The Deccan sultanates is the name for five Islamic kingdoms which existed in the Deccan Plateau, in the Middle Ages. They all had at least a part of the territory on the Deccan Plateau. The sultanates came into existence when the Bahmani Sultanate broke up. Much like the Bahmani Sultanate, these kingdoms regularly fought against the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire in South India but also commonly and most fought amongst themselves for territory.