ADIL SHAHI DYNASTY

(1489-1686), ruling family of the kingdom of Bijapur, one of the two principal successor states to the Muslim sultanate of Bahmani in the Deccan. Named after its founder, Yusuf Adil Shah (said to have been a son of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II), the dynasty strongly resisted the Mughal advance southward until 1686 when Aurangzeb captured Bijapur. Though Yusuf Adil Shah introduced a form of Islam, he practised religious tolerance. At the end of his reign, the Portuguese conquered Goa in 1510. Bijapur formed a coalition with the three other Muslim Deccan states - Golconda, Bidar, and Ahmadnagar - to overthrow the Hindu Vijayanagar empire at Talikota in 1565.

In what was the dynasty's period, Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1579-1626) extended his southern frontier as far as Mysore. He was a skilful administrator and a generous patron of the arts. He reverted to the Sunni form of Islam but remained tolerant of other religions, including Christianity. After his reign, increasing weakness permitted Mughal encroachment and the successful revolt of the Maratha leader Shivaji, who killed the Bijapur general Afzal Khan and scattered his army. The dynasty left a tradition of cosmopolitan culture and artistic patronage, whose architectural remains are to be seen in the capital city of Bijapur.