Dynasty · 1492 – 1619

The Barid Shahis of Bidar

بریدشاہی

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The house that held the Bahmani capital without ever taking the Bahmani throne — a ministry that became a dynasty by keeping its sovereigns alive and powerless.

Draft. This entry is an unreviewed first draft. It has not yet been checked by a subject reviewer — see sources and method.

An office, not a crown

Qasim Barid took de facto control of Bidar in 897/1491–92 through the office of prime minister, and Encyclopaedia Iranica is explicit that he never styled himself king: he assumed the kingdom’s regalia and permitted only nominal sovereignty to continue in the hands of weak Bahmani successors. The family did not take the royal title until Ali Barid in 1542, half a century later.

That gap is the dynasty’s defining fact and the reason the archive dates it from 1492 rather than 1542 — the house convention counts de facto sovereignty, not coronations. The puppet arrangement was deliberate: Ferishta has Amir Barid, holding only a small territory and fearing attack should he assume open independence, seat a Bahmani prince on the throne with the palace and the royal jewels and a daily allowance.

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