Bidar

Bidar is a city and the headquarters of Bidar district in the northern part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the Kalyana-Karnataka region, it is known for its medieval Islamic monuments, the metal craft of Bidriware, and a long association with the Bahmani and Barid Shahi dynasties.

Geography

Bidar lies on a laterite plateau in the northern tip of Karnataka, bordering Telangana and Maharashtra. The city sits at an elevation that gives it a relatively cooler climate than much of the Deccan, and it is drained by tributaries of the Manjira and Karanja rivers. The surrounding plateau is known for its red lateritic soil, which has historically supported the city's distinctive stepwell and karez (underground water channel) systems.

History

The early history of Bidar is associated with the Mauryas, the Chalukyas of Badami, the Rashtrakutas, and the Kalyani Chalukyas. It came under the Kakatiyas of Warangal and later the Delhi Sultanate before passing to the Bahmani Sultanate.

Bahmani period

In 1429, Sultan Ahmad Shah Wali Bahmani shifted the capital of the Bahmani Sultanate from Gulbarga to Bidar. He rebuilt the old fort and laid out a new walled city. Under his successors, Bidar became one of the principal centres of Indo-Persian culture in the Deccan. The minister Mahmud Gawan, who served the Bahmanis in the latter half of the fifteenth century, founded a celebrated madrasa in the city in 1472, modelled on the great madrasas of Persia and Central Asia.

Barid Shahi and later periods

With the disintegration of the Bahmani Sultanate around the early sixteenth century, Bidar passed to the Barid Shahi dynasty, who ruled it as an independent sultanate until it was annexed by the Adil Shahis of Bijapur in 1619. Mughal forces under Aurangzeb captured Bidar in 1656, and it was renamed Zafarabad. After the decline of Mughal authority in the Deccan, the city came under the Asaf Jahi Nizams of Hyderabad. Following Operation Polo in 1948, Bidar became part of Hyderabad State, and on the linguistic reorganisation of states in 1956, it was incorporated into Mysore State, which was renamed Karnataka in 1973.

Monuments and heritage

• Bidar Fort – a large laterite and stone fortification rebuilt by Ahmad Shah Bahmani, with a triple moat partly hewn from rock and structures including the Rangin Mahal, Takht Mahal, Solah Khamba Mosque, and Gagan Mahal.
• Mahmud Gawan Madrasa – a three-storeyed madrasa built in 1472, partly ruined but retaining traces of glazed tilework in the Timurid style.
• Bahmani tombs at Ashtur – a row of domed royal mausoleums of the Bahmani sultans, notable for the painted interior of Ahmad Shah Wali's tomb.
• Barid Shahi tombs – the mausoleum complex of the Barid Shahi rulers, set in formal garden enclosures.
• Chaubara – a cylindrical watch-tower at the centre of the old city.
• Gurudwara Nanak Jhira Sahib – a Sikh shrine commemorating the visit of Guru Nanak, marked by a perennial spring.
• Papnash Shiva Temple – a Hindu pilgrimage site associated with a sacred spring.

Bidriware

Bidar gives its name to Bidriware, a metal handicraft developed in the city during the Bahmani period. The technique involves an alloy of zinc and copper, blackened with a special soil from the Bidar Fort and inlaid with silver or, less commonly, gold and brass. Bidriware has been registered under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, identifying Bidar as its place of origin.

Administration and economy

Bidar serves as the administ