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{{Short description|Sultan of Bijapur from 1580 to 1627}}
{{use Indian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Ibrahim Adil Shah
| title = [[Sultan]]
| succession = 6th [[Sultanate of Bijapur|Sultan of Bijapur]]
| image = Portrait of Ibrahim Adil Shah II (close up), dated circa 1615.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = A portrait of Ibrahim Adil Shah II
| reign = 10 April 1580<ref name="w860">{{cite web | title=History of Medieval Deccan | first=H. K. | last=Sherwani | url=https://ia801501.us.archive.org/33/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.127053/2015.127053.History-Of-Medieval-Deccan-Vol-i-1295-1724_text.pdf | access-date=12 November 2025 | page=289}}</ref> – 12 September 1627
| full name = Abdul Muzaffar Ibrahim Adil Shah Jagadguru Badshah
| predecessor = [[Ali Adil Shah I]]
| successor = [[Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur|Mohammed Adil Shah]]
| spouse = Chand Sultana (daughter of [[Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali|Ibrahim Qutb Shah]]) Kamal Khatun Taj Sultana
| issue = Durvesh Badshah Sultan Sulaiman [[Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur|Muhammad Adil Shah]] Khizar Shah Zahra Sultana Burhan Sultan Begum Fatima Sultana
| dynasty = [[Adil Shahi dynasty]]
| father = Tahamasp
| mother = Haji Badi Sahiba Begum
| birth_date = {{circa|1570}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1627|9|12|1570|||df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Adil Shahi|Bijapur]]
| burial_date =
| burial_place = [[Ibrahim Rauza]]
| religion = [[Sunni Islam]]<ref>Farooqui Salma Ahmed, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley, 2011), 176.</ref>
}}
'''Ibrahim Adil Shah II''' (1570 – 12 September 1627) was the Adil Shahi [[sultan]] of the [[Sultanate of Bijapur]] from 1580 to 1627. Under his reign the sultanate had its greatest period<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=119}}</ref> as he extended its frontier as far south as [[Mysore]]. He was a skilful administrator, artist, poet<ref name="Schimmel2004">{{cite book|first=Annemarie |last=Schimmel|title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|others=Corinne Attwood, translator| editor=Burzine K. Waghmar|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=N7sewQQzOHUC |p=39}}|year=2004|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-86189-185-3 |page=39}}</ref> and a generous patron of the arts. He converted from [[Shi'a Islam|Shi'a]] to [[Sunni]] Islam,<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Meri|editor1-first=Josef W.|title=Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia|date=1 Nov 2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=9780415966900|page=108}}</ref> but remained tolerant of other religions, including [[Christianity]]. The Adil Shahis under his rule left a tradition of cosmopolitan culture and artistic patronage whose architectural remains are to be seen in the capital city of [[Vijayapura, Karnataka|Bijapur]].

== Biography ==
After the death of [[Ali Adil Shah I]] in 1580, the kingdom's nobles appointed Imran Ibrahim, son of Imran Sayzada Tahmash Adil Shah and nephew of Ali Adil Shah I, as sultan. At this time, Ibrahim Adil Shah II was a nine-year-old boy.<ref name="orbat_wars">{{cite web
|url=http://orbat.com/site/cimh/kings_master/kings/ibrahimII_adil_shahi/ibrahimII_adil_shahi.html
|title=The Wars & Campaigns of Ibrahim Adil Shahi II of Bijapur 1576–1627
|author=Ravi Rikhye
|date=7 March 2005
|access-date=24 December 2006
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020232641/http://orbat.com/site/cimh/kings_master/kings/ibrahimII_adil_shahi/ibrahimII_adil_shahi.html
|archive-date=20 October 2006
|df=dmy-all
}}</ref>

===Regency (1580–1590)===
Kamal Khan (a Deccani general) seized power and became the regent.<ref name="orbat_wars"/> Kamal Khan showed disrespect to the [[Dowager]] queen [[Chand Bibi]], who felt that he had ambitions to usurp the throne. Chand Bibi plotted an attack against Kamal Khan, with help from another general, Haji Kishvar Khan. Kamal Khan was captured while fleeing and was beheaded at the fort. Kishvar Khan was the second regent of Ibrahim. He defeated the [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate]] at Dharaseo, capturing all the artillery and elephants of the enemy army. He ordered other Bijapur generals to surrender the highly valued elephants that they had captured. The generals, along with Chand Bibi, hatched a plan to eliminate Kishvar Khan with help from General Mustafa Khan of [[Bankapura|Bankapur]]. Kishvar Khan's spies informed him of the conspiracy. Kishvar Khan sent troops against Mustafa Khan, who was captured and killed in the battle.<ref name="orbat_wars"/>

