Mir Jumla'' (finance minister), ''Kotwal'' (police commissioner), and ''Khazanadar'' (treasurer).{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

For most of their reign, the Qutb Shahi sultanate had a system of jagirs, who would provide troops as well as collect taxes. They were allowed to keep a portion of the taxes and give the sultan the rest. Tax collection was through auction farms, and the highest bidder used to get the Governorship. While the Governors enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle, they had to bear the brunt of severe punishments for default, consequently, they were harsh on the people.<ref name=":2" /> Tana Shah – the last Sultan, with advice from his Brahmin ministers responsible for tax collection, introduced a reform whereby all taxes were collected by civil professionals for a region. The soldiers, government workers, court officials and all the Muslim elites were paid allowances from the Sultan's treasury. These reforms brought a large increase in revenues.

According to Moreland, in the earlier system, the Persian-origin Muslims were paid the highest, then the other Indian Muslims. In early 17th century, the Persian origin Muslims became rich by lending money on high interest (usury) of 4-5% per ''mensem'' much to the despair of Hindus.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Moreland|first=W.H.|title=Relation of Golconda in the Early Seventeenth Century|publisher=Halyukt Society|year=1931|pages=78, 89}}</ref>

The Sultanate had 66 forts, and each fort was administered by a ''Nayak''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Prince;Poet;Lover;Builder: Mohd. Quli Qutb Shah - The founder of Hyderabad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4B_iDQAAQBAJ|author=Narendra Luther|publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting|year=1991|isbn=9788123023151|access-date=13 January 2020}}</ref> In the second half of the 17th century, the Qutb Shahi Sultan hired many Hindu Nayaks. According to Kruijtzer, these were mainly Brahmins. According to another account, these were mainly from the [[Kamma (caste)|Kamma]], [[Velama]], [[Kapu (caste)|Kapu]], and [[Raju]] warrior castes.<ref name=":1">Chapter III: Economics, Political, Economic, and Social Background of Deccan 17th-18th Century, p.57 [https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/25652/10/10_chapter%203.pdf Deccan under late 17th-century Qutb Shahi]</ref> They served as civil revenue officers. After the Mughals dismissed the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1687, these Hindu Nayaks were also dismissed and replaced with Muslim military commanders.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdqxsas05NMC|title=Proceedings of Seminar on Industries and Crafts in Andhra Desa, 17th and 18th Centuries, A.D.|date=1996|publisher=Department of History, Osmania University|pages=57|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJXXAAAAMAAJ|title=Readings In Society And Religion Of Medieval South India|last=Reddy|first=Pedarapu Chenna|date=2006-01-01|publisher=Research India Press|isbn=9788189131043|pages=163|language=en}}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{South Asia in 1525 CE|right|The Golconda Sultanate and main South Asian polities circa 1525 AD, on the eve of the establishment of the [[Mughal Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical Atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=39, 147|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=076}}</ref>|{{Annotation|130|168|[[File:Long Rectangle (plain).png|47px]]}}}}
The sultanate in 1670 comprised 21 ''[[Sarkar (administrative division)|sarkars]]'' (provinces) which in turn were divided into 355 ''[[parganas]]'' (districts).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nayeem |first=M. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V48MAQAAMAAJ |title=The Heritage of the Qutb Shahis of Golconda and Hyderabad, Volume 1 |date=2016 |publisher=Hyderabad Publishers |isbn=9788185492230 |pages=22 |chapter=MARITIME TRADE AND GROWTH OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN PORT CITIES OF COLONIAL ANDHRA: A STUDY OF MASULIPATNAM}}</ref><ref name="Golconda">{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aoYgAAAAMAAJ|title=History of the Qutb Shāhī Dynasty|author=Haroon Khan Sherwani|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|date=1974|page=655}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ 
!S.No.
!Name of<br>[[Circar|Sarkar]]
!Number of<br>[[Paragana|Paraganas]]
|-
| 1
| {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Muhammadnagar}}<br>(Golconda)
| 22 
|-
| 2
| Medak
| 16
|-
| 3
| {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Melangūr}}	
| 3 
|-
| 4
| Elangandel	
| 21
|-
| 5
| Warangal	
| 16
|-
| 6
| {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Khammamēṭ}}	
| 11
|-
| 7
| {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Dēvarkoṇḍa}}		
| 13
|-
| 8
| Pangal	
| 5
|-
| 9
| {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Mustafanagar}}<br>(Kondapalli)
| 24
|-
| 10
| {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Bhoṇgīr}}		
| 11
|-
| 11
| Akarkara	
| 6
|-
| 12
|  {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Kovilkoṇdā}}	
| 13
|-
| 13
| Ghanpura	
| 8
|-
| 14
| Murtaza Nagar<br>with three ''tarafs''
| 39
|-
| 15
| Machilipatnam	
| 8
|-
| 16
| Ellore
| 12
|-
| 17
| Rajahmundry
| 24
|-
| 18
| {{transliteration|ur|ISO|Chicacole}}<br>(Srikakulam) with 3 ''tarafs''
|115
|-
| 19
| Kaulas
| 5
|-
| 20
| Nizampatnam ''Mahal''
|1
|-
| 21
| Karnatak including Arcot ''taraf''<br> (It had 16 sarkars)
| 162<ref name="Golconda" />
|}

