ABSTRACT
Oince its founding in 1591, Hyderābād has been one of the most vibrant centers of Islamic culture and learning in all of India, no doubt the result of its status as capital for two of southern India's major Muslim powers: first, the Qutb Shāhi Dynasty, and later, the independent state of Hyderābād. The Qutb Shāhis rose to prominence following the fall of the Bahmanī Kingdom (1347-1490s), another Muslim power that ruled over a great part of the Deccan, including the area where the city of Hyderābād now lies. The collapsing Bahmanī Kingdom split into four separate kingdoms: Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bijāpur, and Bidar. Qulī Qutb al-Mulk, founder of the Qutb Shāhi Dynasty, began his career as governor of Tilaganga, a Bidar territory. As Qulī Qutb alMulk extended his holdings, the territory he ruled became increasingly distant from the Bidar capital. From 1515 for ward, he acted as ruler of an independent kingdom and fought with the kingdoms of Bijāpur and Bidar. By the time of his death in 1543, Qulī Qutb al-Mulk had united a large part of the eastern Deccan under one kingdom. The kingdom reached its height of territorial and political power during the rule of Ibrahim Qutb Shāh (1550-80), who defeated the Vijayanagaran Empire, conquered the southern part of Orissa, and annexed the kingdom of Berar in the northern part of the Deccan, extending Qutb Shāhi rule almost to the boundaries of the former Bahmanī Kingdom.
