Medieval Goa

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The Bahamani Kingdom
The invasion of Goa by the Bahamini Kingdom in 1350 brought about complete destruction to Goa, its temples and its institutions. The invaders, driven by fanatic zeal destroyed temples, murdered priests and systematically looted their wealth. Many deities got moved to safer areas, only one survives to this very day- the Shree Mahadev Temple at Tambdi Surla. The end of the first period of the Bahamini rule was following their defeat by the the Hindu Empire of Vijayanagar (14-15th century AD). The Bahaminis returned again in 1470 and won and with that victory, Goa became a part of the Muslim Bahmani Kingdom of the Deccan (15th century). The Bahaminis created a new city to facilitate trade on the northern banks of the river Mandovi, a city they called Ela. In 1492, the Bahmani Kingdom split into five kingdoms, namely Bidar, Berar, Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Bijapur. One of the kingdoms namely Bijapur (which was the capital of the territory) included Goa and was ruled by Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah Khan.

The Bijapur Kingdom
However, cracks appeared in the mighty Bahamani Kingdom. Malik Ahmed, the governor of Daulatabad and Junnar revolted and established the Nizam Shahi dynasty of Ahmednagar. In 1489 AD, Yusuf Adil Khan founded the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur and in 1490 AD, Bahadur Gilani of Konkan established his capital at Sankeshvar. The latter however was defeated and killed in 1493 AD.

After the partition of the Bahmani Kingdom, Goa went into the hands of the Adil Shahi rulers of Bijapur The local chief Sabaji, the uncle of Kanoji and Appaji of Bankapur, ruled Goa during the last quarter of the 15th century AD, as representative of the Bahmanis and Bijapur. While his brother Timoja served as the naval chief of the Vijaynagar Empire.