==Religion==
The Qutb Shahi dynasty, like many Deccan Islamic dynasties, was a Shia Muslim dynasty with roots in Persia (modern Iran). Initially, they were very strict and they persecuted the Hindus who constituted the vast majority of the population. Open practice of Hindu festivals was forbidden in the Golconda Sultanate. It was Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah who first reversed this policy, and allowed Hindus to practice their festivals and religion in the open.<ref>Annemarie Schimmel, ''Classical Urdu Literature from the Beginning to Iqbāl'', (Otto Harrassowitz, 1975), pp. 141-152</ref><ref>''Islam in South Asia: Practicing tradition today'', Karen G. Ruffle, '''South Asian Religions: Tradition and Today''', ed. Karen Pechilis, Selva J. Raj, (Routledge, 2013), 210.</ref>

<!--Unsourced and/or duplicated by above text
The early Qutb Shahi sultans prohibited Hindus from observing their religious festivals, states [[Annemarie Schimmel]] – a scholar of Islamic studies. During the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1611), who was a more tolerant ruler, the Hindus were allowed to openly observe their religious festivals like [[Diwali]] and [[Holi]].<ref>Annemarie Schimmel, ''Classical Urdu Literature from the Beginning to Iqbāl'', (Otto Harrassowitz, 1975), 143; Quote: "[Muhammad Quli ... was an enlightened and tolerant ruler...] Hindus enjoyed good positions at court and were again allowed to celebrate some of their religious festivals, such as Holi and Diwali, prohibited by the previous Muslim kings" – Annemarie Schimmel</ref> Later Sultans such as Tana Shah, appointed Brahmin Hindus such as [[Madanna and Akkanna]] as ministers in charge of tax collection and exchequer. However, this led to significant factionalism between the Muslim elites and the rising power of the Brahmin Hindus. The Muslim faction reached out to Aurangzeb, who sent a regiment led by his son to attack Golconda. They beheaded Madanna and Akkanna, along with plundering the property and killing many more Hindus in administrative positions of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Shortly thereafter, the last Sultan of the dynasty was jailed in Daulatabad by Aurangzeb, and the Qutb Shahi dynasty came to an end.
-->
In the final decades of their rule, the Qutb Shahi dynasty rulers patronized Shia, Sufi, and Sunni Islamic traditions, as well as Hindu traditions. Before their end, Tana Shah advised by Madanna and Akkanna –his Brahmin ministers, began the tradition of sending pearls to the [[Sita Ramachandraswamy temple, Bhadrachalam|Bhadrachalam Temple]] of Rama on [[Rama Navami]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IQtuAAAAMAAJ|title=Glimpses of our past--historical researches: festschrift in honour of Prof. Mukkamala Radhakrishna Sarma, former emeritus fellow|last1=Sarma|first1=Mukkamala Radhakrishna|last2=Committee|first2=Osmania University Dept of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology Felicitation|last3=History|first3=Osmania University Dept of|date=2004|publisher=Felicitation Committee, Dept. of Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archaeology & Dept. of History, Osmania University|pages=326|language=en}}</ref>

