Mahamud Gawan

- Rishikesh Bahadur Desai

Madrassa of Mahamud Gawan

On the night before he was executed, Mahamud Gawan wrote a poem and completed two letters he was writing. In the poem he praised the rule of his king Mohammad – III Lashkari who had ordered his execution just hours ago.

All night, he thought of three things. Saint Qualimulla Kirmani of Chowkhandi, visiting whom was the reason he came to Bidar, his home town of Quawan in modern day Iran, and the Madrassa, the seat of higher learning he set up in Bidar, with his personal savings.

The Madrassa, modeled on the middle eastern structures like the Samarkhand university in Uzbekistan, was a centre for secular, ecclesiastical education. The form and intricately detailed glazed tile work shows the influence of the architecture of Persian madrasas.

Gawan was a student of mathematics and astronomy scholars like Ulugh Beg at the Samarkhand university.

The Samarkhand university, established in medieval periods, still functions as an academic institution in Registan in Uzbekistan. It has Ulugh beg Madrassa, Tilya-Kori Madrassa and Sher-Dor Madrassa in its campus.

According to chroniclers like Tabatabahi, Firishta and Meadows Taylor, Gawan built the university out of his own funds. One day when the dowgar queen Nargis Begum felicitated him on the conquest of Goa, he realized the meaninglessness of riches and luxury. He began living like a Darwesh. He slept on a mat and cooked food in pots. He used all his remuneration for the construction. He got engineers from Iran and Uzbekistan to build it.

Gawan loved scholarship and he possessed a personal library of about 3,000 books. He loved the company of learned men. He was well-versed in mathematics, literature and medicine. According to Ferishta, Gawan was the author of two known as Rauzat-ul-Insha and Diwan-i-Ashr.

Poet scholar Jami, who was invited to Bidar by Gawan, wrote to him saying Gawan had  developed the Deccan so much that it was an envy of Rome.

Civil structure
The madraa occupies a rectangular structure covering 68 by 60 meters and encloses a central quadrangle. The main entrance, which is no longer extant, was to the east and led to the quadrangle with a dodecagonal cistern at its middle. The madrasa is elevated on a high base with two stepped terraces. The front or east façade was framed by two lofty minarets about 100 feet high that were dressed in green-azure majolica decorating the shaft in zigzag motifs. The southeast corner tower, along with half of the east and south wing attached to it collapsed after being struck once by lighting and in the gun powder explosion. The façade still displays patches of vibrant Persian glazed tile work that once covered the entire wall surfaces. A golden band of Quranic inscription on a green and blue background on the frieze was likely the work of a Persian craftsman.

Large reading halls with semi-octagonal chambers attached to the exterior side, rise up at the center of the north, west and south wing to reach the full height of three storeys and have open arched façades facing the courtyard, forming a typical iwan structure. These iwans are further marked by domes. The rooms of the teachers and students are found on the three storeys flanking these grand reading halls.

The madrasa is unique in its obvious Persian architectural style, but more significant is that the building reflects the influence that the Persian Afaqis (new immigrants) had gained in the Bahmanid court, taking over the Dakhis (the old Sunnite class who settled in the Deccan in the fourteenth century).

Destruction
Taylor, who made the first sketch drawing of the building, points out to Firishta who said
that an explosion damaged the edifice of the tower and the entrance.

Death of Gawan in palace intrigue, and subsequent fall of Behman kingdom brought bad days to the Madrassa. In 1656, it was appropriated by Aurangzeb for use as a military barrack. Rooms near the southeast minaret were used for gun-powder storage.

Stripped of many of its decorative elements, the madrasa is now a shadow of its original self.

It needs to be restored like the Samarkhand university that was destroyed in wars, but rebuilt again.

The tile work on the structure is strikingly beautiful. When completed, it will be a unique structure in India. Focus should also be laid on recreating the Gawan library.

Samarkhand university link –
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samarkand
2.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Registan_Samarkand_Uzbekistan.JPG

Samarkhand before restoration – 1. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/%D0%A2%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D1%83%D1%8E%D1%82.jpg

2. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/%D0%A0%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B4-%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87_%D0%97%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80_-_%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%2C_%D0%A3%D0%B7%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD.jpg


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Notes
The madrasa was built under the direction of Khwaja Mahmud Gawan, the Persian prime minister of Muhammad Shah III Lashkari (r. 1463-1482) of the Bahmanid dynasty. An erudite scholar himself, he established the madrasa with a reputation that attracted the most eminent theologians, philosophers and scientists. The library of the madrasa boasted over three thousand manuscripts.

In subsequent centuries, the madrasa suffered as Bidar witnessed a series of political struggles. In 1656, it was appropriated by Aurangzeb for use as a military barrack. Rooms near the southeast minaret were used for gun-powder storage. An explosion resulted in damage to one-fourth of the edifice of the tower and the entrance.

Stripped of many of its decorative elements, the madrasa is now a shadow of its original self. The form and intricately detailed glazed tile work is clearly influenced by the architecture of Persian madrasas. It seems that Mahmud Gawan, who originally hailed from Gilan on the Caspian Sea, was able to bring engineers and craftsmen from his own country to work on the construction of this building.

