Geographical Spread of the Vijayanagar Empire

• At its peak, the Vijayanagara Empire had an influence on almost all of South India’s ruling families.
• The Vijayanagara Empire rulers also pushed the Sultans of the Deccan beyond the Tungabhadra-Krishna River Doab region.
• The Vijaynagara Empire also annexed modern-day Odisha (erstwhile Kalinga) from the Gajapati Kingdom of Kalinga, Odisha.
• The empire reached its peak during the rule of Krishna Deva Raya when the Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious

Important Dynasties of the Vijayanagar Empire

Sangam Dynasty:

• Harihara was the founder of Vijayanagara empire along with his brother Bukka Raya.
• Harihara I became the ruler of the Sangama Dynasty in 1336 CE.
• He captured Mysore and Madurai from Southern Empires.
• He was succeeded by Bukka I in 1356 CE
• Bukka’s son kamparaya annexed Madurai. This episode was written by Gangadevi(wife of kamparaya) as Madhuravijayam in Sanskrit.
• He captured revatidweepa(Goa).
• He created Pansupari bazaar in Hampi
• Bukaraya was succeeded by harihara 2 and later Devaraya came to power
• Devaraya 1 was the first important king. He was the first to construct dam across river Tungabhadra
• Devarya 1 was defeated by Bahaman sultan Feroz shah 1.
• The greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty was Deva Raya II.
• He inducted muslim archers into army.
• He was first vijayanagara ruler to collect tributes from cylon.
• After his death, Sangama dynasty became weak.
• The last king virupaksharaya was dethroned by his commander Saluva Narsimharaya 1, and he stared Saluva dynastic rule.

Saluva Dynasty:

• Narasimha raya 2 was the greatest in saluva dynasty.
• Annamcharaya lived during this time period.
• After the death of Narasimha 2, Narasa nayaka installed his son veeranarsimha on throne.
• Veeranarasimha started rule of Tuluva dynasty.

Tuluva dynasty:

• After the death of Veeranarasimha , prime minister Thimmarasu installed Krishnadevaraya on throne.
• Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529)was the greatest in this dynasty.
• He was a great commander and an efficient administrator. He fought a series of war with the independent kingdoms that came on the ruins of the Bahamani kingdom, maintained law and order and dealt with the Portuguese influence in the Deccan.
• He completely shattered the Adil Shahi forces of Bijapur first and attacked Gulbarga and set free three Bahamani princes who were imprisoned there. He helped them in recovering the throne of Gulbarga and Krishna Deva himself took the title of Yavanarajya sthapanacharya.
• He started his eastern campaign in 1513AD.
• Udayagiri was the first fort to be captured by Krishnadevaraya.
• He defeated Prataparudra Gajapati of Orissa.
• He married Gajapati princess Tukkadevi or Annapurnadevi.
• Raichur campaign in 1520 was his last campaign. He defeated Ismail Adil shah.
• Portugese governor Alfanso de Alburque concluded treaty with Krishnadevaraya.
• In 1510 Portugese captured Goa from Bijapur Sultan.
• He was a great patron of literature and art and he was known as Andhra Bhoja
• Eight eminent scholars known as Ashtadiggajas were at his royal court.
• Due the death of his son ,Krishnadevaraya received nervous breakdown and passed away in 1529.
• After his death, Achyutadeva and Sadashivraya succeeded the throne.
• During the reign of Rama Raya, the Bahaman confederacy (combined forces of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golkonda and Bidar) defeated him(Ramaraya)  at the Battle of Talaikote in 1565.
• Rama Raya was imprisoned and executed. The city of Vijayanagar was destroyed. This battle was generally considered to mark the end of the Vijayanagar Empire.
• However, the Vijayanagar kingdom existed under the Aravidu dynasty for about another century.

