ABSTRACT
Sultan Quli came to Mahmudabad-Bidar at the end of the fifteenth century. Before he had taken the title of Qutub-ul Mulk he was known as Khawas Khan Hamdani. During the turmoil in Telengana he became the tarafdar and the fort of Golconda was kept under him. There is a controversy on the date on which he declared himself independent and started the kingdom of Golconda. Some scholars had taken 1512 as the date of its independence but in the inscription of Jami Masjid located outside the fort of Golconda the name of Mahmud Shah of Bahmani dynasty can be found. As a result some scholars have taken the year of independence as 1518 when Mahmud Shah died. However, Feristah and other contemporary writers have not mentioned the assumption of kingly title by him. Only in one history is it said that Sultan Quli had ascended the throne but had remained loyal to the Bahmani king. One may therefore presume that Sultan Quli may have behaved like a king but did not repudiate officially the control of the Bahmani king. To the Bahmanis he was Bare Malik or Big Master. It is necessary to remember that at the end of the fifteenth century the Bahmani empire was disintegrating. The ruler of Bijapur had become independent. Sultan Quli used to administer almost like an independent ruler of the area from the fort of Golconda to Warrangal.
