Vijayanagara Empire

To understand the emergence of the Vijayanagara Empire, we must first look at what was happening in the Deccan and South India during the 14th century.

🧭 Context:
The Delhi Sultanate, which had earlier focused mostly on North India, began expanding southward during the reign of Alauddin Khalji (1296–1316 CE). This expansion reached its peak under Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325–1351 CE), who managed to conquer large parts of the Deccan and Southern India.

But here’s the catch — these conquests were not sustainable. Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s administration was over-ambitious, and soon, his control over the southern regions weakened. One by one, the local rulers declared independence and re-established their kingdoms.

As a result, two major powers came to dominate the Deccan and South India:

• Bahmani Sultanate in the north
• Vijayanagara Empire in the south

These two would go on to shape the political, cultural, and military landscape of peninsular India for the next two centuries.

🏯 Founding of the Vijayanagara Empire (1336 CE)

In 1336 CE, two brothers — Harihara (also called Hakka) and Bukkaraya — established the Vijayanagara Empire. They were part of a family of five brothers and are considered the founding fathers of this grand South Indian empire.

🌱 Their Early Journey:

• Initially, they served as feudatories of the Kakatiya dynasty in Warangal.
• Later, they became ministers in the Kampili Kingdom (present-day Karnataka).
• When Muhammad bin Tughlaq conquered Kampili, both brothers were captured and converted to Islam.
• However, under the influence of their spiritual guide Vidyaranya, they reconverted to Hinduism, returned to the south, and declared independence from Delhi.

🛕 Capital:
They founded the city of Vijayanagara on the southern bank of the Tungabhadra River.
The city’s name literally means “City of Victory”.

Today, this historical city is known as Hampi, named after the local deity Pampadevi.

🕰️ Chronology: The Four Dynasties of Vijayanagara

The empire was ruled by four successive dynasties:

Dynasty	Period
Sangama	1336–1485
Saluva	1485–1505
Tuluva	1505–1570
Aravidu	1570–1650

The Sangama dynasty, founded by Harihara and Bukka, was the first. The most famous ruler of the empire — Krishna Deva Raya — belonged to the Tuluva dynasty.

🌍 Accounts of Foreign Travellers

Like Delhi Sultanate and Mughal India, the Vijayanagara Empire also attracted many foreign travellers, whose writings provide valuable insights.

Traveller	Country	Period	Key Info
Nicolo de Conti	Italy	1420	Visited during Deva Raya I
Abdur Razzaq	Persia	1443	Visited during Deva Raya II
Afanasii Nikitin	Russia	15th century	Merchant; offered cultural observations
Duarte Barbosa	Portugal	Early 1500s	Visited during Krishna Deva Raya
Domingo Paes	Portugal	~1520	Detailed accounts of Krishna Deva Raya’s court
Fernao Nuniz	Portugal	~1530s	Visited during Achyuta Deva Raya

These travellers noted the richness of the city, its prosperous economy, strong military, and temple architecture.

🧭 Strategic Conflicts and Expansion

🛡️ Initial Expansion under Harihara and Bukka:

• Harihara (ruled 1336–1356) dealt with two key powers:
  • The Hoysala ruler of Mysore
  • The Sultan of Madurai
• The Hoysala kingdom collapsed in 1343 after its ruler Vira Ballala III was killed by the Sultan of Madurai. This allowed Harihara to annex the Hoysala territories by 1346.

⚔️ Expansion under Bukkaraya and his son:

• Bukka (ruled 1356–1377) was succeeded by his son Kumara Kampana, who defeated the Sultan of Madurai in 1378.
• After this victory, all of South India up to Rameswaram came under Vijayanagara control.

🧱 Northern and Coastal Conflicts

Even after consolidating the South, the Vijayanagara kings had to defend and expand their northern and coastal frontiers, facing three main rivals:

Bahmani Sultanate (Deccan)

• Founded by Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah, a former Tughlaq governor.
• Frequent wars took place between the Bahmani and Vijayanagara kingdoms.
• Their rivalry centered around three key regions:

Area	Why It Was Important
Raichur Doab (between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers)	Rich in agriculture and resources
Krishna-Godavari Delta	Access to fertile lands and lucrative overseas trade
Maratha-Konkani region (incl. Goa)	Vital for horse trade from Iraq/Iran (as India lacked quality horse breeds)

🐎 Note: The Goa port was especially critical as imported horses were essential for warfare in South India.