The madraa occupies a rectangular structure covering 68 by 60 meters and encloses a central quadrangle. The main entrance, which is no longer extant, was to the east and led to the quadrangle with a dodecagonal cistern at its middle. The madrasa is elevated on a high base with two stepped terraces. The front or east façade was framed by two lofty minarets about 100 feet high that were dressed in green-azure majolica decorating the shaft in zigzag motifs. The southeast corner tower, along with half of the east and south wing attached to it collapsed after being struck once by lighting and in the gun powder explosion. The façade still displays patches of vibrant Persian glazed tile work that once covered the entire wall surfaces. A golden band of Quranic inscription on a green and blue background on the frieze was likely the work of a Persian craftsman.

Large reading halls with semi-octagonal chambers attached to the exterior side, rise up at the center of the north, west and south wing to reach the full height of three storeys and have open arched façades facing the courtyard, forming a typical iwan structure. These iwans are further marked by domes. The rooms of the teachers and students are found on the three storeys flanking these grand reading halls.

The madrasa is unique in its obvious Persian architectural style, but more significant is that the building reflects the influence that the Persian Afaqis (new immigrants) had gained in the Bahmanid court, taking over the Dakhis (the old Sunnite class who settled in the Deccan in the fourteenth century).



Mahmud Gawan was, by common consent, the greatest of the Mohammadan administrators of the Deccan. He was a native of Qawan or Gawan in Iran. His ancestors were the Wazir of Shah Gilan. At the age of 45, Mahmud Gawan went to the Deccan for trade. Ala-ud-Din II made him an Amir of his court.

His son Humayun conferred upon him the title of Malik-ul-Tujjar. After the murder of Khwaja Jahan. Muhammad Shah III made Mahmud Gawan the chief authority in the State. Although the new minister was given unlimited powers, he behaved with moderation.

With a singleness of aim which was unparalleled in the history of the Bahmani Empire, he devoted himself to the service of the State. He fought wars, subdued countries and "increased the Bahmani dominions to an extent never reached before."

Mahmud Gawan was a great administrator. He re-organised the military department of the State and gave the entire control into the hands of the Sultan in order to weaken the position of the nobles.

The mutual dissensions of the Deccanis and the foreigners were a source of great trouble. The natives of the Deccan were less energetic and enterprising than those of the more northern latitudes and being unable to complete with the hardy Arab, the intellectual Persian and the virile Turk, they are obliged to give place to them at court as well as in camp. The quarrels among them were also complicated by sectarian differences.

The natives were all Sunnis but the foreigners were mostly Shias. The conflicts were not confined to mere intrigues for place and power but frequently found expression in pitched battles and bloody massacres.

Mahmud Gawan so completely enjoyed the confidence of the Sultan that he was able to carry out his reforms with success without joining one party or the other. He organised the finances. He improved the administration of justice.

He encouraged public education. In order to make the State demand just and equitable, the village lands were surveyed. Corrupt practices were put down. Those who were guilty were punished. The army was reformed and better discipline was enforced. Prospects of the soldiers were improved.

However, his success aroused the jealousy of the Deccanis and a conspiracy was made to take his life. The keeper of the seals of Gawan was bribed and he was induced to affix the seals to a blank paper on which a letter was written from Mahmud Gawan to the ruler of Vijayanagar containing treasonable matter.

That letter was placed before the Sultan who's erased already was poisoned by his enemies. The Sultan called Gawan to his private apartmpt. ahcl _put' him the following question: "If a slave of mine is disloyal to his benefactor and his crime is proved, what should be his punishment?" Without knowing the purpose of the Sultan, Mahmud Gawan replied thus: "The unfortunate wretch who practices treachery against his lord should meets with nothing but the sword."

The Sultan showed Gawan the letter and the reply of Gawan was Wit1 although the seals were his, the letter was a forged one. The Sultan did not care to go into the merits of the case and signaled to his slave Jauhar and he cut off the head of Mahmud Gawan.

The last words of Mahmud Gawan were: "The death of an old man like me is of little moment to himself, but to you (Muhamad Shah III) it will prove the ruin of an empire and of your own glory."

According to Meadows Taylor, the murder of Gawan was the beginning of the end and "with him departed all the cohesion and power of the Bahmani kingdom." Muhammad Shah also died within a year of the murder of Gawan, "crying out with his last breath that Mahmud Gawan was slaying him."

The whole of the life of Mahmud Gawan can be summed up in the word 'devotion'. He was devoted to the interest of the Bahmani kingdom. He was devoted to the ideal of territorial expansion. He was devoted to administrative reforms. He fought wars and brought glory to the Bahmani kingdom.

Although he was at the helm of the affairs of the State, he lived a very simple life. His wants were very few. He slept on a mattress. His food was cooked in earthen vessels. On Friday night, he went from one Parish of the city to another and gave help to the poor and the needy.

He loved scholarship and he possessed a personal library of about 3,000 books. He loved the company of learned men. He was well-versed in mathematics, literature and medicine. According to Ferishta, Gawan was the author of two known as Rauzat-ul-Insha and Diwan-i-Ashr.


The murder of Gawan at the age of 78 was a calamity and that accelerated the downfall of the Bahmani kingdom.

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