IMPORTANT RULERS

Contributions of Krishna Deva Raya to the Vijaynagar Empire

• He was an efficient administrator and he also built large tanks & canals for irrigation.
• He also created extensive naval power which boosted the overseas trade of the Vijayanagar Empire.
• He also maintained cordial relations with the Portuguese and Arab traders.
• All this, helped him to enhance the revenue of the Vijayanagar Empire.
• Krishnadeva Raya was also a learned & great scholar.
• He also patronized art and architecture extensively.
• The Vijayanagar Empire reached its highest point of growth during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya.

Battle of Talikota (1565 A.D.)

• The successors of Krishnadeva Raya were weak
• The combined forces of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Golconda and Bidar declared war on Vijayanagar during the rule of Aliya Rama Raya
• Aliya Rama Raya was defeated. He and his people were killed mercilessly.
• Vijayanagar was pillaged and ruined.

Aravidu Dynasty:

• Thirumala, Sri Ranga and Venkata II were the important rulers of this dynasty.
• Venkata II was contemporary to Akbar. He shifted capital city to
• The last ruler of Vijayanagar kingdom was Sri Ranga III.
• Sri Ranga was defeated by Mir Jumla of Golconda in battle of Vandavasi in 1647.
• Vijyanagar empire came to an end with this.

Administration 

• The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial & legislative matters.
• The succession to the throne was hereditary.
• Administrative units divided as: Mandalams, Nadus, Sthalas and finally into Gramas.
• Mandaleshwar or Nayaka was the governor of Mandalam.
• He had considerable autonomy- had right to issue coins of small denominations & right to impose new tax or remit old one.
• Sources of income: land revenue, tributes, and gifts from vassals and feudal chiefs, customs at ports, & taxes on various professions.
• The army consisted of cavalry, infantry, artillery and elephants.
• Nayankar System – The top-grade officers of the army were known as Nayaks/Poligars.
• They were granted land in lieu of their services which were called Amaram.
• Manyams were tax free lands.
• A body of 12 functionaries known as Ayangars, conducted village affairs.
• Vijayanagar Empire had a well-organized administrative system.
• The King was the main power in the state and was the final decision-making authority of all the matters in the state.
• There also existed a Council of Ministers which assisted the King in administrative work.
• The Vijayanagar Empire was divided into 6 provinces.
• There existed a Governor called ‘Naik’ to administer each province.
• Further, the provinces were divided into districts.
• And, these districts were again divided into smaller units called villages.
• Such villages were administered by various hereditary officers like accountants, watchmen, weights men and also by officers who were in charge of the forced labour department.
• There also existed an officer called ‘Mahanayakacharya’ who worked as a bridge between the villages and the central government/administration.

The Army

• The army consisted of the infantry, cavalry and elephantry.
• The commander-in-chief was in charge of the army.

Revenue Administration 

• The main source of income for the Vijaynagar Empire was land revenue.
• Proper surveys of the land were conducted and then taxes were fixed based on the fertility of the soil.
• Significant importance was laid on the growth of agriculture by constructing a large number of dams and canals.

Judicial Administration 

• The King was considered their supreme judge.
• There were provisions of extreme punishments for the guilty person.
• Also, the people who violated the law were suitably punished and fines were levied on them.

Socio – Economic Conditions 

• The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and Virupaksha was their family deity.
• The chief gold coin was the varaha or pagoda. The Perta was half a Varaha. Fanam was one tenth a pertha.
• Tar was a silver coin. Jittal was a copper coin.
• The chief items of export were cotton, silk, spices, rice, saltpeter and sugar.
• The imports consisted of horses, pearls, copper, coral etc.
• The art of shipbuilding had developed.

Religion:

• The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and Virupaksha was their family deity. But other dynasties were Vaishnavites.
• But all kings were tolerant towards other religions. Borbosa referred to the religious
  freedom enjoyed by everyone.
• Muslims were employed in the administration and they were freely allowed to build mosques and worship.
• Shunya sampadane– a collection of vachanas produced in this age.(vachanas literally meaning sayings in kannada, these are poetic verses composed in kannada language, popularized by veershaiva movement led by Basavanna).

