Abul Hasan Qutb Shah

Visit of Sufi-singer Shir Muhammad to Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, ca. 1720, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.

Although his real name was Abul Hasan, he was nicknamed 'Tana Shah' even before he became a contender to the throne of Golconda by his teacher, a Sufi saint called Hazrat Syed Shah Raziuddin, popularly known as Hazrat Shah Raju Qattal. Hazrat Shah Raju was eighth in the lineage of the Sufi saint Hazrat Syedna Khwaja Banda Nawaz Gesu daraz of Gulbarga. Abul Hassan had a good voice and sang well. He also had a certain innocence about him. Shah Raju, therefore, gave him the nickname of `Tana Shah' which means a child saint. He was also known as Tani Shah, meaning "benevolent ruler".

He is remembered as a popular statesman who did not discriminate against those of another ethnicity or religion. He hired Brahmins as his ministers and generals. For example Madanna and Akkanna, Brahmin brothers from Hanamkonda, were his most important ministers. Tana Shah gained a place in Telugu literature due to Kancharla Gopanna, nephew of Madanna. Kancharla Gopanna is famously known as "Ramadasu". Ramadasu lived in Nelakondapalli village in Palvancha taluk. Tani Shah hired him as a tehsildar (head of a revenue department) of Palvancha taluk. Ramadasu diverted the public funds to construct a Rama temple in Bhadrachalam and for jewelry to adorn the idols of Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. Tana Shah found Ramadasu guilty of misappropriation of public funds and put him in jail. After twelve years, Tana Shah released Ramadasu after getting Lord Ram in his dream and found Rammudras (golden coins with Load Rama's image on it) beside him. There after Tana Shah established a tradition to send pearls to the Badrachalam temple on every Rama Navami festival and was continued by his successors. The same tradition is continued to this day by the Government of the State of Telangana.

Earlier Tana Shah's father-in-law, Abdullah Qutb Shah, was forced by Aurangzeb to acknowledge the suzerainty of Shah Jahan. His other daughter (that is, younger sister of Tana Shah's wife) was married to Aurangzeb's eldest son Sultan Muhammad.

About the year 1683, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah appears to have become irregular in payment of taxes to the Mughals and his relations with Sikandar Adil Shah also caused concern among the Mughals. Abul Hasan Qutb Shah consequently refused to be a vassal of the Mughal Empire and prompted Aurangzeb to initiate a campaign to assert the rule of the Mughals on Golconda. He attacked Golconda with his commanders, Nawab Khwaja Abid Siddiqi (Qilich Khan) and Qaziuddin Khan Siddiqi, father and grandfather of Nizam I (Asaf Jah I). Tana Shah defended the fort for eight months, but Aurangzeb succeeded in capturing Golconda at the end in September 1687. Abul Hasan Qutb Shah surrendered and handed over the Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond, the Hope Diamond, the Wittelsbach Diamond and the Regent Diamond, making the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb the richest monarch in the world.

Tana Shan was taken as a prisoner and was imprisoned in the Daulatabad fort (near Aurangabad), where he would die after twelve years of captivity. When the Sultan died, he was not buried alongside his ancestors and other Qutub Shahi Kings but in a modest grave at Khuldabad near Aurangabad.

Shah Raju Qattal Hussaini Sent A Pomegranate For Abul Hassan Qutub Shah but Tanashah Only Ate 14 Pieces So Shah Raju Qattal Hussaini Claimed That Tanashah Will Rule For 14 Years. And Tanashah Only Ruled For 14 Years

With the defeat of Abul Hasan Qutub Shah, the Qutb Shahi dynasty ended and a new Nizam dynasty began in Hyderabad under the control of the Mughal Dynasty.

After the fall of Golconda on 22 September 1687, it became a part of the six Mughal provinces in the Deccan. Mahabat Khan, who was initially the commander of the Qutb Shahi army and had switched loyalty to the Mughals, was appointed the governor of Golconda, laying the foundations for the Hyderabad State under the Nizams by Aurangzeb.