Abul Hasan Qutb Shah
Encyclopedia
Abul Hasan Qutb Shah (Urdu
: ابوالحسن قطب شاہ) was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty
, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda
in south India
. He ruled from 1672 to 1687.
. Abul Hassan had a good voice and sang well. He also had a certain innocence about him. Shah Raju therefore gave him the nickname of `Tana Shah' which means a child saint. He was also known as Tani Shah, meaning "benevolent ruler".
He is remembered as a popular statesman who did not discriminate against those of other ethnicities or religions. He hired Brahmin
s as his ministers and generals. For example Madanna and Akkanna
, Brahmin brothers from Hanamkonda
, were his most important ministers. Tana Shah gained a place in the Telugu literature due to Kancharla Gopanna, nephew of Madanna. Kancharla Gopanna is famously known as "Ramadasu". Ramadasu lived in Nelakondapalli
village in Palvancha taluk. Tani Shah hired him as "Tehsildar
" (head of the revenue department) of Palvancha taluk. Ramadasu diverted the public funds to construct a Rama temple in Bhadrachalam
and for the jewelry for the idols of Rama
, Sita
and Lakshmana
. Tana Shah found Ramadasu guilty of misappropriation of public funds and put him in jail.
Earlier Tana Shah's father-in-law Abdullah Qutb Shah
was forced by Aurangzeb
to acknowledged the suzerainty of Shah Jahan
. And his daughter was wed to Aurangzeb
's son Sultan Muhammad.
About the year 1683, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah appears to have become irregular in payments of taxes to the Mughals and his relations with Sikandar Adil Shah
also caused concern among the Mughals. Abul Hasan Qutb Shah consequently refused to be a vassal of the Mughal Empire
and prompted Aurangzeb
to initiate a campaign to assert the rule of Mughals on Golconda
. He attacked Golconda.With his able commanders Nawab Khwaja Abid Siddiqi (Qilich Khan) and Qaziuddin Khan Siddiqi father and grand father of Nizam I (Asaf Jah I). Tana Shah defended the fort for eight months, but Aurangazeb succeeded in capturing Golconda at the end in September 1687. Abul Hasan Qutb Shah surrendered and handed over the Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond
, The Hope Diamond
, Wittelsbach Diamond
and The Regent Diamond making the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
the richest monarch in the world.
Tana Shan was taken as a prisoner and was imprisoned in the Daulatabad fort (near Aurangabad) where he died in prison after 12 years of captivity. When the Sultan died, he was not buried alongside his ancestors and other Qutub Shahi kings but in a modest grave at Khuldabad
near Aurangabad.
With the defeat of Abul Hasan Qutub Shah the Qutb Shahi dynasty ended and a new Nizam
dynasty began in Hyderabad under the control of the Mughal Dynasty.
After the fall of Golconda on September 22, 1687, it became a part of the six Mughal provinces in the Deccan. Mahabat Khan who was initially the Commander of the Qutb Shahi army and had switched loyalty to the Mughals was appointed the Governor of Golconda-which was to become Hyderabad
state under the Nizams-by Aurangzeb.
and Hindi
idiom is derived from Tana Shah. It is reflective of the infamy and myths propagated by his detractors and supporters of Mughal rule against him.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: ابوالحسن قطب شاہ) was the eighth and last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty
Qutb Shahi dynasty
The Qutb Shahi dynasty was a Turko-Persian dynasty ; its members were collectively called the Qutub Shahis. They were the ruling family of the kingdom of Golkonda in modern-day Andra Pradesh, India. They were Shia Muslims and belonged to Kara Koyunlu...
, who ruled the kingdom of Golconda
Golconda
Golconda may be:Places:* Golkonda, ruined city and fortress in India* Golconda, Illinois, town in the United States* Golconda, Nevada, former town in the United StatesOther:* Golconda...
in south India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He ruled from 1672 to 1687.
Title of 'Tana Shah'
His real name was Abul Hasan and nicknamed as 'Tana Shah' even before he was contender to the throne of Golconda by his teacher a Sufi saint called Hazrat Syed Shah Raziuddin, popularly known as Hazrat Shah Raju Qattal. Hazrat Shah Raju was eighth in the line of famous Sufi Saint Hazrat Syedna Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesu Daraz of GulbargaGulbarga
Gulbarga is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Gulbarga District. It was formerly part of Nizam's Hyderabad state...
. Abul Hassan had a good voice and sang well. He also had a certain innocence about him. Shah Raju therefore gave him the nickname of `Tana Shah' which means a child saint. He was also known as Tani Shah, meaning "benevolent ruler".