Literature:

• Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu language witnessed voluminous literature in Vijayanagar period.
• Few Sanskrit works are.
  • Gangadevi wrote- Madhuravijayam
  • Krishnadevarya wrote – usha parinayan, jambavanti kalyanam, madalasa charita.
  • Guru vidyaranya wrote—Raja kalanirnaya
• Literary works in Kannada.
  • Chamarasa wrote – prabhulingaleele
  • Kanakadas wrote- Ramadhanacharite, nala charite, mohantarangini
  • Kumaravyasa wrote – Karnataka katha manjari
  • Purandardas — keertanas
• Literary works in Telugu
  • Krishnadevaraya wrote – Amuktamalyada
  • Allasani pedanna wrote – Manucharita
  • Nandi timanna wrote – Parijathaparahana etc
• Ashtadiggajas– eight great poets of Telugu literature flourished in the court of Krishnadevaraya.

Architecture:

• They used the Dravidian style of architecture later added some unique features to it and it came to be called as Vijayanagara style.
• Preferred for its durability, local hard granite was the building material of choice, as it had been for the Badami Chalukyas.
• Vijayanagar temples are surrounded by strong enclosures and characterized by ornate pillared kalyanamandapa (marriage halls); tall rayagopurams (carved monumental towers at the entrance of the temple) built of wood, brick, and stucco in the Chola style; and adorned with life-sized figures of gods and goddesses.
• This dravida style became popular during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya and is seen in South Indian temples constructed over the next two centuries.
• The courtly architecture of Vijayanagar is generally made of mortar mixed with stone rubble and often shows secular styles with Islamic-influenced arches, domes, and vaults.

Some famous temples exemplifying the Vijayanagar style include the Virupaksha Temple at Hampi and the Hazara Rama temple of Deva Raya I etc.

Position of Women in the Vijayanagar Empire

• Women held a very high position in the Vijayanagar Empire.
• They were an important part of the social, political and literary aspects of the empire.
• Women also gained education at par with men.
• They were also given training in wrestling and in the usage of various weapons.
• They were also trained in music and other types of fine arts.
• Some women also had the opportunity to get an education of high order.
• According to Nuniz, kings had female astrologers, clerks, accountants, guards and wrestlers
• Women even went to battles.
• It was the only empire in Medieval India which employed women in state services.
• Widow re-marriage was promoted.

Cultural Contributions 

• The chief characteristics of the Vijayanagara architecture were the construction of tall Raya Gopurams or gateways and the Kalyanamandapam with carved pillars in the temple premises.
• The sculptures on the pillars were carved with distinctive features.
• The horse was the most common animal found in these pillars.
• The most important temples built: Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy temples, the Stone chariot at Hampi.
• The Varadharaja and Ekamparanatha temples at Kanchipuram.
• Different languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil flourished in the regions.

Social Life in Vijayanagar Empire

• The society in Vijayanagar Empire was systemized.
• Practises like child marriage, polygamy and sati were common.
• Women held a very high position in the Vijayanagar Empire.
• The kings of the Vijayanagar Empire allowed freedom of religion.

Economic Conditions in Vijayanagar Empire

• Their economic policies were mainly controlled by their irrigational policies.
• Industries like Textiles, Mining, Metallurgy, and Perfumes existed.
• Also, the Vijayanagar empire had commercial relations with the islands in the Indian Ocean, Abyssinia, Arabia, Burma, China, Persia, Portugal, South Africa and the Malay Archipelago.

LIST OF FOREIGN TRAVELLERS VISITED VIJAYANAGARA:

The decline of the Vijayanagar Empire

• The rulers after Krishnadeva Raya were weak.
• Hence, the rulers of Ahmednagar, Bijapur, Golconda & Bidar launched a combined attack on the Vijayanagar Empire during the rule of Aliya Rama Raya.
• Aliya Ram Raya was brutally defeated and he along with his supporters was killed.
• Thus, the Vijayanagar Empire finally declined under the Battle of Tailkota in 1965 against the combined forces of the Deccan Sultanates.