Chand Bibi challenged Kishvar Khan, who had her imprisoned at the [[Satara (city)|Satara]] fort and tried to declare himself the king. However, Kishvar Khan was already unpopular among the rest of the generals. He was forced to flee when a joint army, led by General Ikhlas Khan, marched to Bijapur. The army consisted of forces of three [[Habshi]] nobles: Ikhlas Khan, Hamid Khan and Dilavar Khan.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi">{{cite web| url=http://www.cwo.com/~lucumi/ethiopia.html| title=Great Habshis in Ethiopian/Indian history: History of the Ethiopian Diaspora, in India – Part IV| author=Dr. [[Richard Pankhurst (academic)|Richard Pankhurst]]| access-date=24 December 2006}}</ref> Kishvar Khan attacked Ahmednagar unsuccessfully and then fled to [[Golconda]]. He was killed in exile by a relative of Mustafa Khan. Chand Bibi was then declared the regent.<ref name="orbat_wars"/>

Ikhlas Khan became regent for a short time, but he was dismissed by Chand Bibi shortly afterwards. Later, he resumed his dictatorship, which was soon challenged by other Habshi generals.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi"/>

Taking advantage of the situation in Bijapur, Ahmadnagar's sultan allied with the [[Qutb Shahi dynasty|Qutb Shahi]] of Golconda to attack Bijapur. The troops available at Bijapur were not sufficient to repulse the joint attack.<ref name="orbat_wars"/> The Habshi generals realised that they could not defend the city alone and tendered their resignations to Chand Bibi.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi"/> Abu-ul-Hassan, general appointed by Chand Bibi, called for the [[Maratha]] forces in the [[Carnatic region|Carnatic]]. The Marathas attacked the invaders' supply lines,<ref name="orbat_wars"/> forcing the Ahmednagar-Golconda allied army to retreat.

Ikhlas Khan then attacked Dilavar Khan to seize control of Bijapur. However, he was defeated and Dilavar Khan became the supreme ruler from 1582 to 1591.<ref name="pankhurst_habshi"/> He was the last regent of Ibrahim.
[[File:Bijapur Ibrahim Rouza 100C.jpg|thumb|Tomb in [[Ibrahim Rauza]], Bijapur]]

===Unfettered reign (1590–1627)===
Ibrahim II is known in Indian history as Jagadguru Badshah. He loved music and played musical instruments. For him, the [[Tanpura (instrument)|Tanpura]] personified learning – "Ibrahim the tanpurawala became learned due to grace of god, living in the city of Vidyanagari" (Vidyanagari is the earlier name of Bijapur.) He composed poems on his wife Chand Sultana, his Tanpura Motikhan and his elephant Atish Khan.

Ibrahim II publicly declared that all he wanted was Vidya or learning, music, and Guruseva (serving the teacher). He was a devotee of Banda Nawaj, the Sufi saint of [[Gulbarga]]. He composed a prayer to him to bestow [[Vidya (Knowledge)|Vidya]] or learning and charitable disposition.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

He founded a new township at [[Nauraspur]] to give concrete shape to his idea of a musical city. He had a temple built inside the precincts of the palace that still exists.

Bijapur attracted the period's best musicians and dancers because the king was famous as a great connoisseur and patron of music.