He is remembered as a popular statesman who did not discriminate against those of other ethnicities or religions. He hired Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s as his ministers and generals. For example Madanna and Akkanna
Madanna and Akkanna
Madanna and Akkanna were two brothers who rose to prominence in the sultanate of Golkonda between 1674 and 1685. Towards the end of their lives in October 1685 they came to dominate state affairs in Golkonda...
, Brahmin brothers from Hanamkonda
Hanamkonda
Hanamkonda or Hanumakonda is the name given to places named after God Hanuman.Hanamkonda or Hanmakonda, used to be called as Hanuma - Konda a village founded by two brothers Hanumaiah and Kondaiah during the Kakatiya dynasty, who established many Hanuman temples to protect the Orugallu empire from...
, were his most important ministers. Tana Shah gained a place in the Telugu literature due to Kancharla Gopanna, nephew of Madanna. Kancharla Gopanna is famously known as "Ramadasu". Ramadasu lived in Nelakondapalli
Nelakondapalli
NelaKondapally is the headquarter of a mandal in Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh of India, located 21 km from Khammam.-HISTORY:Nelakondapally is a historic site encompassed by a mud fortification wall covering nearly...
village in Palvancha taluk. Tani Shah hired him as "Tehsildar
Tehsildar
A tehsildar is a revenue administrative officer in Pakistan and India in charge of obtaining taxation from a tehsil. The term is of imperial Mughal origin made of "tahsil", an Islamic administrative derived from Arabic, meaning "revenue generating; collection" and "dar", Persian for "holder of a...
" (head of the revenue department) of Palvancha taluk. Ramadasu diverted the public funds to construct a Rama temple in Bhadrachalam
Bhadrachalam
Bhadrachalam , a town known for the Sri Rama Temple constructed in the year 1674 A.D., is a Municipality in Khammam district, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located east of state capital, Hyderabad. The Bhadrachalam Temple, where the presiding deity is Lord Rama, is an important site...
and for the jewelry for the idols of Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
, Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
and Lakshmana
Lakshmana
Lakshmana was the brother and close companion of Rama, and himself a hero in the famous epic Ramayana...
. Tana Shah found Ramadasu guilty of misappropriation of public funds and put him in jail.
Earlier Tana Shah's father-in-law Abdullah Qutb Shah
Abdullah Qutb Shah
Abdullah Qutb Shah was the seventh ruler of the kingdom of Golconda in southern India under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. He ruled from 1625 to 1672....
was forced by Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
to acknowledged the suzerainty of Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...
. And his daughter was wed to Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
's son Sultan Muhammad.
About the year 1683, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah appears to have become irregular in payments of taxes to the Mughals and his relations with Sikandar Adil Shah
Sikandar Adil Shah
Sikandar Adil Shah was placed on the throne of Bijapur in 1672 at four years of age. Therefore, his reign is one of regents and ministers and was marked by chronic civil war among factious nobles, independence of provincial governors, paralysis of the central administration, Mughal invasions,...
also caused concern among the Mughals. Abul Hasan Qutb Shah consequently refused to be a vassal of the Mughal Empire
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and prompted Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
to initiate a campaign to assert the rule of Mughals on Golconda
Golconda
Golconda may be:Places:* Golkonda, ruined city and fortress in India* Golconda, Illinois, town in the United States* Golconda, Nevada, former town in the United StatesOther:* Golconda...
. He attacked Golconda.With his able commanders Nawab Khwaja Abid Siddiqi (Qilich Khan) and Qaziuddin Khan Siddiqi father and grand father of Nizam I (Asaf Jah I). Tana Shah defended the fort for eight months, but Aurangazeb succeeded in capturing Golconda at the end in September 1687. Abul Hasan Qutb Shah surrendered and handed over the Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond
Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond
The Noor-ol-Ain is the principal diamond mounted in a tiara of the same name made for Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi's wedding to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1958...
, The Hope Diamond
Hope Diamond
The Hope Diamond, also known as "Le bleu de France" or "Le Bijou du Roi", is a large, , deep-blue diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. It is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but exhibits red...
, Wittelsbach Diamond
Wittelsbach Diamond
The Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond is a fancy deep-blue diamond with internally flawless clarity. Laurence Graff purchased the Wittelsbach Diamond in 2008 for £16.4 million Sterling. In 2010, Graff revealed he had had the diamond cut by three diamond cutters to remove flaws. The diamond was now...
and The Regent Diamond making the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
the richest monarch in the world.
