The court language during the Deccan sultanate period was Persian or Arabic, however, Marathi was widely used during the period especially by Adil Shahi of Bijapur and the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. Although the rulers were Muslims, the local feudal landlords and the revenue collectors were Hindus and so was the majority of the population. Political expediency made it important for the sultans to make use of Marathi. Nevertheless, Marathi in official documents from the era is totally Persianised in its vocabulary. The Persian influence continues to this day with many Persian derived words used in every day speech such as bāg (Garden), kārkhānā (factory), Shahar (city), bāzār (market), dukān (shop), hushār (clever), kāgad (paper), khurchi (chair), zamin (land), zāhirāt (advertisement), and hazār (thousand).