Hyderabad is the capital of the Indian state of Telangana. It is a historic city noted for its many monuments, temples, mosques and bazaars. A multitude of influences have shaped the character of the city in the last 400 years.
The city of Hyderabad was founded by the Qutb Shahi sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591. It was built around the Charminar, which formed the centrepiece of the city. Hyderabad became an important trading centre for diamonds and pearls, and a centre for culture.
After a brief period of Mughal rule, in 1724, Asaf Jah I defeated Mubariz Khan to establish autonomy over the Deccan Suba, named the region Hyderabad Deccan, and started what came to be known as the Asaf Jahi dynasty. Subsequent rulers retained the title Nizam ul-Mulk and were referred to as Asaf Jahi Nizams, or Nizams of Hyderabad. Nizam I never formally declared independence from the Mughals; he still flew the Mughal flag, and was never crowned. In Friday prayers, the sermon would be conducted in the name of Aurangzeb, and this tradition continued until the end of Hyderabad State in 1948. The Nizams later signed a subsidiary alliance with the British, and their territory became Hyderabad State, the largest princely state in British India with the city of Hyderabad as its capital.
After India's independence in 1947, the Nizam did not wish to accede his state to the newly formed nation. By then, his power had weakened due to the Telangana rebellion. Hyderabad State was annexed to the Indian Union in 1948. In 1956, the Hyderabad State was divided on the basis of linguistic differences, and the city of Hyderabad became the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Ancient history Archaeologists excavating near the city have unearthed Iron Age sites that can be dated to 500 BCE. Megalithic sites dating back to 2nd century BC have been excavated. Prominent amongst these sites are at Hasmathpet. Megalithic sites have also been discovered at Moulali, Kothaguda, Hyderabad Central University campus. Later in 2008 a new site was discovered at Kethepalli near Ramoji Film City. The area around Hyderabad was ruled by the Mauryan Empire in the third century BCE during the reign of Ashoka the Great. After the death of Ashoka (232 BCE), as the Maurya Empire began to weaken and decline, the Sātavāhanas who started out as feudatories to the Mauryan dynasty, declared independence and established their empire in this region. The Sātavāhana Empire was a royal Indian dynasty based from Kotilingala in Telangana as well as Junnar (Pune) and Prathisthan (Paithan) in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of the Deccan Plateau and central India for 450 years, i.e., from 230 BCE onward until around 220 CE. After the decline of the Satavahana Empire in 210 CE, the region came under the rule of the Ikshvaku dynasty (225 CE – 325 CE), the successors of the Satavahanas in eastern Deccan.
Medieval history
Various Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms ruled the area during the subsequent centuries. The area was ruled by the Kalyani branch of the Chalukya kings. When the Chalukya kingdom became weaker, Kakatiyas, who were feudal chieftains of Chalukya, declared independence and set up their kingdom around Warangal.
The Kakatiyas built the Golkonda Fort in the vicinity of Hyderabad as part of their western defenses along the lines of the Kondapalli Fort. The city and the fortress were built on a granite hill that is high, surrounded by massive battlements. The fort was rebuilt and strengthened by Rani Rudrama Devi and her successor Prataparudra.Saqi Mustaid Khan, Ma'asir-i-Alamgiri, Translated by Jadunath Sarkar, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Kolkata (then Calcutta); 1947, p. 183
The fall of Warangal to Muhammad bin Tughluq's forces from the Delhi Sultanate in 1321 CE brought anarchy to the region. Later, the Golkonda fort came under the control of the Musunuri Nayaks, who defeated the Tughlaqi army occupying Warangal. For the next few decades, the Bahmani Sultanate of the Deccan fought the Musunuri Nayakas on the north and the Vijayanagara Rayas on the south for control of the region. The Golkonda fort was ceded by the Musunuri Kapaya Nayak to the Bahmani Sultanate as part of a treaty in 1364. By the middle of the 15th century, the region was under the firm control of the Bahmani Sultanate, which controlled the Deccan north of the Krishna River from coast to of sultanate.
Under the Bahmani Sultanate, Golkonda slowly rose to prominence. Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk (r. 1487–1543), sent as a governor of Telangana, established it as the seat of his government around 1501. Bahmani rule gradually weakened during this period, and Sultan Quli formally became independent in 1538, establishing the Qutb Shahi dynasty based in Golkonda. Over a period of 62 years, the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi sultans into the present structure, a massive fortification of granite extending around 5 km in circumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to the present city of Hyderabad.
Timeline Chalukya dynasty (624–1075), Kakatiya dynasty (1158–1321), Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), Musunuri Nayakas (1336–1365), Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1527), Qutb Shahi dynasty (1518–1687), Mughal Empire (1526–1857), Asaf Jahi dynasty 1724–1948, Republic of India (1948-till date).
The Qutb Shahi dynasty (1518–1687)
Establishment of the Golconda Sultanate In 1463, Sultan Muhammad Shah Bahmani II dispatched Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk to the Telangana region to quell disturbances. Sultan Quli quelled the disturbance and was rewarded as the administrator of the region. He established a base at Kakatiya hill fortress of Golconda, which he strengthened and expanded considerably. By the end of the century, Quli ruled from Golconda as the subedar (governor) of the Telangana region. Quli enjoyed virtual independence from Bidar, where the Bahmani sultanate was then based.