🧑‍🔬 Contribution of Colin Mackenzie

The ruins of Vijayanagara (modern-day Hampi) were rediscovered by Colonel Colin Mackenzie, a Scottish engineer, antiquarian, and surveyor.

• In 1815, he was appointed the first Surveyor General of India.
• His work preserved valuable maps, drawings, and documentation of Indian history.
• He brought attention back to Vijayanagara at a time when it was long abandoned.

🦁 Harihara II (1377–1404 CE): Early Challenges and Resistance

After Bukkaraya, his son Harihara II came to power in 1377 CE.

🛑 Problem Faced:
During his reign, two powerful neighbours — the Bahmani Sultanate and the Warangal kingdom — formed an alliance. This made it very difficult for Harihara II to expand into the Tungabhadra Doab — a region rich in resources, situated between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers.

🔁 As a result, Harihara II failed to secure this strategically vital region and had to deal with frequent Bahmani offensives.

⚔️ Deva Raya I (1404–1422 CE): The King of Contrasts — Sword and Plough

Deva Raya I succeeded Harihara II in 1404 CE and reigned till 1422 CE.

⚔️ Military Front:

• He had to fight again for Tungabhadra Doab, but this time, the Bahmani ruler Firuz Shah defeated him.
• To maintain peace:
  • Deva Raya paid a heavy indemnity: 10 lakhs of huns (gold coins), pearls, and elephants.
  • He even married his daughter to Firuz Shah and gave Bankapur (a region in Doab) as dowry.

🛑 But despite this marital alliance, peace didn’t last.

• Soon, new disputes emerged over the Krishna-Godavari delta.
• Taking advantage of chaos in the Reddi kingdom, Deva Raya allied with Warangal, defeated Firuz Shah, and annexed Reddi territory up to the Krishna river’s mouth.

🌾 Peace-Time Reforms: The Engineer King

Deva Raya I was not just a warrior — he was also a visionary administrator.

• He constructed a dam on the Tungabhadra River to solve the city’s water shortage.
• This also irrigated nearby fields, and as a result, revenue increased by 3.5 lakh pardaos (currency).
• He built another dam on the Haridra River for further irrigation.

🧭 Insight: This shows Vijayanagara’s kings were not only military strategists but also deeply invested in agrarian development.

🌍 Foreign Visitor: Nicolo de Conti

In 1420, the Italian traveller Nicolo de Conti visited Vijayanagara during Deva Raya I’s reign. He left detailed accounts of the city’s grandeur and prosperity.

🛡️ Deva Raya II (1425–1446 CE): Zenith of the Sangama Dynasty

Also called Proudha Deva Raya, he was the greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty.

🏇 Military Innovations:

• He realized the Bahmani army’s superiority in:
  • Mounted archery
  • Sturdy imported horses
• So, he:
  • Enlisted 2,000 Muslim cavalrymen, granted them jagirs
  • Ordered his Hindu soldiers to learn archery from them

📜 According to Persian historian Ferishta, his army included:

• 60,000 trained archers
• 80,000 cavalry
• 2,00,000 infantry
  (Though numbers may be exaggerated, it reflects the scale and ambition of Vijayanagara.)

🌍 Foreign Tribute and Fame:

Deva Raya II was powerful enough to receive tribute from distant lands:

State/Region	Modern Location
Quilon	Kerala
Sri Lanka	—
Pulicat	Tamil Nadu coast
Pegu & Tenasserim	Myanmar & Malaya

Portuguese writer Fernao Nuniz wrote that these regions accepted his authority, indicating Vijayanagara’s dominance in maritime trade.

