Vijayanagar Empire
Vijayanagar was founded by two brother Harihar and Bukka in 1336
They were considered as feudatories of Kakathiyas of Warrangal
There were mainly Four dynasty who ruled Vijayanagar kingdome and these were
Sangama dynasty (1336-1486) founded by Harihara and Bukka
Saluva dynasty (1486-1503) founded by Saluva Narasimha
Tuluva dynasty (1503-1569) founded by Veera Narasimha
Aravidu dynasty (1569-1647) founded by Tirumala Deva Raya
Sangama dynasty (1336-1486)-
Harihara I-
He was the first ruler of the Sangama dynasty
He captured most of the Hoysala territories
Bukka I-
Bukka’s son kamparaya annexed Madurai. This episode was written by Gangadevi(wife of kamparaya) as Madhuravijayam in Sanskrit
He captured revatidweepa(Goa)
He had a conflict with Bahamani’s and treaty was there among them and Bukka I acquired territories in the Krishna-Tungabhadra Doab and River Krishna was made as aboundary
Harihara II-
He took the imperial title of Maharajadhiraja.
He attacked Konkan, Karnataka and warangal
Deva Raya I-
He built dam built across Tungabhadra
Nicolo de conti visited Vijayanagar during his reign
He was defeated by Bahaman sultan Feroz shah 1
He built several temples at Vijayanagar
Devaraya II-
Abdur Razaq, the Persian ambassador visited during his reign
Deva Raya began the practice of employing Muslim cavaliymen and archers in the army on large scale
Sri Lanka paid a regular tribute to him
In his inscriptions ho has the title of Gajabetekara which mean the elephant hunter
His court poets were-
Sanskrit poet Dindima
Telgu poet Srinatha (was given the title of 'Kavisarvabhauma')
Chamarasa and Kumaravyasa
The Saluva Dynasty ( 1486 - 1505 AD )
This dynasty was founded by Saluva Narsimha
This dynasty had smallest reign
Vasco De Gama came to India (Calicut) during the reign of Immadi Narasimha Raya ii in A.D. 1498
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka was opponent of Immadi Narasimha Raya ii and after the death of both Immadi Narasimha Raya ii and Tuluva Narasa Nayaka the son of Tuluva Narasa Nayaka named as Tuluva Vira Narasimha Raya founded Tulava dynasty
Tuluva Dynasty ( 1505 - 70 AD )
This dynasty was founded by Tuluva Vira Narasimha Raya
Krishna Deva Raya ( 1509 - 29 AD )
He was one of the important ruler of Tulava dynasty as well as of Vijayanagar kingdome
He was Contemporary of Babur
He assumed the titles like-
Abhinav Bhoja
Andhra Pitamaha
Andhra Bhoja
Yavanarajyasathapancharya etc.
Military campaigns of Krishnadevaraya –
Udayagiri was the first fort to be captured by Krishnadevaraya
He defeated Prataparudra Gajapati of Orissa
He defeated defeated the Deccan Sultans in the battle of Diwani and also attacked Bahamanis
He defeated Gulbarga,Bidar and invaded Krishna-Tungabhadra Doab and captured Raichur
He defeated Qutb Shah of Golconda and also defeated Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur
Art and Architecture-
His court was adorned by the 'Ashtadiggajas' (the eight celebrated poets of Telugu) : Peddana (Manucharitam) , Timmaya (Parijata Apaharanama) ,Bhattamurthi ,Dhurjati ,Malian ,Raju Ramchandra ,Surona and Tenall Ramkrisha (Panduranga Mahamatya)
He was a gifted scholar in both Telugu and Sanskrit and his work include-
The Telugu work on polity 'Amuktamalyada'
The Sanskrit drama ‘Jambavati Kalyanam'
He built-
The Vijaya Mahal means the House of Victory
This building have strong pillars with attractive gateway
The Hazara Rama temple –
Hazara rama means thousand Rama’s and it carry the carvings related to Ramyana
It is located in Hampi
The Vithal Swami temple-
The Vittala Temple is dedicated to Lord Vitthala, an avatar of Lord Vishnu
It has high walls and numerous halls and shrines
The Maha Mantapa, situated in the inner courtyard of the temple complex is a beautifully decorated with carvings of warriors, horses etc.
A characteristic feature of the temple complexes is the chariot streets that extended from the temple gopuram in a straight line
Rayagopuram – these were grand entrance tower built in front of temples in Hampi,Chidambaram,tirupati etc
Nagalapuram- It was the new city built by him in the memory of his queen Nagaldevi
Lotus Mahal-
This mahal have two story and both have opening with arched gateway
There are more than 20 pillars and are decorated with different carvings of animals, plants etc.
