Adil Shah was the first of his line at Bijapur, and he proclaimed
his independence in A.D. 1489. The unhappy king Mahmud II. lived in
inglorious seclusion till December 18, A.D. 1517, and was nominally
succeeded by his eldest son, Ahmad. Ahmad died after two years' reign,
and was followed in rapid succession by his two brothers, Ala-ud-din
III. (deposed) and Wali (murdered), after whom Kalim Ullah, son of
Ahmad II., was nominally placed on the throne but was kept a close
prisoner, and with his death the Bahmani dynasty fell for ever.



CHAPTER 9

The First Kings of the Second Dynasty (A.D. 1490 to 1509)

Narasimha usurps the throne -- Flight of the late king -- Saluva
Timma -- Vira Narasimha -- Bijapur again attacks Vijayanagar --
The Portuguese in India -- They seize Goa -- Varthema's record --
Albuquerque.

In my "Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern India," published in 1883
(p. 106), the following passage occurs: --

"We now come to the second or Narasimha dynasty, whose scions became
more powerful than any monarchs who had ever reigned over the south of
India. Dr. Burnell fixes A.D. 1490 as the initial date of Narasimha's
reign, and at present no inscription that I can be sure of appears to
overthrow that statement. I observe, however, that Bishop Caldwell, in
his 'History of Tinnevelly' (p. 48), fixes the date of the beginning
of Narasimha's ... reign as A.D. 1487.... WE HAVE YET TO LEARN THE