🧭 Abdur Razzaq’s Glorious Testimony:

• Abdur Razzaq, a Persian ambassador, visited Vijayanagara during Deva Raya II’s rule.
• He praised the empire, saying it had:
  • 300 ports (each like Calicut!)
  • Territory spanning three months of journey
  • A well-cultivated, fertile land
  • An army of 11 lakh troops

✅ This clearly shows that under Deva Raya II, Vijayanagara became the most powerful state in South India.

🔚 End of the Sangama Dynasty

After Deva Raya II’s death in 1446 CE:

• There was no clear succession law, leading to civil wars.
• Feudatories began declaring independence.
• The weakened rulers who followed couldn’t prevent decline.

Thus, the Sangama dynasty collapsed.

🏯 Saluva Dynasty (1485–1505 CE): A Short-Lived Interlude

• Founded by Saluva Narasimha, this dynasty ruled briefly.
• It couldn’t stabilize the empire and soon gave way to a more powerful line — the Tuluva dynasty.

👑 Krishna Deva Raya (1509–1529 CE): The Golden Age of Vijayanagara

Krishna Deva Raya of the Tuluva dynasty is widely regarded as the greatest ruler of Vijayanagara.

🛡️ Military Achievements:

1. Against Successor States of Bahmani Sultanate:
   • Defeated the Muslim armies
   • Captured the Raichur Doab
   • Inflicted severe defeat on the Sultan of Bijapur
2. Against Orissa:
   • Forced the Orissan ruler to return all territories up to the Krishna River
3. Portuguese Diplomacy:
   • Maintained friendly relations
   • Gained monopoly over Portuguese horse trade
   • Albuquerque’s ambassadors offered help in recovering Goa from Bijapur

🐎 Why this mattered: Vijayanagara needed imported horses for cavalry — crucial for warfare.

🪷 Art, Culture, and Literature:

Krishna Deva Raya wasn’t just a warrior — he was a great patron of culture.

📖 Titles:

• Andhra Bhoja
• Andhra Pitamaha

📚 Contributions:

• Patronized Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil poets
• Telugu literature reached its peak
• Had eight great poets in his court — the legendary Ashta Diggajas

✍️ His Own Works:

• Telugu: Amuktamalyada — a celebrated poetic work
• Sanskrit: Jambavati Kalyanam and Ushaparinayam

🏗️ Architecture:

• Built a new town — Nagalapuram — in his mother’s name
• Dug an enormous tank for irrigation
• Constructed the Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy temples
• Added magnificent gopurams (temple towers) across South Indian temples

🕉️ Religion:

• Krishna Deva Raya was a Vaishnavaite, but respected all religions.
• He patronized temples, schools, and maths.
• The temple architecture of this era became more elaborate and ornate.

🌍 Domingo Paes on Krishna Deva Raya:

Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes spent years at his court.

He describes:

• Krishna Deva Raya’s regal personality
• His extreme discipline and strength
• His unique morning routine:
  • Drank half a litre of sesame oil (!)
  • Practised weightlifting, sword fighting, wrestling
  • Rode horses
  • Then bathed, prayed, and began his court sessions

🧭 This paints a picture of a hands-on, warrior-king, deeply involved in both governance and physical fitness.

🏛️ The End of an Empire: Vijayanagara’s Decline

Let us begin with the decline phase, which starts after the glorious reign of Krishna Deva Raya.

👑 After Krishna Deva Raya

After the death of Krishna Deva Raya in 1529 CE, the empire witnessed a weakening of central authority:

• Achyuta Deva Raya (1529–1542 CE) and Venkata I (1542 CE) ascended the throne but couldn’t match their predecessor’s might.
• In 1543, a child ruler Sadashiva Raya was made king (ruled till 1567), but the real authority rested in the hands of Rama Raya—Krishna Deva Raya’s son-in-law—and his two brothers.

Rama Raya was a clever diplomat who manipulated the Deccan Sultanates by playing them against each other. But such politics backfired.

