The word
Deccani ( from
Prakrit dakkhin "south") was derived in the court of
Bahmani rulers in 1487 AD during
Sultan Mahmood Shah Bahmani II. File:Deccani Horseman.png|A medieval Deccani Muslim horseman File:Bahamani-sultanate-map.svg|Map of the Bahmanid empire The Bahmanid empire was founded by
Hasan Gangu, or also known as Zafar Khan, a ruler of Afghan or Turk origin. following the
Rebellion of Ismail Mukh. Hasan Gangu revolted against the
Tughlaq dynasty of the
Delhi Sultanate, with the revolt being led by another Afghan, named Ismail Mukh. Ismail Mukh succeeded and then abdicated in favor of Zafar Khan, who founded the Bahmani Sultanate. Hasan Gangu was one of the inhabitants of Delhi who were forced to immigrate to Daulatabad in the during the Delhi Sultanate, with the purpose of building a large Muslim urban centre in the Deccan.
Vijayanagara Wars The Bahmanids' aggressive confrontation with the two main Hindu kingdoms of the southern Deccan, Warangal and Vijayanagar, made them renowned among Muslims as warriors of the faith. Ahmad Shah Bahmani I conquered Warangal kingdom in 1425, annexing it to the empire. The Vijayanagar empire, which had subdued the Madurai Sultanate after a conflict lasting four decades, found a natural enemy in the Bahmanids of the northern Deccan, over the control of the Godavari-basin, Tungabadhra Doab, and the Marathwada country, although they seldom required a pretext for declaring war. Military conflicts between the Bahmanids and Vijayanagara were almost a regular feature and lasted as long as these kingdoms continued. These military conflicts resulted in widespread devastation of the contested areas by both sides, resulting in considerable loss of life and property. Military slavery involved captured slaves from Vijayanagar and having them embrace a Deccani identity by converting them to Islam and integrating into the host society, so they could begin military careers within the Bahmanid empire. This was the origin of powerful political leaders such as Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahri.
Deccan Sultanates The five
Deccan Sultanates of diverse origins continued to identify as successor states of the Bahmanid dynasty as the basis of legitimacy, and minted Bahmanid coins rather than issue their own coins. The
Nizam Shahs and
Berar Shahs were founded by the heads of the Deccani Muslim party. The
Adil Shahi Sultanate, which was founded by a Shia
Georgian slave, also switched to a Deccani ethnic and political identity under
Ibrahim Adil Shah I, who established Sunnism (the religion of the Deccani Muslims). He degraded the Afaqis
(Persians) and dismissed them from their posts with a few exceptions, replacing them with nobles of the Deccani party. Uniting in a coalition under the leadership of Hussain Nizam Shah, the
Nizam Shahi Sultan, the five Deccan Sultanates defeated the Hindu
Vijayanagar empire in the
Battle of Talikota, resulting in the Sack of Vijayanagara. Hussain Nizam Shah personally beheaded the Vijayanagar Emperor,
Rama Raya. File:Malik-e-Maidan Bijapur.JPG|The Malik-i Maidan cannon File:Battle of Talikota (detail).jpg|Sultan Hussain Nizam Shah I beheads Rama Raya File:Ruins of Vijianuggur, porches in Hampi, Vijayanagara, 1868 photo.jpg|Ruins of Vijayanagar
Pindaris The first mention of the
Pindaris referred to Muslim mercenaries generally settled in the districts of Bijapur, who had served as mercenaries for the armies of most of the Muslim Deccani kingdoms. They took part in the numerous wars against the Mughals of Delhi. The disintegration of the Muslim kingdoms of the Deccan led to the gradual disbandment of the Pindaris. These were at that stage taken in the service of the
Marathas. The inclusion of the Pindaris eventually became an indispensable part and parcel of the Maratha army. As a class of freebooters in Maratha armies they acted as a "sort of roving cavalry...rendering them much the same service as the Cossacks for the armies of Russia." The Pindaris would also later be used by kings such as
Tipu Sultan.
18th century Muslim military men with Deccani background were much sought after by the Marava and Kallar warrior chiefs of the south Indian hinterland. Their fortress towns soon acquired concentrations of migrant Deccanis and Urdu-speaking service people, mostly Sunnis. These incomers included seasoned fighters who had seen service with the Mughals and the Muslim states in northern India. This was the source of the phenomenal rise of rulers such as
Hyder Ali and
Tipu Sultan.
Sultanat-i-Khudadad of Mysore Hyder Ali had initially served as an ordinary soldier for the Hindu
Wadiyar Kingdom of Mysore and became a cavalry officer in 1749. Once he took control of the army, he took advantage of court politics, stormed into
Srirangapatna, and
proclaimed himself ruler. Having styled himself as
sultan in 1761, Hyder Ali launched
a preemptive war against the
Marathas, westernizing the army of Mysore in the process and developing the
first successful iron-cased rockets as an artillery weapon. With the withdrawal of
Madhav Rao, he overran the borderlands between the kingdoms and seized land and immense booty, increasing his power. Ultimately, this brought him into conflict with the
East India Company, between whom
a series of wars would begin. His son and successor Tipu Sultan would inherit both conflicts. He saw
victory against the Marathas and allied with the
French in order to fight the British and their allies. Eventually, after existing for 38 years, the Deccani Muslim
Sultanat-e-Khudadad () would be defeated by an alliance of the British,
Hyderabad and the Marathas, and the Wadiyars were reinstated on the Mysori throne. File:Joppen1907MysoreChickDeoWadiyar1704.jpg|Territories of the original Wadeyar kingdom File:Hyder's Dominions in 1780.jpg|Hyder's Dominions in 1780 File:Waverley novels (1900) (14761659876).jpg|Hyder Ali as 'The Pretended Fakir' File:General Sir David Baird Discovering the Body of Sultan Tippoo Sahib.jpg |Sir David Baird Discovering Body of Tipu Sultan ==Culture==