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Believed to be the descendant of the great Iranian hero Bhaman and blessed by great Sufis, Hasan Gangu founded the Bahmani dynasty with his ascend to the throne.
Happened on 11th August 1347
In the 14th century, the political landscape of India was dominated by the Delhi Sultanate. Emperors sitting on the throne would come and go, but the Sultanate stood as the presiding force in the mainland. While the northern territory of the country came under the control of the throne of Delhi, eyes filled with the lust for glory and glory looked towards the south. Each dynasty made its move on the Deccan and one such gamble was played by Muhammad Bin Tughluq.
He sent out Hasan Gangu, almost nobody with no noble inheritance, to Daulatabad as the commander of the army. Sending Khan out to control the area in his name was like playing with fire as he had previously planned an unsuccessful uprising against the emperor.
Unruly Amirs, or commanders, were a threat to the integrity of the empire but also an indispensable resource as they were usually very able in matters of war. The curse of dependency came to bite Muhammad Bin Tughlug as a group of rebel nobles crowed Gangu the new emperor of the region.
All the cards were in his favour as he was stationed in Gulbarga after winning it in a siege. Miles away from the clutches of Delhi, with the force of a vast number of loyal soldiers behind him, Hasan promoted himself from the position of a governor and established the new dynasty.
This dynasty was founded in the heart of Deccan was the Bahmani dynasty, a family whose reign outlasted the Sultanate of Delhi. On assuming the throne on 11 August 1347, he took the name of Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah.
Gulbarga was the first capital of the Bahmanis and the centre of coin minting as the Shah renamed it Hasanabad after himself.
Although seasoned in the art of the war and well-versed with the intricacies of administration owing to his experience of handling the jagirs of Miraj, Belgaum and Hukeri, his rule had a rocky start. His closest ally Ismail Mukh, the man who invited him to be the king, was the first to begin a crusade against him. The new emperor had to remove this threat by poisoning him.
Shah was a king second and a soldier first, this ability of his proved to be extremely valuable for the freshly carved empire of his. In the initial days of his reign, he managed to launch a successful attack against Warangal, taking control of the fortress of Kaulas.
The only thorn on his side remained the Vijayanagara empire. Both these empires were founded by men who declared themselves independent of Mohammad Bin Tughluq, similar was their birth and they were destined to fight the other till the death.
Throughout his life, Bahman Shah kept warring with their neighbour Vijayanagar.
By the time of his death, the Bahmani kingdom stretched from Wainganga in the North to Krishna in the South. In between these two rivers, a man with no royal lineage to back him up managed to carve out an empire that would stand strong for many years.
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