⚔️ Battle of Talikota (1565 CE) – Turning Point

This battle is the watershed moment that marks the destruction of the city of Vijayanagara:

• The four Deccan Sultanates—Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golkonda, and Bidar—set aside their differences and formed a coalition against Vijayanagara.
• In the Battle of Talikota (also known as the Battle of Rakshasa-Tangadi), Rama Raya was captured and executed.
• The city of Vijayanagara was plundered, burnt, and reduced to ruins.

Though the Aravidu Dynasty continued to rule parts of the empire for about a century, the cultural and political heart of the empire—the city of Vijayanagara—never recovered. That was the symbolic end.

🧾 Fernao Nuniz: A Portuguese Eyewitness

Nuniz, a Portuguese horse trader who visited during Achyuta Deva Raya’s reign, offers some fascinating insights:

• Under Deva Raya II, the empire received tributes from Quilon, Sri Lanka, Pulicat, Pegu, and Tenasserim.
• The bazaars of Vijayanagara were vibrant and eclectic—selling everything from mutton and pork to rats and lizards!
• Women in the empire were remarkably empowered—they practised wrestling, engaged in astrology, accounting, and even soothsaying(prophecy).

🏛️ Vijayanagara Administration: Structured and Strategic

👑 Centralized Monarchy

• The king was the supreme authority—executive, judicial, and legislative.
• He was supported by a council of ministers, but the king’s word was final.
• He also functioned as the highest court of appeal.

🗺️ Administrative Divisions

The empire was divided into multiple tiers:

• Mandalams (provinces)
• Nadu (districts)
• Sthala (sub-districts)
• Grama (villages)

The governor of a Mandalam was known as Mandaleshwara or Nayaka.

⚔️ Amara-Nayaka System: Vijayanagara’s Military-Feudal Backbone

This was a politico-military arrangement, much like the Iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate:

• The Amara-Nayakas were military commanders granted control over specific regions.
• Their duties included:
  1. Collecting revenue from their assigned territory
  2. Sending tribute to the king annually
  3. Maintaining troops—especially cavalry and elephants
  4. Taking care of local infrastructure like temples and irrigation

They were often rotated to prevent the rise of autonomous powers, but many Nayakas eventually turned independent—especially post the Talikota debacle.

💰 Revenue Administration: Diverse and Layered

🌾 Land Revenue

• The land tax was a major income source, typically fixed at one-sixth of the produce.
• But the rate varied depending on:
  • Type of crop
  • Soil quality
  • Irrigation method

As per inscriptions:

• Kuruvai (winter rice): ⅓ of produce
• Ragi, sesame, horsegram: ¼ of produce
• Millets & dry crops: ⅙ of produce

💸 Other Taxes

In addition to land revenue:

• Property tax
• Tax on sale of produce
• Professional tax
• Military tax (during emergencies)
• Marriage tax, etc.

Customs duties from ports and tributes from feudatories also added to state income.

⚖️ Judicial System: Harsh but Centralized

• The king was the supreme judge.
• Punishments were severe—including mutilation and being thrown to elephants.

🪖 Military Organization

The Vijayanagara army was large and disciplined, comprising:

• Cavalry (high-quality horses bought from Portuguese and Arabs)
• Infantry
• Elephants
• Artillery

The top army officers were known as Nayakas or Poligars, and they were paid with land grants.

💹 Economy: Vibrant, but Village Life Unclear

While travellers praised Vijayanagara’s cities and markets, they were mostly silent on the lives of peasants. Still, based on inscriptions and limited records:

• The rural economy was taxed variably, as mentioned earlier.
• A network of irrigation tanks and canals supported agriculture.
• Vijayanagara’s coastal ports were actively engaged in maritime trade with Arabia, Burma, China, and Europe.

Legacy of Vijayanagara

Even though the empire fell in 1565 CE, its cultural legacy remained:

• It stood as a bulwark of Hindu resistance against expanding Islamic sultanates.
• It became a symbol of South Indian cultural pride, with architectural marvels like Hampi and temples with massive gopurams.
• Its administrative and military systems influenced later South Indian polities.

The empire’s ethos—pragmatic governance, cultural richness, and religious pluralism—makes it a vital chapter in India’s medieval history.