Ad astra is a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote in his Aeneid: "sic itur ad astra" ('thus one journeys to the stars') and "opta ardua pennis astra sequi" ('desire to pursue the high[/hard to reach] stars on wings'). Another origin is Seneca the Younger, who wrote in Hercules: "non est ad astra mollis e terris via" ('there is no easy way from the ...

In 1579 AD, the king Ibrahim II adopted Sunni sect, but the people were allowed to follow their own. The Adil Shahi dynasty stayed independent until 1686 AD when it was annexed to the Mughal Empire by Aurangzeb. The Qutb Shahi dynasty (1512–1687 AD) The longest surviving Shia-ruled state in southern India was that of the Qutb Shahs.