A study on the rise and fall of Deccan region with special reference to Gulbarga

  • Unique Paper ID: 167553
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue: 1
  • PageNo: 393-397
  • Abstract:
  • Gulbarga city which is also popularly known as Kalaburagi city, is the largest city in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of North Karnataka. Gulbarga was a part of Hyderabad state initially, but through state reorganization act of 1956, it was included in the Karnataka state (Erstwhile Mysore state). Etymologically Gulbarga name is derived from ‘Kalburgi’ which means a ‘stony land’ or ‘stone roofing’ or a ‘heap of stones’ in Kannada. Another version is that Gulbarga was so named to connote a leaf with flower, since ‘Gul’ means ‘flower’ and ‘Burg’ means ‘leaf’ in the Persian language. It is also said that Kalburgi, came to be pronounced as Gulbarga when it was under the Muslim rule. The history of the Gulbarga city dates back to 6th century. The entire district is situated in Deccan plateau. Several important ruling dynasties of the Deccan had their capital in this district. Starting from Rashtrakutas, who had Malkhed as their capital, is just twenty two miles away from Gulbarga City. Ala-ud-din Bahaman Shah selected Gulbarga city itself as his capital. In the early 14th century, the Deccan was occupied by Muhammad Bin Tughluq of the Delhi Sultanate, which included Gulbarga. The revolt of the Muslim officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of the Bahamani Sultanate in 1347 by Ala-ud-din Hassan, who choose Gulbarga (named as ‘Ahsenabad’ during this period) to be his capital. It remained the capital of the Bahamani Kingdom till 1424, where after the capital was shifted to Bidar, as Bidar had better climatic conditions. The Bahamani kings, during this period, ruled over the Deccan plateau from the Krishna River to the Tapti river and from the Western Ghats to the Telangana area. Infact, in few places of the city, pre-historical evidences are also found. These pre-historic remains consist of cromlechs, kistavaens and cairns. Therefore, understanding the background and importance of Gulbarga city is very important and this research paper attempts such initiative.

Cite This Article

  • ISSN: 2349-6002
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue: 1
  • PageNo: 393-397

A study on the rise and fall of Deccan region with special reference to Gulbarga

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