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Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Kaulas

Fort of the Telugu country which the first Bahmani sultan took from the ruler of Warangal. Haig names this ruler Kanhayya Naik, and an epigraphy report of 1934–35 notes that he has been identified with the Musunuri chief Kapaya Nayaka. His attempt to win Kaulas back led to war with the Bahmani sultan Muhammad Shah I.

A frontier fort

Ferishta says that the first Bahmani sultan, Ala-ud-din Hasan Bahman Shah, took Kaulas (Kowlas) from the Raja of Warangal.1 In his words, the sultan “wrested Kowlas, also, with its dependencies, from the Raja of Wurungole, with whom he formed a treaty of alliance”.1 Haig names the raja Kanhayya Naik.2 Elsewhere Haig calls him “Krishna or Kanhayya Naik”.3 The epigraphy report for 1934–35 says that the Musunuri chief Kapaya Nayaka “has been identified with Kanya-Nayaka or Krishna-Nayak of the Muhammadan historians”.4 He says that Bahman Shah’s general Sikandar Khan forced him to give up Kaulas and pay tribute.2

Bahman Shah divided his kingdom into four provinces.56 Kaulas then went to the governor of Bidar, with Bidar, Indur and the Bahmani districts of Telingana.56 Gribble describes it as “a fort which had been taken from the Rajah of Warangal, in whose territory it was situated”.7 See Kapaya Nayaka and the Bahmanis.

The war with Warangal

Ferishta says that early in the reign of Muhammad Shah I, the Raja of Telingana demanded the return of his lands.8 The Raja sent his son Vinaik Dew with an army to recover Kaulas, but the Bahmani general Bahadur Khan defeated it.8 Haig says that Kanhayya had demanded the retrocession (giving back) of Kaulas.9

After the raid on Velumputtun the wounded sultan halted at Kaulas, where his main army joined him.10 He later marched from Kaulas on his final campaign into Telingana.11 When peace was made, Bahadur Khan stayed at Kaulas to see the terms carried out.12 Haig, too, has the sultan’s pursuers checked at Kaulas.13 See Golconda.

Footnotes

  1. Muhammad Qasim Ferishta, tr. John Briggs, History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India, Vol. II (1829), p. 293 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  2. Wolseley Haig (ed.), The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 373 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  3. Haig, Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 169 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  4. Annual Report on South-Indian Epigraphy for 1934–35 (1938), p. 74 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the phrase quoted. ↩

  5. Ferishta, tr. Briggs, Vol. II (1829), p. 296 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  6. Haig, Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 375 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  7. J. D. B. Gribble, A History of the Deccan, Vol. I (1896), p. 37 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  8. Ferishta, tr. Briggs, Vol. II (1829), p. 301 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  9. Haig, Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 379 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  10. Ferishta, tr. Briggs, Vol. II (1829), p. 304 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  11. Ferishta, tr. Briggs, Vol. II (1829), p. 305 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  12. Ferishta, tr. Briggs, Vol. II (1829), p. 306 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  13. Haig, Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 380 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

Photos

People

Kapaya Nayaka

c. 1336–1368 CE

Musunuri chief (fl. c. 1336–1368), cousin and successor of Prolaya Nayaka. He took Warangal from the Delhi governors and ruled as 'lord of the Andhra country'. He is identified with the Kanya Naik of Barani and the Krishna Naik of Ferishta. He helped the founders of the Bahmani kingdom, then lost Kaulas and Golconda to them. He was overthrown by the Recherla Velamas in about 1368.

Ala-ud-din Hasan Bahman Shah

1347–1358 CE

Officer of the Delhi sultanate who led the Deccan revolt against Muhammad bin Tughluq, with help from the ruler of Warangal. In 1347 he founded the Bahmani sultanate at Gulbarga. He took Kaulas from Warangal and made western Telangana a province of his kingdom.

Muhammad Shah I

1358–1375 CE

Second Bahmani sultan (1358–1375), son of the founder. He organised the court, the army and the four provinces, struck the dynasty's own gold coin, and fought the first great wars with Warangal and Vijayanagara. In Ferishta's account the ruler of Warangal ceded Golconda to him and gave up a jewelled throne, the Takht-i-Feroza or turquoise throne. The Burhan-i Ma'asir tells of the Telingana war in a single sentence.

References

Sources (4)
  1. Muhammad Qasim Ferishta (tr. John Briggs), History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India till the Year A.D. 1612, Vol. II (opens in a new tab), Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, London, 1829, pp. 293, 296, 301, 304–306. [Public domain]
  2. Wolseley Haig (ed.), The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans (opens in a new tab), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1928, pp. 373, 375, 379–380. [Public domain]
  3. J. D. B. Gribble, A History of the Deccan, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Luzac & Co., London, 1896, pp. 37–38. [Public domain]
  4. Madras Government (Superintendent for Epigraphy, Southern Circle), Annual Report on South-Indian Epigraphy for the Year ending 31st March 1935 (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1938. [Public domain in India]

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