==List of rulers==
The eight [[sultan]]s in the dynasty were:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Rowspan="2"|Personal Name
! Rowspan="2"|Titular Name
! scope="row" colspan="2"|Reign
! Rowspan="2"|Notes
|-
! From
! Until
|-
| ''Sultan Quli''<br />سلطان قلی 
| [[Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk]]
| 7 December 1518
| 2 September 1543
|
* Founder of [[Qutb Shahi Dynasty]]<ref name="sen2"/>
* Son of Uways Quli Beg
* Great Grand Son of [[Qara Yusuf]]
|-
| ''Jamsheed''<br />جمشید
| [[Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah]]
| 2 September 1543
| 22 January 1550
|
* Second Son of [[Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk]]
|-
| ''Subhan''<br />سبحان
| [[Subhan Quli Qutb Shah]]
| 22 January 1550
| 1550
| 
* Son of [[Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah]]
* Became King at the age of 7 and died after a short time
|-
| ''Ibrahim''<br />ابراہیم
| [[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali]]
| 27 July 1550
| 5 June 1580
| 
* Younger Son of [[Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk]]
* Fought the [[Battle of Talikota]] with the Alliance of [[Deccan Sultanates]]
|-
| ''Muhammad Ali''<br />محمد علی
| [[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]]
| 5 June 1580
| 11 January 1612
|
* Son of [[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali]]
* Founder of [[Hyderabad]] City
* Muhammad Ali was a Scholar in [[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Urdu]] and [[Telugu language|Telugu]] languages
|-
| ''Sultan Muhammad''<br />محمد سلطان
| [[Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah]]
| 11 January 1612
| 1626
|
* Son of Muhammad Amin Shah
* Grand Son of [[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali|Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah]]
* Son in Law of [[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah]]
|-
| ''Abdullah''<br />عبداللہ
| [[Abdullah Qutb Shah]]
| 1626
| 21 April 1672
|
* Son of [[Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah]]
|-
| ''Abul Hasan''<br />ابُل حسن
| [[Tana Shah]]
| 21 April 1672
| 22 September 1687
|
* Son in law of [[Abdullah Qutb Shah]]
* Defeated and jailed by Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb Alamgir]] in 1687
* He died in prison.
|-
|}

==Genealogy of House of Qutb-Shahi==
{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=no|House of Qutb-Shahi}}
{|- valign=top
| colspan=100% style="text-align:left" |
{{Color sample|border=#FFD700|#white; border-width:2px}} Golconda Sultanate
|}
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|style=font-size:90%}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | A01 | | | | | |
|A01='''[[Quli Qutb Shah|Sultan-Quli <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1518|1543}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#FFD700
}}
{{Tree chart| | |,|-|-|-|(| | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | A01 | | A02 | | | | | |
|A01='''[[Jamsheed Quli Qutb Shah|Jamshid-Quli <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1543|1550}}
|A02='''[[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali|Ibrahim-Quli <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1550|1580}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#FFD700
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#FFD700
}}
{{Tree chart| | |!| | | |)|-|-|-|.| | |}}
{{Tree chart| | A01 | | A02 | | A03 | |
|A01='''[[Subhan Quli Qutb Shah|Subhan-Quli <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1550|1550}}
|A02='''[[Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah|Muhammad-Quli <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1580|1612}}
|A03=Muhammad-Amin
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#FFD700
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#FFD700
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | |!| | | |!| | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | A01 |m| A02 | |
|A01=[[Hayat Bakshi Begum|Hayat-Bakhshi]]
|A02='''[[Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah|Muhammad <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1612|1626}}
|boxstyle_ A02 =border-color:#FFD700
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | |,|-|'| | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | A01 | | | | | |
|A01='''[[Abdullah Qutb Shah|Abdullah <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1626|1672}}
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#FFD700
}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | |!| | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| | A01 |P| A02 | | | | | |
|A01='''[[Abul Hasan Qutb Shah|Abu'l-Hasan <br>Qutb-Shah]]''' <br>{{r.|1672|1687}}
|A02=Padishah
|boxstyle_ A01 =border-color:#FFD700
}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}

==See also==
{{Portal bar|Hyderabad|History}}
*[[Hyderabad State]]
*[[Battle of Talikota]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |last=Majumdar |first=R.C. |year=1974 |title=The Mughul Empire |chapter=The Five Sultanates of the Deccan |publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan |author-link=R.C. Majumdar|url=https://archive.org/details/mughal-empire-r.-c.-majumdar-1974}}
*{{Cite book|title=Mohammad Qutub Quli Shah, Founder of Hyderabad|last=Sherwani|year=1967|first=Haroon Khan|chapter=Qutub Ul Mulk|publisher=Asian Publishing House|url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.46692|author-link=Haroon Khan Sherwani}}
*{{cite book|first=Haroon Khan|last=Sherwani|year=1973|title=History of Medieval Deccan (1295–1724) : Volume I|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.142905|publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh}}

==Further reading==
*Chopra, R. M., The Rise, Growth And Decline of Indo-Persian Literature, 2012, Iran Culture House, New Delhi.
*Jawed Vashisht, Ghizal-e Raana (A selection of Quli Qutab Shah's ghazals)
*Jawed Vashisht, Roop Ras (Romantic poems of Quli Qutab Shah)
*Jawed Vashisht, Mohammed Quli aur Nabi ka Sadka
*Jawed Vashisht, Dakhni Darpan

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}{{Authority control}}
{{Andhra Pradesh}}
{{Telangana}}

{{Hyderabad topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qutb Shahi Dynasty}}
[[Category:Sultanate of Golconda| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1518]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1687]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of India]]
[[Category:History of Telangana]]
[[Category:Former countries in South Asia]]
[[Category:16th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:Former sultanates]]
[[Category:Deccan sultanates]]