In 1518, when the Bahmani Sultanate disintegrated into five different kingdoms, with the others based in Ahmednagar, Berar, Bidar and Bijapur. Sultan Quli declared independence from the Bahmani Sultanate and established the Golconda Sultanate under the title "Sultan Quli Qutub Shah", he rebuilt the mud-fort of Golconda and named the city Muhammad Nagar.
The Hussain Sagar lake was built during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah, the fourth Sultan of the dynasty, in 1563. It was named after Hussain Shah Wali, who helped design it.
Founding of Hyderabad In 1589, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, selected the present site of the city and established the city of Hyderabad at the banks of the Musi river to overcome water shortages experienced at Golconda. The Purana Pul (old bridge) enabled quick travel between Golconda and Hyderabad.
There are various theories about the naming of the city. One popular theory suggests that the sultan had named the city "Bhaganagar" or "Bhāgyanagar" after Bhāgmathi, a local nautch (dancing) girl with whom he had fallen in love.
She converted to Islam and adopted the title Hyder Mahal. The city was renamed Hyderabad in her honour. According to another source, the city was named after Haidar, the son of Quli Qutb Shah. Historians dismiss the theory of dancing girl as a "figment of the imagination" that lacks a "shred of evidence". According to the Hyderabad-based historian Capt. Panduranga Reddy (retd) who studied the city's origin, "It is all fiction that Hyderabad was ever named Bhagyanagar or that it was named after the lover of Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah. Hyderabad was actually built much later around a small village called Chichulam."
The architectural historian Pushkar Sohoni theorised the foundation of several cities in the Deccan in this period. According to him, Hyderabad was founded in 1591 to decongest Golconda, which was growing rapidly. In addition, the changing nature of economic organisation and warfare technology required mercantile and civilian settlements to be disaggregated from the fortified military and political centres. Andrew Petersen, a scholar of Islamic architecture, says the city was originally called Baghnagar (city of gardens).
He ordered the construction of the Charminar in 1591. The construction of the nearby Makkah Masjid was also started during his reign, but would not be completed for a hundred years. Mir Momin Astarabadi, the prime minister in the Qutub Shahi period, developed the plan of the city of Hyderabad, including the location of the Charminar and Char Kaman.
Growth of the new city, Hyderabad The early history of Hyderabad is inextricably intertwined and fortune rose during the 16th and early 17th centuries, Hyderabad became a center of a vibrant diamond trade. All eight Qutb Shahi sultans were patrons of learning and were great builders. They contributed to the growth and development of Indo-Persian and Indo-Islamic literature and culture in Hyderabad. Some of the sultans were known as patrons of local Telugu culture as well. During the Qutb Shahi reign Golconda became one of the leading markets in the world for diamonds, pearls, steel, arms, and also printed fabric. In the 16th century, the city grew to accommodate the surplus population of Golconda and eventually became the capital of the Qutb Shahi rulers. Hyderabad became known for its baghs (gardens) and its comfortable weather.
Mughal conquest and rule (1687–1724)
By the mid-17th century, politics in the Deccan were ready for yet another tectonic shift. Mughal prince Aurangzeb spent most of his time in the Deccan fighting local Hindu and Muslim kingdoms to establish and enforce Mughal sovereignty. After the death of Shah Jahan in 1666, Aurangzeb consolidated his power in Delhi as Emperor and returned to the south. He spent most of his imperial reign in military camps in the Deccan, in an almost desperate campaign to expand the empire beyond the greatest extent it had reached under Akbar. The biggest prize in his eyes was the rich city of Hyderabad, protected by the reportedly impregnable fort of Golconda.
Aurangzeb with his commanders Khwaja Abid Siddiqi (Qulich Khan) and the latter's son Ghazi-ud-Din Feroze Jung laid siege to Golconda in 1686. Golconda held fast under months of siege, and Aurangzeb had to retreat in frustration. Aurangzeb returned in 1687 and laid siege for 9 months camping in the Fateh Maidan ("victory field", now the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium). Khwaja Abid Siddiqi died in these war and was buried at Kismatpur near Attapur, Hyderabad. Local legend has it that the fortress held on, but the gates were opened at night by a saboteur Abdullah Khan Pani who was bribed by Aurangzeb. Hyderabad's independence was eclipsed.
On 21 September 1687, the Golkonda Sultanate came under the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after a year-long siege of the Golkonda fort. The annexed city "Hyderabad" was renamed Darul Jihad (House of War), and the main territories of the Golconda Sultanate were made into the province Hyderabad Subah. Mughal rule in Hyderabad was administered by three main governors: Jan Sipar Khan (1688–1700), his son Rustam Dil Khan (1700–13) and Mubariz Khan (1713–24).
Aurangzeb's efforts would turn out largely in vain, with Hyderabad remaining under Mughal rule for less than four decades. During this period, the construction of the Makkah Masjid (which had started in the 16th century) and city wall of Hyderabad with 12 gateways was completed.
For a few decades, Hyderabad declined, and its vibrant diamond trade was all but destroyed. Aurangzeb's attention moved away quickly to other parts of the Deccan, with the Maratha Empire gaining ground against the Mughals.
The Nizams of Hyderabad (1724–1948)