Abdul Wahab Khan

Abdul Wahab Khan is remembered at Kurnool as the man who conquered the town for Bijapur.¹ He governed it for about sixteen years and died in AH 1028 (1618; AH is the Islamic way of counting years).² He was buried in a tomb that he had built on the bank of the Handri.²

The siege of Kurnool

The Manual of the Kurnool District (1886) describes a long period of confusion after the battle of 1565.¹ Then, “at the beginning of the seventeenth century”, Abdul Wahab “was deputed by the King of Bijapur, with a powerful army, to take the fort of Kurnool”.¹ Henry Heras, the historian of the Aravidu dynasty (1927), placed the expedition “probably not long after” a failed Bijapur siege of Penukonda.³ Heras placed that siege in the reign of Ibrahim Adil Shah II.⁴ See Kurnool and the Adil Shahis of Bijapur.

The town was then held by Gopala Raja, “a grandson of Rama Raja of Talikota”.¹² The manual says that he “stoutly defended the town, which was strongly fortified”.¹² It adds, “He was assisted, it is said, by a force sent by Venkatapati of Penukonda”.¹² But he had to give up the town.¹²

Gopala Raja “is said to have fled from the town through the northern gate of the fort still known as Gopal Darvaja”.¹² The country was almost deserted for about three years before the people began to return.¹² See Aliya Rama Raya and Venkatapati II.

Governor of Kurnool

Abdul Wahab governed as deputy for about sixteen years.² Over time he took Betamcherla, Nandyal and Sirvel.² Koilkuntla, then part of Gandikota, and the Cumbum and Markapur country were left to the officers of Golconda.²

The manual describes him as “an Abyssinian and a bigotted Muhammadan”.² It says, “One of his first acts was to convert Hindu temples into mosques, which he liberally endowed.”² It adds that he “is also said to have improved the town”.² “The arched shops in the main bazaar streets in Kurnool are said to have been built by him.”² According to the manual, the suburb of Jorapuram is named after Jora, his sister.⁵

Death and tomb

He died in AH 1028 (1618).² He “was buried in a large dome-shaped tomb which he had built on the banks of the Handri, and which now attracts the attention of travellers”.² His brother Muhammad succeeded him.² After that, deputies from Bijapur governed Kurnool until 1686.²

The Imperial Gazetteer (1908) also gives 1618 for the tomb of “Abdul Wahab, the first Muhammadan governor”.⁶ See the tomb of Abdul Wahab, Kurnool.

Footnotes

1. Narahari Gopalakristnamah Chetty, A Manual of the Kurnool District (1886), p. 28 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Chetty, Kurnool District (1886), p. 29 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹

3. Henry Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I (1927), p. 337 and note 1 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

4. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I (1927), p. 336 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

5. Chetty, Kurnool District (1886), p. 224 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

6. Imperial Gazetteer of India: Madras, Vol. I (1908), p. 426 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