• Attacks by the Delhi Sultans weakened the kingdoms of the South: the Seuna (Maharashtra), Hoysala (Karnataka), Kakatiya (Telangana) and Pandya (Tamil Nadu). Culture and social life broke down.
• In these troubled times the Vijayanagara empire rose to protect South India, its Dharma and culture, and shone for three centuries (1336–1646 C.E.).
• The Bahmani kingdom was founded soon after, in 1347. The river Krishna was the border: Bahmani in the north, Vijayanagara in the south.
• The fertile land between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra is the Raichur Doab. The two kingdoms fought again and again for it.
• Later the Bahmani kingdom broke into five Shahi kingdoms (1489); the Adil Shahi of Vijayapura was the most important.

• It was one of the greatest empires in the world at that time. It followed Sarva-dharma-samabhava (respect for all religions).
• Its capital was Hampi (Vijayanagara district), founded in 1336 on the southern bank of the Tungabhadra.
• The five Sangama brothers were Harihara, Bukka, Kampana, Marappa and Muddappa. Four dynasties ruled: Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu.
• The royal emblem was the boar (Varaha), the family deity was Lord Virupaksha, and the kings’ title was ‘Hinduraya Suratrana’.

Harihara and Bukka were the first two kings. Harihara began building the new capital at Hampi. The Bahmani kingdom was founded in his time, and from then on Vijayanagara and the Bahmani Sultans fought often.

• The most famous Sangama king. There was peace and prosperity, and trade grew.
• He crushed revolts of border chieftains, fought the Sultans and expanded the empire. He took Muslim cavalry into his army.
• The Persian ambassador Abdul Razak wrote: “There is no king like Devaraya in the whole of India”, and that his army had lakhs of soldiers.
• An able ruler, brave warrior and scholar, he built the Hazara Ramaswamy temple at Hampi. He followed religious tolerance: he built a mosque in the capital, and Jaina and Vaishnava temples were built. The Veerashaiva sect grew, and Kannada and Sanskrit literature flourished.

• Saluva Narasimha took the capital from the weak Sangama king Virupaksha III in 1485 and ruled for 6 years.
• His sons were young, and the general Tuluva Narasanayaka took control. After he died in 1509, his brother Krishnadevaraya came to power.

• A majestic emperor and brave soldier of the Tuluva dynasty. The empire reached the Krishna river in the north and the sea coasts.
• A capable ruler, he spent a quarter of the revenue on charity and welfare. Agriculture and trade grew and things were cheap.
• A scholar of Sanskrit and Telugu, he wrote ‘Amukta Malyada’ (Telugu) and ‘Jambavati Kalyana’ (Sanskrit). His title was ‘Kannada-rajya-ramaramana’.

• After Krishnadevaraya the empire weakened, but his son-in-law Ramaraya, a mighty general, brought back its glory.
• Causes: the Bahmani kingdom had split into five; the Sultans asked Ramaraya to help in their quarrels. He used their disunity and pushed his borders north of the Krishna. The Sultans were also jealous of Vijayanagara’s wealth. They forgot their differences, united and declared war.
• The battle was fought between Rakkasagi and Tangadagi on the Krishna, on 23 January 1565: the most destructive battle in South Indian history.
• Ramaraya, aged 80, led the army bravely. Vijayanagara won the first round, but enemy cannon fire scattered the army and two commanders betrayed him. Ramaraya was killed and the soldiers fled.
• His brother Tirumala escaped to Penugonda with the royal treasure on elephants. The capital was plundered. The Aravidu dynasty later ruled from Penugonda, Chandragiri and Vellore up to 1646.
• Results: the northern parts went to the Vijayapura and Golkonda kingdoms; in Karnataka the chieftains of Keladi, Mysore and Chitradurga became independent.

• Domingo Paes (Portuguese): “There cannot be another city like this on earth which has such an abundance of all kinds of commodities.” Pearls, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and costly cloth were easily available.
• Abdul Razak (Persian ambassador) praised Devaraya and said: “The eyes have not seen nor the ears heard about another glorious city like Vijayanagara on earth.”

