After the death of Jamsheed Quli, political confusion prevailed in the kingdom. Subhan Quli, a seven-year-old son of the late Sultan, was declared as the new Sultan by his mother and some selfish nobles.
Under these conditions, Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah, the youngest son of Sultan Quli, the founder of the kingdom, returned to Golconda with the help of Aliya Ramaraya, the de-facto ruler of Vijayanagar. During the three decades rule of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah, the glory of Golconda enhanced in every field. He was the contemporary of the great Mughal emperor Akbar. Friendly, diplomatic relations existed between Golconda and Mughal rulers.
In interstate relations, he relied more on craft than on valour. In 1557, Ibrahim joined hands with Ahmadnagar and laid siege to Gulbarga, which belonged to Bijapur. But, soon he raised the siege on the request of Bijapur and the advice of Ramaraj, his old friend. Soon after, he joined Bijapur and Vijayanagar in besieging Ahmadnagar. He cemented his friendship with Ramaraj by sending an armed force against his two rebel brothers and seized the fort of Adoni from their hands. He supported Ramaraj, in spite of the asylum he had given to Jagdeva Rao, his traitorous general, and on his advice helped Bijapur in its effort to recover Sholapur and Kalyan from Ahmadnagar. It is reported that the Hindu and Muhammadan forces laid waste the whole area from Parenda to Junnar and from Ahmadnagar to Daulatabad; Vijayanagar forces insulted the honour of Mussalman women and destroyed the mosques in a number of places.
The united forces of Golconda and Ahmadnagar now invested Kalyani, which belonged to Bijapur. Finding no alternative, the Sultan of Bijapur sought the help of Ramaraj. The two armies proceeded against Kalyani and forced the invaders to raise the siege. It is related that the Vijayanagar army again laid waste the countryside and perpetrated atrocities against Muhammadans and their religion. When Ramaraj sent his son and two renegades of Golconda, Jagdeva Rao and Amin-ul-Mulk, to ravage the country around Golconda, Ibrahim had to sign a treaty under which the forts of Pangal and Ghanpur were ceded to Vijayanagar. The treaty left Ramaraj supreme in the South. He subjugated Bijapur, subdued Ahmadnagar, and occupied a number of Qutb Shahi forts.
This state of affairs foreboded ruin to the Deccan Sultanates. They came to realise the disastrous consequences of disunity and began to take steps to bring about unity among themselves. Four of the five Sultanates—Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda, and Bidar—joined hands to come together and liquidate Vijayanagar. The first three were in the forefront. A brief account of the battle that was fought in December 1565 A.D (Rakshasi-Tangidi) between Vijayanagar on one side and the allied forces on the other, as well as the reasons for the fall of Vijayanagar, has been given elsewhere.
After the fall of Vijayanagar, the capital was shifted to Penukonda and Sadasiva became the emperor. The struggle between Sadasiva and his brother Tirumala ended in the murder of the former and the accession of the latter. The provincial chiefs became virtually independent. In the far South, an almost continuous civil war raged between the Nayaks of Madura, Tanjore, and Jinjee. The great coalition which had liquidated the power of Vijayanagar disappeared within five years of the battle of Rakshasi-Tangdi.
At Penukonda, Tirumala was succeeded by his son, Sriranga-I. Finding that his authority ceased to exist in the territory around Rajahmundry, which was parcelled out by a number of chieftains, Ibrahim Qutb Shah sent an expedition against them, the chief of whom were Sitapati and Vidyadhar. Both of them were forced to surrender the fort of Rajahmundry. After that, Ibrahim’s forces marched to the North, occupied Kasimkota, and subjugated the whole of Southern Orissa, which included Potnur, the farthest limit of the Qutb Shahi kingdom in the North.
In 1579, Ibrahim captured Udayagiri, the capital of a province of Vijayanagar. It was one of the strongest forts in the region. Next, Vinukonda, Kocharlakota, and Cumbum were subjugated. Kondavidu fell after a heavy bombardment in April 1579. He supported Ahmadnagar in investing Sholapur, which had been presented to Bijapur as dowry of Princess Chand Bibi. The Allied forces marched against Bijapur, the capital of the kingdom. The allied commanders requested Ibrahim Qutb Shah to direct the campaign himself. But, the Sultan expired by that time in 1580.
