The Adil Shahis, sultans of Bijapur, were of Turkish origin and their rule flourished till the Mughal forces of Aurangazeb challenged them in the 17th century.
An ASI-protected mausoleum: Of the Adil Shahi era (1489-1686).
The 16th century collection of poems Kitab-e-Navras is interesting in many ways. The author of the text was Ibrahim Adil Shah II, the sultan of Bijapur and the invocation verses are dedicated to Sarasvati and Ganesh. Ibrahim Adil Shah II stood for religious amity and brought Hindus and Muslims together. He took the title Jagadguru Badshah and the Deccani portrait paintings show him wearing a rudraksha necklace. The syncretism did not stop with the conten
t; the language used in the book too was a unique combination of Marathi, Persian, Arabic, Telugu and Hindi.
Prominent sultanate
In the 14th century, the governors of Deccan rebelled and broke away from the empire of Muhammed bin Tughluq and the Bhamani Sultanate was established. This sultanate too later split into five smaller regions. The most prominent of the five was the Bijapur sultanate. The Adil Shahis, sultans of Bijapur were of Turkish origin and their rule flourished till the Mughal forces of Aurangazeb challenged them in the 17th century.
Bijapur was earlier known as Vijapur or the city of victory. It is a city of great monuments and home to some of the finest miniature paintings known as the Decanni paintings. The Deccani paintings though similar to the Mughal paintings in subject, appear different in terms of bright colours and backgrounds.
The Jumma Masjid, Malik-e-Maidan, Gagan Mahal and Taj Bawadi are some of the important monuments in Bijapur. But two monuments steal all the attention. One is the famous Gol Gumbaz and the other is the Ibrahim Rauza built by Ibrahim Adil Shah II and contains tombs and mosque on a single platform. Slender minarets frame the Rauza and often draw comparison with the Taj Mahal. Henry Cousens, the noted British archeologist called Ibrahim Rauza as “the Taj Mahal of the South”. Incidentally, the Rauza was initially meant for Taj Sultana, the wife of Adil Shah II.
Gol Gumbaz
Many consider Gol Gumbaz as the second largest domed structure after St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. This was built as a tomb for Muhammad Adil Shah II in the 17th century. A hemispherical dome with an external diameter of 44m covers the tomb. Eight intersecting arches contained in a massive cube of a building support this huge dome. Within this dome structure, the sound travels in a peculiar whispering way and entertains a large number of visitors.
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