Mahmud Gawan
Mahmud Gawan
Mahmud Gawan
Athanasius Nikitin, a Russian traveler, who visited a town called Bidar in Bahmani Sultanate Deccan, present in the state of Karnataka, in the 15thCentury, records and writes “Mahmud Gawan’s mansion was guarded by 100 guards and 10 torchbearers”. This shows the significance of Mahmud Gawan in the Bahmani Sultanate.
A historian Ferishta writes “he is a fruit of royal garden” for his great accomplishments.
Mahmud Gawan
Mahmud Gawan born in 1411 A.D. in Iran and died (executed) in 1481 in Bidar (India) Mahmud Gawan served as a prime minister in Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan for a period of 23 years and seen three sultans from 1458 to 1481 A.D., He started his career as a businessman and honored as “Malik at-Tujar” or “Business Tycoon” of his age. He was so rich because of his business, but he spent most of his earning and wealth for education in the society.
His name was Khwaja Imaduddin Mahmud Gawan (Khwaja Mahmud Gilani). His birth place was the village of Gawan in Persia (Now Iran). He travelled in India for trading. In his trade journey he visited Delhi, later to Bidar and wished to settle here. He was well-versed in Islamic theology, Persian language and mathematics and was a poet and a prose writer of repute. Later, he became prime minister in the court of Muhammad Shah-III (1463-1482). A storehouse of wisdom, Mahmud enjoyed the trust and confidence of rulers, locals as well as that of foreign kingdoms, who had great respect for Mahmud.
Career
Mahmud Gawan was regarded as an efficient man with multifaceted personality. His life has a multiple roads with different journeys.
As the Prime Minister
In Humayun Shah Zalim Bahmani’s court
He was very capable and efficient. Greatly impressed with his military genius, Humayun Shah Zalim Bahmani the Sultan of Bahmani Kingdom who ruled Deccan Sultanate from 1458 to 1461 A.D. had taken him in his service. Mahmud Gawan was 42 years old when he joined Bahmani Sultanate.
In the court of Nizamuddin Ahmed Shah
After Humayun’s death, he became the guardian of his minor prince Nizamuddin Ahmed Shah (Nizam Shah). He had the reigns of Government in his hands.
In the court of Muhammad Shah III Lashkari
When the young Sultan died in 1463 and his brother Muhammad Shah III Lashkari aged 9 succeeded him, Mahmud Gawan served him as the prime minister. He effectively put an end to the havoc wrought on the pilgrims of Mecca and on merchants by the fleets of Rajas of Khelna (Vilasgarh) and Sangameshwar. He captured Goa, the best part of Vijayanagar Empire. In 1474, a terrible famine known as “famine of Bijapur” devastated the Deccan. Large number of people fled to Gujarat and Malwa. For 2 years the rains failed and when they came in the third year, scarcely any farmers remained in the country to cultivate the lands.
Under his able administration Bahmani Kingdom flourished to a great extent.
As a trader
Mahmud Gawan started his trade journey from Gilan of Iran and came to Delhi. Then he turned his trade caravan towards the Deccan’s Bahmani Sultanate of South India. In those days Deccan Sultanate had a great prominence in Indian political and cultural arena. In the Deccan plateau he found a city Bidar the capital of Deccan Sultanate. He visited the court of Humayun Shah Zalim Bahmani. Humayun was very much impressed with his wisdom and trade policies. He asked him to quit trade and use his wisdom to serve his sultanate. Mahmud accepted this proposal and joined the court as prime minister.
Administrative reforms:
Gawan introduced the following administrative reforms:
- The existing four provinces were divided into two each and created eight ‘Tarafs’.
- He reduced the powers of the governors of these ‘Tarafs’ (Provinces).
- In each of these eight ‘Tarafs’ some areas were kept reserve for the control of the Central Government and for their administrative control, officials were appointed by the Centre.
- Orders were issued by him for placing one fort in each province under the charge of the governor and others under the control of military commanders appointed by the Sultan.
- He put a check on the powers of the nobles.
- He introduced a fair system of justice.
