The Sultanate of Golconda (Persian: سلطنت گلکنده; Urdu: سلطنت گولکنڈه) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate,[6] Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty[a] of Turkoman origin.

The kingdom extended from parts of the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana.

The dynasty came to an end in 1687 during the reign of its seventh sultan Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, when the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb arrested and jailed Abul Hasan for the rest of his life in Daulatabad, incorporating Golconda into the Mughal empire.

[15] The dynasty's founder, Sultan Quli Khawas Khan Hamdani was born in Hamadan, Iran.

[21] The sultante's last ruler, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, was imprisoned in Daulatabad Fort, and the territory of the Golconda Sultanate was made into a Mughal imperial province, Hyderabad Subah.

While its primary source of revenue was a land tax,[24] the sultanate greatly profited from its monopoly on diamond production from mines in the southern districts of the kingdom.

The sultanate also had control over the Krishna and Godavari deltas, giving it access to craft production in the villages of the area, where goods like textiles were produced.

The town of Masulipatnam served as the Golconda Sultanate's primary seaport for the export of diamonds and textiles.

[15][31] Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (1580–1612) wrote poems in Dakhini Urdu, Persian and Telugu.

[14] Subsequent poets and writers, however, wrote in Urdu, while using vocabulary from Persian, Hindi and Telugu languages.

[14] During the reign of Abdullah Qutb Shah in 1634 AD, an ancient Sanskrit text on love and sex Ratirahasya by Kokkoka was translated into Persian and named Lazzat-un-Nisa (Flavors of the Woman).

[33][34] The tombs of the Qutb Shahi sultans lie about one kilometre north of Golkonda's outer wall.

[citation needed] For most of their reign, the Qutb Shahi sultanate had a system of jagirs, who would provide troops as well as collect taxes.

While the Governors enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle, they had to bear the brunt of severe punishments for default, consequently, they were harsh on the people.

The soldiers, government workers, court officials and all the Muslim elites were paid allowances from the Sultan's treasury.

In early 17th century, the Persian origin Muslims became rich by lending money on high interest (usury) of 4-5% per mensem much to the despair of Hindus.

It was Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah who first reversed this policy, and allowed Hindus to practice their festivals and religion in the open.