Bahamani tombs of Ashtoor

September 3, 2018
This was my third visit here, the place had changed so much since the first visit in Feb-1996. The site was open, now its bound by walls, good way to keep out vandals. During the first visit there were just three people here- the caretaker and two visitors from Bidar. One of the visitors had said that he and his friends came here whenever they wanted to take important or difficult decisions. He said the peaceful ambiance and their belief in this Dargah helped them think clearly. In fact the place was  serene, Gulli and I must have spent an hour here.

The next visit was January 2011 with my maternal uncles. We met a young man who was a tourist guide here. He- Kalil Shah Bahamani -claimed to be a descendant of Bahamani dynasty. I'd made a video of his narration and uploaded it to YouTube.

This time with Pushpa. We had stopped at Chaukandi, tomb of Hadrat Khalimullahullah, before coming here. I happened to see and recognize Kalil Shah. He poured his heart about the difficulties he's facing to prove his Bahamani connection. He showed us around Chaukandi and then came down here to show us the tombs as well.

This is the first structure seen as we enter this necropolis, tomb of Ahmad Shah-al-Wali. This is the only tomb public get to see the inside.

A small board describes the monuments as-
Ahmad Shah was the ninth king of the Bahamani dynasty and ruled for thirteen years (AD 1422 - 1436). This is the earliest and grandest of the Bahamani tombs located at Bidar. Built in AD 1436, upon the demise of Ahmad Shah, it honours the sultan who shifted the Bahamani capital from Gulbarga and Bidar. The tomb displays continuing Persian influences of the time, as well as synthesis between Indic and Islamic cultures. The monument is unique as it is the only tomb at the site under veneration. The tomb is a square, domed structure with three tiers of arched recesses. There are four recesses, each on the bottom and middle floors, and seven on the highest of the three floors. The pointed arches are one example of Persian elements which continued. The tomb is decorated with calligraphic bands and inscriptions, representing similes used by meta-physicians of the time to express their views regarding the unity of God. Foliate and arabeque designs are painted on the interior of the tombs and have retained their original colour. While the most recurring colour schemes include vermilion, turquoise and gold, there are also instances of cobalt, grey terra-verde and buff. The most striking aspect of the paintings is not merely the variety of colour used but the manner in which they play upon one another to create striking contrasts within the designs. There is also a crenelated parapet with corner finials on the ground floor which is repeated on the sixteen sided drum on which the dome is raised.
Near the tomb of Ahmad Shah, is that of his wife which essentially has the same layout, on a much smaller scale. However, it is placed on a four foot platform and rises 29 feet above the sultan's own tomb. Only traces of the original paintings are visible in this tomb.

As seen from the other side. The white structure is a mosque. A group consisting of men, women and children had come from Gulbarga district. For them it was a religious visit, they would spend the entire day here.. perform a ritual, cook food, offer it to the Dargah and then consume it.

The next building is the tomb of Aladdin Ahmad Shah II who reigned between 1435 and 1457. This structure is almost the same size as the previous one. As you see the outer walls had been covered in cobalt colored tiles, like Madrasa of Mohemmad Gawan. The other interesting thing is the sculpted stones outlining the arches and building corners.

I think originally Ahmad Shah's tomb was white colored while Alladin's tomb was striking red-blue-white.

The next one is the tomb of the eleventh Bahamani Sultan i.e. Humayun Zalim Shah who reigned between 1457 and 1561. It looks like the dome collapsed at some point of time, not sure if it was due to defect in construction or it was cannoned. The person standing is our guide who claims to be Bahamani himself.

This structure was pyramidal, tapering upwards.

Diagonally opposite the damaged building is a much smaller building which is marked as the tomb of wife of Sultan Humayun. A board planted near the entrance read as follows-
All the queens of Bidar were given the title Malika-I-Jahan, queen of the world. However, this particular tomb is dedicated to Sultan Humayun's wife, and the regent queen for both her sons, Nizam Shah and Muhammad Shah who came to power at the ages of eight and nine, respectively. Upon the assumption of full kingship by her son Muhammad Shah the queen withdrew from the court and became extremely religious. Her tomb is smaller than those of her husband and sons. The walls of the tomb is not extensive but displays neat workmanship in the stucco and plaster work medals, which bear religious themes.

Next to the damaged building is the tomb of Nizam Shah who reigned between 1461 and 1463. This four-walled structure is either by design or incomplete.

Next is the tomb of Muhammad Shah III who ruled from 1462 to 1482. Going by the looks, this is an incomplete structure.

Moving on to the next one.. this is the tomb of Mahmood Shah Bahmani II, he was in power for 36 years, between 1482 and 1518. It was during his rule that the kingdom disintegrated. This structure is comparable to the the tombs of Ahmed Shah and Aladdin Shah.

All four faces are marked with arched niches, some with mesh covered windows. You have to see them closely to actually see their beauty.

This square slab with an embossed circle is positioned at the tomb's entrance. This doesn't seem to be part of this tomb's design. From its looks, this is a dance stage of a Chalukyan temple. You can see such slabs at Mahadeva temple of Itagi in Koppal district. Quoting a line from Wikipedia page on Bahamani Sultans.. "Bahmani Sultans were fanatics and did not show any interest in general welfare of their subjects." Their subjects were mostly Hindu people, Sultans' soldiers must have looted and pillaged Hindu shrines and temples.

The next two tombs are small and different by design. Instead of domes, these tombs are crowned by six-sided pyramids. This reminds me of structures seen at Firozabad fort near Gulbarga. These are the tombs of Waliullah Shah Bahmani and Kaleemullah Shah Bahmani who ruled between 1522–1526 and 1525–1527 respectively. Their rule was not independent but under Amir Barid I.

The last structure in this site is a simple mosque.

This is the third tomb with pyramid crown. Mortal remains of Ahmed Shah Bahmani II are buried here.

The necropolis of Ashtoor. How much money must have been spent on raising these structures for the fancy of few men and women. I wonder why Muslim kings had a liking for grand tombs.. to make their names immortal?

Going back to the starting point, there are two more structures. One is an unidentified tomb, which is damaged just like Humayun's tomb.

And the last one is said to be a queen's tomb, not sure which queen. The group from Gulbarga had gathered around this building. Children huddled together, busy with a mobile phone. men were chatting while women had setup a make shift kitchen preparing a feast. Pushpa went up to them and made friends.

About eight women were preparing holige and chapatis. They must've planned to prepare some curries and rice too. Pushpa was awestruck by the jewelry on the lady in blue-orange saree.

The other two ladies.. attired in traditional North Karnataka sarees were preparing madli. The elderly women must be in her 90s and I'm sure she would be working in fields along with her family. Observe the number of bangles around their arms.. these are the people who have preserved our traditions so far.

From here we drove back to Bidar city. We wanted to quell our hunger and the explore Bidar fort.

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