Vijayanagara empire

Timeline

1. 1336 Harihara I and Bukka I, sons of Sangama, found the empire
2. c. 1370s Kumara Kampana overthrows the Madurai Sultanate
3. 1420 Italian traveller Nicolo de Conti visits (Devaraya I)
4. 1443 Persian envoy Abdur Razzaq visits (Devaraya II)
5. 1485 Saluva Narasimha takes power — Saluva dynasty
6. 1505 Tuluva dynasty begins
7. 1509–29 Krishnadevaraya’s reign — the empire’s peak
8. 1565 Battle of Talikota; Rama Raya executed; capital sacked
9. 1570 Aravidu dynasty begins; capital moves to Penukonda

Foundation

• 1336: two sons of Sangama — Harihara and Bukka — established the Vijayanagara empire.
• Harihara and Bukka were influenced by the sage Vidyaranya (of Sringeri). Tradition says they had been taken to Delhi and converted, and returned to Hinduism under his guidance.
• Capital at Hosapattana, which they expanded and renamed Vijayanagara (“city of victory”), on the banks of the Tungabhadra; its ruins are at Hampi.
• Royal insignia: the boar (Varaha). The gold coin, the varaha, was called the “pagoda” by Europeans.
• The Hiriya canal drew water from the Tungabhadra to irrigate the valley around the capital.

Four dynasties

Sangama highlights

• Kumara Kampana:
• son of Bukka I
• expanded Vijayanagara rule into Tamil Nadu, assisted by his general Maraya Nayak
• killed the Sultan of Madurai
• his campaign is described in Madhura Vijayam, a Sanskrit poem written by his wife Gangadevi
• Devaraya II (1424–46):
• the greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty
• recruited Muslim cavalry and archers into his army
• Abdur Razzaq, envoy from Persia, visited and described the seven circles of fortification around the city

Saluva dynasty (1485–1505)

• Saluva Narasimha, the founder, took power from the weak last Sangamas.

Krishnadevaraya (1509–29)

• The greatest of the Vijayanagara kings; belonged to the Tuluva dynasty.
• Pushed the Bahmani successor Sultans north — defeated Bijapur at Raichur (1520).
• Subdued the Gajapatis of Odisha (Prataparudra) and married his daughter.
• Gave the Portuguese permission to build a fort near Bhatkal; they supplied him with horses.
• Founded a suburban township near Vijayanagara — Nagalapuram — in the name of his mother (Nagala Devi).
• Temples:
• made large donations
• added towering gopurams (raya-gopurams)
• Built the Mahanavami Dibba — a massive platform used for the Mahanavami (Dasara) festival and royal celebrations.
• Author of Amuktamalyada in Telugu — the story of Andal, the Tamil saint-poetess.
• His court had eight great poets, the Ashtadiggajas, including Allasani Peddana (called Andhra Kavita Pitamaha) and Tenali Ramakrishna. He himself was called Andhra Bhoja.
• Portuguese visitors: Domingo Paes described his reign; Fernão Nuniz wrote soon after, under Achyuta Raya.

Administration

• Nayaka (Amara-nayaka) system — an administrative reform:
• military commanders (nayakas) were given territories to govern
• they collected revenue, maintained troops and paid tribute
• similar to the iqta system of the Sultanate
• Ayagar system: a set of village functionaries paid through land grants.
• Provinces (rajya or mandalam) were divided into nadu and villages.

Decline

• After Krishnadevaraya came Achyuta Raya and then Sadashiva Raya, with Rama Raya as the real power.
• 1565, Battle of Talikota: the combined Deccan Sultanates defeated Vijayanagara; Rama Raya was defeated and executed, and the capital was destroyed.
• The Aravidu dynasty (1570–c. 1650) continued from Penukonda, Chandragiri and Vellore.

Foreign visitors

Memory hook

Source check

• Where the mindmap differs from standard textbooks. Use the standard version in the exam.