Military Campaigns
Mahmud Gawan served the state most faithfully and enlarged the kingdom to an extent never achieved before. He occupied Kanchi or Kanjeevaram during the course of campaign against Vijayanagar. He fought successful wars against ruler so Konkan, Sangameshwara, Orissa and Vijayanagar.
Introduction of gunpowder
He became powerful through military campaigns, administrative reform, and a policy of balancing rival factions in the Bahmani court. Mahmud Gawan, the prince of the Bahmani king Mahmud Shah Bahmani Lashkari, used gunpowder in the war against the Vijayanagar kings in Belgaum. He is considered the architect of medieval Deccan who invited Persian chemists to teach his soldiers the preparation and use of gunpowder.
Mahmud Gawan Madrasa was built by Mahmud Gawan, the Vizier of the Bahmani Sultanate as the center of learning in the Deccan.
Education
Mahmud Gawan Madrasa
Gawan was rich due to his international trade but spent his entire earnings on promotion of education. In 1472 A.D. he built the great university in Bidar the then capital of Bahmanis, which is known as Mahmud Gawan Madrasa. Almost at the centre of Bidar’s Old Town stand the graceful buildings, which bear testimony to the genius and eclecticism of Mohammad Gawan. A linguist and a mathematician, he, together with carefully chosen scientists, philosophers and religious seers, created a distinguished religious school. His extensive library boasted of 3,000 manuscripts.
The Madrasa had an imposing three story building with 100 feet tall monumental minarets in four corners, a mosque, labs. There were thirty six rooms for students and six suites for the teaching staff, an immense courtyard with arches on every side giving it a graceful façade. Many of the blue tiles on the mosque’s outer walls have been pilfered. The minaret is elegant with Samarkand-like domes here and there. It also had big lecture halls, a prayer had and a matchless library of three thousand volumes. Gawan himself had a personal library of more than a thousand books. He used to spend all his leisure time in the library.
The Madrasa building had a large courtyard with nearly a thousand cubicles where students and learned men who came from all parts of the country and East could stay. Boarding and lodging were free. There were 118 students on a permanent basis and countless itinerary scholars.
Mahmud Gawan was familiar with renowned colleges at Samarkand and Khorasan and his own college or Madrasa was modeled on the West Asian architecture. Gawan tried to get renowned scholars from Persia and other West Asian countries for teaching and heading the now famous college. But most of them declined the offer due to age and arduous journey. Sheikh Ibrahim Multani became head of the Madrasa and finally chief Kazi of the kingdom who is credited with spread of Islamic learning in the state.
Death
Gawan’s growing clout in the court caused jealous among the local leaders and the noble men. They started a treachery against him. Claiming that Gawan is a foreigner and influencing the Sultan and his family for political gains. There were administrative reforms introduced by Gawan, which brought in much resentment among local governors. A careful plot was hatched to topple him. They obtained Gawan’s seal and affixed it on a blank paper and forged a letter inviting the king of Orissa to attack the Bahamani Kingdom. The letter was duly delivered to the king who was always in a drunken state. Without verifying the facts, the king sent for Gawan, and asked about the punishment to be meted out for treason. “Death” was the prompt reply given by Mahmud Gawan. The Sultan (king) showed him the letter. Although Gawan admitted that the seal was his, he pleaded complete innocence about the contents. But the Sultan was not in his senses and ordered Gawan’s beheading on the spot.
Gawan warned the king to use discretion in such serious allegations. But Sultan in a drunken state ordered him executed in April 1481. Thus a wise and statesman’s life came to an end, and “With him departed all the cohesion and power of the Bahmani Sultan.” Later the Sultan regretted his hasty decision and buried his Prime Minister with honours.
His last words were “I am old and do not mind my death but my death is bound to come because of destiny. I thank God that he gave me an opportunity to lay down my life in the cause of the dynasty.”
When Gawan’s house was raided for alleged accumulated wealth, all that could be found was “a mat, cooking vessels, the Holy Koran and 144 letters he wrote”.
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Nisar Ahmed Syed
(Ahmed Nisar)
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