The school of Bijapur produced the Nujum al-Ulum and a Ragamala series. Which two rulers patronised this school?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Ali Adil Shah I and Ibrahim II
Option (1) Hussain Nizam Shah I and Ibrahim II — Incorrect. Ibrahim II was a Bijapur patron, but Hussain Nizam Shah I ruled Ahmadnagar.
Option (2) Ali Adil Shah I and Ibrahim II — Correct. Ali Adil Shah I (1558–1580) and his successor Ibrahim II (1580–1627) patronised the school of Bijapur. Both were patrons of art and literature.
Option (3) Ibrahim Qutb Shah and Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah — Incorrect. Both were rulers of Golconda: Ibrahim Qutb Shah ruled from 1550 to 1580, and Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah is the ruler in a Golconda painting of 1590.
Option (4) Ali Adil Shah I and Hussain Nizam Shah I — Incorrect. Ali Adil Shah I was a Bijapur patron, but Hussain Nizam Shah I ruled Ahmadnagar.
NCERT (2026-27): “Bijapur School of Painting …Paintings from Bijapur in the sixteenth century have a richly illustrated encyclopaedia known as the Nujum al-Ulum dated 1570.… The school of Bijapur was patronised by Ali Adil Shah I (1558–1580) and his successor Ibrahim II (1580–1627), both patrons of art and literature. The latter was also an expert in Indian music and author of a book on this subject, Nauras-nama. He was the owner of Nujum al-Ulum manuscript and might have commissioned the Ragamala series in the 1590s.” |