The Bahmanī Sūfīs

The Bahmani Sufis explores the the spiritual, intellectual and socio-political role of the Chishtis, the Junaydis and the Qadiris in the Deccan during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Documenting the presence of Junaydi Sufis at Daulatabad, this work challenges a long-held assumption that the Chishtis were the earliest to have migrated to Daulatabad and helped the Tughluq administration in the consolidation of Islam.

The volume discusses the evolving relationship between the Sufis and the Bahmani sultans, examining the transition that took place between the Gulbarga and Bidar phases due to the arrival and settlement of non-mulki Sufis from Iraq and Iran. It then goes on to explore the change in the ethnic structure of the Bahmani society at Bidar and the role of non-mulkis; the dominant position of the Sufis at Gulbarga and their subservience to the ruling classes at Bidar; and the decline among the descendants of the Sufi families of Gulbarga and Bidar.