He spoke [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Dakhani]], [[Urdu]] and [[Kannada]] languages fluently,{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} and like his predecessors, employed several Hindus in top posts.{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}


== Cultural activity ==
Under Ibrahim II, the court began to support works in the indigenous [[Deccani language]], alongside the already well-established tradition of Persian patronage. This was part of a broader 17th-century cultural shift that sought to merge indigenous Indian styles with Persian aspects, rather than adhering to a purely Persian model. Deccani literature was now valued on par with or even above Persian at the time that Deccanis started to gain political hegemony over the Iranian elite. A Mughal ambassador noted Ibrahim II's flawed grasp of Persian. Indigenous poets became popular, such as Abdul (died 1603), Hasan Shauqi (died {{circa|1640}}), Miran Mian Hashimi (died {{circa|1697}}), and particularly [[Nusrati]] (died 1674). An important Deccani text on Indian musicology, ''[[Kitab-i Nauras]]'', was written by Ibrahim II. However, even in Bijapur's later culture, the Persian language and literary heritage influenced it. Its traditions were closely followed by the Deccani literary style, such as the ''[[tadhkirah (disambiguation)|tadhkira]]'' or ''tarikh'' in [[prose]] and the ''[[mathnavi]]'' or ''[[ghazal]]'' in poetry. A third of the vocabulary in both modern and medieval [[Marathi language]] is derived from Persian due to centuries of contact.{{sfn|Eaton|1983|pp=452–456}}

The major Persian poets under Ibrahim II were [[Malek Qommi]] (died 1616), [[Muhammad Zuhuri]], Sanjar Kashani (died 1612), and Zihni Kashani ({{floruit|1587}}), all immigrants from Iran.{{sfn|Sharma|2020|p=405–406}} The equal standing of Persian and Dakhni was demonstrated by Zuhuri's Persian introduction in Ibrahim II's ''Kitab-i Nauras''.{{sfn|Sharma|2020|p=406}} Under the orders of Ibrahim II, [[Firishta]] composed the ''Tarikh-i Firishta'' in Persian, a detailed chronicle on the history of India, especially the Deccan sultanates. The work was based on the ''[[Rawzat as-safa]]'' by [[Mirkhvand]] (died 1498), and according to the [[Indology|Indologist]] [[Richard M. Eaton]], "remains an indispensable source not only for the history of Bijapur but for the history of medieval India generally."{{sfn|Eaton|1983|pp=452–456}} A history Bijapur and of other contemporary courts was also composed by [[Rafi al-Din Shirazi]] in his ''Tazkirat al-Muluk'' ("History of Kings").{{sfn|Overton|2020|p=14}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|title=The Sufis of Bijapur, 1300–1700|first=Richard M.|last=Eaton|date=1978|publisher=Princeton University Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2F9BgAAQBAJ|isbn=9781400868155|author-link=Richard M. Eaton}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/naziri-of-nishapur/|title=ʿĀdelšāhīs|first=Richard M. |last=Eaton|year=1983|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]]}}
* {{cite book|last1 = Mitchell|first1 = George|first2 = Mark |last2 = Zebrowski|title = Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India Vol. I:7)|publisher = Cambridge University Press| year = 1999| location = Cambridge| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ju1XvgAACAAJ| isbn = 0-521-56321-6}}
* {{cite journal|journal=[[Muqarnas]]|volume=33|date=2016|pages=91–154|title=Book Culture, Royal Libraries, and Persianate Painting in Bijapur, circa 1580‒1630|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26551683|first=Keelan|last=Overton|doi=10.1163/22118993_03301P006 |jstor=26551683}}
* {{cite book|last=Overton|first=Keelan|editor-last=Overton|editor-first=Keelan|title=Iran and the Deccan: Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent in Circulation, 1400–1700|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|year=2020|isbn=978-0253048912|chapter=Introduction to Iranian Mobilities and Persianate Mediations in the Deccan|pages=3–76|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_yHXDwAAQBAJ&newbks}}
* {{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Sunil|editor-last=Overton|editor-first=Keelan|title=Iran and the Deccan: Persianate Art, Culture, and Talent in Circulation, 1400–1700|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|year=2020|isbn=978-0253048912|chapter=Forging a Canon of Dakhni Literature: Translations and Retellings from Persian|pages=401–420|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_yHXDwAAQBAJ&newbks}}
{{Commons category|Ibrahim Adil Shah II}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Adil Shahi dynasty]]||{{circa|1570}}||1627}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ali Adil Shah I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Sultanate of Bijapur|Sultan of Bijapur]]|years=1580–1627}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur|Mohammed Adil Shah]]}}
{{s-end}}

[[Category:16th-century births]]
[[Category:1627 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:16th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Sultans of Bijapur]]
[[Category:Converts to Sunni Islam from Shia Islam]]

Ibrahim Adil Shah II - Revision history

MarieDevore at 15:21, 25 February 2026