Tana Shan was taken as a prisoner and was imprisoned in the Daulatabad fort (near Aurangabad) where he died in prison after 12 years of captivity. When the Sultan died, he was not buried alongside his ancestors and other Qutub Shahi kings but in a modest grave at Khuldabad
Khuldabad
Khuldabad Urdu: خلد آباد is a city and a Taluka of Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Initially it was known as Rauza meaning garden of paradise...
near Aurangabad.
With the defeat of Abul Hasan Qutub Shah the Qutb Shahi dynasty ended and a new Nizam
Nizam
Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad popularly known as Nizams of Hyderabad was a former monarchy of the Hyderabad State, now in the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , and Maharashtra in India...
dynasty began in Hyderabad under the control of the Mughal Dynasty.
After the fall of Golconda on September 22, 1687, it became a part of the six Mughal provinces in the Deccan. Mahabat Khan who was initially the Commander of the Qutb Shahi army and had switched loyalty to the Mughals was appointed the Governor of Golconda-which was to become Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
state under the Nizams-by Aurangzeb.
Trivia
'Tana Shahi' a synonym for authoritarian rule or tyranny, which became acceptable and common as UrduUrdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
idiom is derived from Tana Shah. It is reflective of the infamy and myths propagated by his detractors and supporters of Mughal rule against him.
See also
- AurangzebAurangzebAbul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
- Qutb Shahi dynastyQutb Shahi dynastyThe Qutb Shahi dynasty was a Turko-Persian dynasty ; its members were collectively called the Qutub Shahis. They were the ruling family of the kingdom of Golkonda in modern-day Andra Pradesh, India. They were Shia Muslims and belonged to Kara Koyunlu...
- GolcondaGolcondaGolconda may be:Places:* Golkonda, ruined city and fortress in India* Golconda, Illinois, town in the United States* Golconda, Nevada, former town in the United StatesOther:* Golconda...
- Qutb Shahi TombsQutb Shahi TombsThe famous tombs of the seven Qutub Shahi rulers in the Ibrahim Bagh are located close to the famous Golkonda Fort.The galleries of the smaller tombs are of a single storey while the larger ones are two storied. In the centre of each tomb is a sarcophagus which overlies the actual burial vault in a...
- KhuldabadKhuldabadKhuldabad Urdu: خلد آباد is a city and a Taluka of Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Initially it was known as Rauza meaning garden of paradise...
- Hayath Baqshi Begum
- Mahabat KhanMahabat KhanMahabat Khan , was a prominent Mughal general and statesman, perhaps best known for his coup against the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1626....
- Nawab Khwaja Abid siddiqiNawab Khwaja Abid SiddiqiNawab Khwaja Abid Siddiqi/Kwaja Abid a loyal general for the Mughal Empire...
- kilich Khan ll - Ghaziuddin Khan Feroz Jung
- Mir Qamaruddin Khan Nizam-ul-Mulk (Asaf Jah I) 'Chin Qilich Khan' the founder of the Asaf Jahi Dynasty.
- Bahmani kingdom
- Siege of GolcondaSiege of GolcondaIn January 1687, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb led his forces to besiege the Qutb Shahi dynasty at Golconda Fort and was home to the Kollur Mine. The ruler of Golconda was the well entrenched Abul Hasan Qutb Shah. Aurangzeb and the Mughal army had successfully conquered two Muslim kingdoms: Nizams...
External links
- http://narendralutherarchives.blogspot.com/2006/12/strange-life-of-tana-shah.html Narendra Luther Archives-Strange life of Tana Shah
- http://narendralutherarchives.blogspot.com/2006/12/fall-of-tana-shah.html Narendra Luther Archives-Fall of Tana Shah
- http://www.hyderabadplanet.com/hyderabad-history.html Hyderabad Planet-History of Hyderabad
- http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030928/spectrum/travel.htm A city of bulging domes.
- http://www.hyderabadplanet.com/qutb-shahi-tombs-photos.html Qutb Shahi Tombs
- http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/hist-cult/history_medieval.html AP online -History Medieval Period
- http://www.hyderabad.co.uk/timeline.htm Hyderabad Timeline
- http://www.indoindians.com/icdances.htm Indian Classical Dances-Kuchipudi
- http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:7ehlESjXeOIJ:www.hinduonnet.com/2004/12/17/stories/2004121707321100.htm+Tanashah&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=26&gl=us On the use of 'Tana Shahi' by Indian parliamentarians