Subject: noble
Culture: Indo-Persian Afaqi/Pardesi
Setting: regional warfare, Deccan sultanates 16-17thc
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
* Schmidt 1995 p44
"The incessant fighting [among Deccan states] took its toll on the population of the Bahmani kingdom, as did a brutal factional struggle within. The kingdom's nobility was divided into two distinct groups, the Deccanis -- older, and well-established -- and the Pardesis, who comprised recent arrivals. The Pardesis were more prosperous than the Deccanis and this led to intense rivalry between the two groups, a rivalry which included assassinations and massacres. The conflict between the Deccanis and Pardesis gradually destabilized the kingdom internally and led to a weakening of Bahmani central authority over the nobility. Provincial governors consequently gained in power until, in 1518, the kingdom split into five smaller, independent kingdoms: Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda."
* Hutton 2006 p15-16
"The primary split in the nobility, inherited from the Bahmani dynasty, was between the Deccanis, or Indian-born Muslims, and the Afaqis, or foreign-born Muslims. The Deccanis (including Muslims whose families had been in India for several generations and who spoke the local languages), Hindu-converts to Islam, and also Habshis (East Africans, primarily Abbysinians) tended to belong to the Sunni sect of Islam. The Afaqis, mainly Persian-speaking soldiers and adminstrators from Transoxiana, Iran, and the Persian Gulf, were primarily Shia Muslims. Rivalry for influential positions at court, as well as cultural, linguistic, and religious differences, created animosity between the two groups. Although ultimately this split served to weaken the Deccan kingdoms, at times the sultans were able to exploit it to keep the power of the nobles in check. One of the ways in which they could alter power relations was by switching the official religion and, with it, the favored group of nobles."
* Hutton 2006 p27 (describing Bijapur)
"Ali, like the Adil Shahis before him, spent a good deal of his reign battling against various neighbors. What distinguishes Ali from his predecessors is that he achieved more military successes than they did. Shortly after coming to power in 1558, the sultan took several actions: he changed the state religion back to Shia Islam, welcomed Afaqi nobles at court, and formed a close alliance with the ruler of Vijayanagara, Ramraj. Ali even visited Ramraj to pay his condolences after the death of the raja's son. This association with Vijayanagara led to a successful three-year war, from 1559 to 1561, against Bijapur's northern neighbor, the Nizam Shahs of Ahmadnagar. From the victory Ali gained the Sholapur and Naldrug hill forts and secured Bijapur's northern border. Eventually, however, in search of political betterment, Ali abandoned his alliance with Ramraj and joined a coalition of Deccan sultans, including the Qutb Shah ruler of Golconda and the Nizam Shah ruler of Ahmadnagar, against Vijayanagara. In 1565 they defeated the powerful southern state and killed Ramraj at the battle of Talikota."
Costume
* Hutton 2006 p64 (describing a miniature of Jupiter in the Nujum-ul-'Ulum, 1570-1)
"Most of the figures wear Persianate dress and small white turbans, as many Adil Shahi courtiers, particularly the Afaqi, would have."
Sword
* Elgood 2004 p260
"Sailaba Short Muslim sword with a forward curved blade from Hyderabad (Deccan). An early seventeenth-century example in the State Museum, Hyderabad, is dated AH1028. ... A good 1570 portrayal of such a weapon can be seen in the Nujum-ul-'Ulum. The weapon is identical to the sosun pattah and probably derives from the yataghan which is the earlier weapon." [NOTE: Contrast against yataghan notes in 1739 Ottoman janissary.]
Dagger
* Welch 1985 p303 (discussing a Deccan dagger, early 17th century)
"'Khanjar' is an Arabic word used in the Islamic countries for different weapons. In Persia and India the name is applied to a dagger with a double-edged, slightly recurved blade and, usually, a pistol-grip hilt made from metal, ivory, or jade or some other hardstone. Jade hilts may be plain, carved, or set with jewels; fewer khanjars were made with ivory hilts, and they generally have a simple shape. Khanjars were commonly used in India from about 1600. Daggers with hilts of gold, silver, jade or ivory were worn at court or in ceremonies, not carried on the battlefield."
