Book contents
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Transliteration
- Chronology of the Deccan Sultanate Rulers
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Courtly Society
- Part II Courtly Skills
- 4 Scribal Skills
- 5 Esoteric Skills
- 6 Martial Skills
- Concluding Remarks
- Select Bibliography of Primary Sources
- Index
6 - Martial Skills
from Part II - Courtly Skills
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2019
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- The Courts of the Deccan Sultanates
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Note on Transliteration
- Chronology of the Deccan Sultanate Rulers
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Part I Courtly Society
- Part II Courtly Skills
- 4 Scribal Skills
- 5 Esoteric Skills
- 6 Martial Skills
- Concluding Remarks
- Select Bibliography of Primary Sources
- Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on the martial skills of sword fighting, archery and wrestling. Courtiers were the military elite: a high position was frequently the reward of prowess in battle, and the ability to direct men and attract followers in daily life was directly related to one’s skill in battle. However, martial skills were not merely a prerequisite for worldly success. I examine the tale of Yusuf, who – by virtue of his skills as a wrestler – rose from lowly service in the kitchens of the sultan’s palace to become one of the most powerful courtiers in the Bahmani sultanate, and eventually the founder of the independent sultanate of Bijapur. In historical accounts like this, the refinement of martial skills and the perfection of one’s physical body came to be framed as a key ethical endeavour through the ideal of javanmardi, or ‘young manliness’.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Courts of the Deccan SultanatesLiving Well in the Persian Cosmopolis, pp. 268 - 302Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019