Yusuf Adil Shah

Yusuf Adil Shah (1459–1511), referred as Adil Khan or Hidalcão by the Portuguese, was the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty that ruled the Sultanate of Bijapur for nearly two centuries. As the founder of the newly formed Bijapur dynasty (as the Adil Shahi dynasty is also known), Yusuf Adil Shah is credited with developing the town of Bijapur and elevating it to significant status.

Legend of origin

The founder of the dynasty, Yusuf Adil Shah, was likely a Bahmani nobleman of Iranian origin. According to the historian Mir Rafi-uddin Ibrahim-i Shirazi, or Rafi', Yusuf's full name was Sultan Yusuf 'Adil Shah Sawa or Sawa-i, the son of Mahmud Beg of Sawa in Iran, (Rafi' 36-38, vide Devare 67, fn 2). Rafi's history of the 'Adil Shahi dynasty was written a the request of Ibrahim Adil Shah II, and was completed and presented to the patron in AH 1017. The Indian scholar T.N. Devare mentioned that while Rafi's account of the Bahmani dynasty is filled with anachronisms, his account of the Adilshahi is "fairly accurate, exhaustive, and possesses such rich and valuable information about Ali I and Ibrahim II" (312). Rafi-uddin later became the governor of Bijapur for about 15 years (Devare 316).

Rafi's account is less well known than that of the popular historian Firishta, the author of the Nawras- nama, also known as the Gulshan-i Ibrahim. Rafi's account of the life of Yusuf 'Adil Shah directly contradicts a fanciful legend related by Firishta on the origins of the Adil......
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