• Society: all castes had a place in the Grama Sabha. The Muslim merchant group Hanjaman had representatives among the city elite. Women worked as accountants of the palace, guards and attendants; there were even women wrestlers. Navaratri was celebrated grandly at the Mahanavami Dibba.
• Economy: agriculture was the main occupation. Vijayanagara was a centre of international trade; pearls and diamonds were sold in heaps. Goods moved through many ports on both coasts.
• Religion: all religions got grants and freedom. Mosques were built for Muslims, who also served in the army. Christianity was encouraged through trade with the Portuguese.
• Literature: Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu flourished; it was the Golden Era of Telugu. Kumaravyasa (Naranappa) wrote ‘Karnata Bharata Katha Manjari’, Chamarasa wrote ‘Prabhulingaleele’ (life of Allamaprabhu) and Ratnakara Varni wrote ‘Bharatesha Vaibhava’.
• Music: dance, painting and music were supported, and the name Carnatic music became popular. Saints spread Bhakti through songs: the Dasa Pantha. Purandaradasa, who composed lakhs of songs, is the ‘Father of Carnatic Music’. Kanakadasa, from an ordinary family, wrote ‘Mohana Tarangini’, ‘Ramadhanya Charitre’, ‘Nalacharitre’ and ‘Haribhaktisara’.
• Architecture: granite was used. Tall Raya-Gopuras and kalyana mantapas were added to temples all over South India, giving jobs to thousands. Hampi has the Hazara Ramaswami, Vijaya Vittalaswami, Krishnaswami and Achyutaraya temples; tapping the short pillars of the Vittala temple gives the seven musical notes. The Vidyashankara temple (Sringeri) and the thousand-pillared basadi of Mudabidri (Tribhuvana Tilaka Chudamani) also belong to this period.
• Monolithic sculpture (carved from one rock): Sasivekalu Ganesha, Kadalekalu Ganesha, Lakshminarasimha and the stone chariot (a Garuda shrine) at Hampi; the Bahubali statues at Karkala and Venur.

• Founded in 1347 by Allauddin Hasan Gangu Bahamanshah. The river Krishna was its southern border. The capital was first Kalaburagi and later Bidar, which was the capital for about a century.
• It covered parts of today’s Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The greatest Bahmani Sultan: just, generous and pious; a writer, a master of many languages, and an expert in geometry and religious texts. He set up an observatory at Daulatabad, beautified Kalaburagi, built the new city Ferozabad on the Bhima, gave villages to the Sufi saint Bandenawaz, and developed harbours, which boosted foreign trade.

• He became more famous than the Sultans. Of Persian origin, he served selflessly as prime minister of Mahamud III.
• An expert in war, he expanded the kingdom; he gave good administration based on Muslim law; improved tax collection and the postal system; fixed land revenue by soil fertility and irrigation; and abolished harsh taxes.
• He built a Madrasa (college) at Bidar for Islamic studies, astronomy, mathematics and history, with free education and hostel and about 3000 manuscripts.
• Jealous chieftains plotted and had him executed. His grave says: “Innocent Gawan was murdered.” After his death the kingdom split into five kingdoms.

• Rule followed Islamic law. The Sultan was head of administration, chief justice, army chief and religious head, seen as God’s representative. Most top posts went to Muslims; officials got jahagirs.
• Tax was one-sixth of the produce. Rice, wheat, maize and pulses were the main food. The rich lived in luxury, but common people were poor. Jain and Christian communities lived there; the Sufi sect was powerful.
• Literature: Arabic and Persian flourished. The Sufi saint Bandenawaz was a writer. The scholars’ language Dakhani later helped develop Urdu.
• Architecture (Dakhani style): the Jami Masjid of Kalaburagi (their first building), domed tombs of the Sultans, the tomb of Bandenawaz, the Solahkhamb mosque and palaces in Bidar fort, the 12 tombs at Ashtur, and the three-storeyed Madrasa of Gawan (76 m long).

• The most important Shahi kingdom; it ruled in Karnataka for about two centuries (1489–1686).
• Ibrahim II: the kingdom grew and prospered. A tolerant ruler, he supported Hindu scholars, poets and musicians, renovated the Datta temple in his fort and worked for Hindu–Muslim unity. He wrote ‘Kitab-i-Navras’ in Urdu, which begins with songs to Saraswati, Ganapati and Bhairava. He built Ibrahim Roza.
• Mahamud Adil Shah built the Gol Gumbaz and the Asar Mahal. Later, Mughal attacks and Maratha raids weakened the kingdom, and it ended when Aurangzeb captured Vijayapura.
• Architecture: the Vijayapura fort has 96 bastions and six gates; Gagan Mahal is grand; Asar Mahal has painted rooms; the Juma Masjid is attractive. Ibrahim Roza (a mosque and a tomb) is called the ‘Taj Mahal of the Deccan’. The Gol Gumbaz has a huge dome with a whispering gallery that repeats whispers. It is the 4th largest structure in the world and the largest in India.