Portuguese-
Duarte Barbosa and Dominigo Paes, Portuguese travellers, visited Vijaya-nagar during the time of Krishna Deva Raya.
Decline of the Tuluva dynasty-
After Kishnadeva raya there were weak successor which led to decline of this dynasty
Battle of Rakshasa- Tangadi or The Battle of Talikota
This battle took place in 1565 AD between Bahaman confederacy (combined forces of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golkonda and Bidar) and Tuluva king Rama Raya
In this battle Ramaraya was defeated
The Aravidu Dynasty ( 1570 - 1650 AD )
Thirumala, Sri Ranga and Venkata II were the important rulers of this dynasty.
Venkata II was contemporary to Akbar
Administration of Vijayanagar Kingdome-
King was central part of Vijayanagar Kingdome and was assisted by council of Ministers
Division of Kingdome-
Provinces known as Mandalam or chavdi and it was headed by mandalesvaras, nadaprabhus or mahamandalesvaras or Nayaka
Nayaka: they were top grade military officers
Provinces were further divided into venthe ,nadu, sthala and grams
Venthe- A territorial division higher than a nadu
Nadu- A territorial division higher than a village
Sima- A portion of land comprising several fields village
Nayankara system-
It was the administration that existed in Providences
It was a kind of feudalism in which Nayaka or top military officers were given right over some area
This right includes revenue right or some other rights
This system was bit similar to Iqta system of Delhi Sultanate
Amarenayankan was a designation conferred on a military officer or chief
Village Administration-
The village was the lowest administrative unit.
The Ayagar system-
According to this, every village was a separate unit and its affairs were conducted by a team of 12 functionaries who were collectively known as the ‘ayagars’.
The ayagars could also sell or mortgage their offices.
They were given a portion of or plot in a village. Sometimes they had to pay a fixed rent, but generally these plots were manya or tax-free
Justice system-
There were small court ar cillage and panchayat level
The king presided over the sabha, which was the highest court of appeal.
Military-
Vijayanagar had good strength of army
Kandachara was military department under the control of dandanayaka
Economy-
Revenue-
Land-revenue was the major source of state's income and rate of land revenue vary from place to place
There were three major land tenure system
Amara tenure: It was the land that was granted to the amaranayaks
Bandarvadha – It was crown village comprising the smallest category and income from this land going to the government treasury.
Manya Land– These were part of tax free village and income from this land going to Brahmins and temples
The land revenue was collected on the basis of the assessment fixed after a careful survey of land
Athavane : it was the special department to supervise the land revenue
Transit duties : Sthala dayaln, marpdayam and manula dayam were three major transit dues
Trade-
There was both internal and external trade
External trade was dominated due to location near to the coast through which trade through sea route was followed
Mangalore, Calicut, Cochin, Quilon,Pulicat etc. were some of the ports
Coins: Gold Coins of the Vijayanagar Empire were called Varaha and Parda
Society-
Caste was also prevalent in vijyanagar and Chaturvarna system can be seen there
Brahmin occupied highest position in the society
The Kshatriyas were generally associated with the ruling dynasties
Position of Women-
Women were involved in various activities like education, dance, literatures etc.
Gangadevi, the wife of Kampana, was the author of the famous work Maduravijayam
Polygamy and sati practice was also there
Devadasi system was also prevalent in Vijayanagar
Literature-
Vedantadesika wrote Yadavabhyudayam, Hamsasandesa
Madhava wrote Panchadasi and Parasarasmriti
Krishnadevaraya wrote plays Jambavatikalyanam and Ushaparinayam and telgu poetic work Amuktamalayda
Guru vidyaranya wrote Raja kalanirnaya
Allasani pedanna wrote Manucharita
Art and Architecture-
Vijayanagar was centre of architectural development
Some of the features of architecture were-
There was extensive development of Temples
We can see the use of large Gopuram in the temples
There were pillared halls and subordinate structure in the main building
They used Dravidian architectural style along with bit modification and it is known as vijayanagara styles
Vijayanagara temples are usually surrounded by a strong enclosure
Large temples have tall Rayagopuram built with wood, brick and stucco in Chola style.
The Hazara Rama temple –
Hazara rama means thousand Rama’s and it carry the carvings related to Ramyana
It is located in Hampi
The Vithal Swami temple-
The Vittala Temple is dedicated to Lord Vitthala, an avatar of Lord Vishnu
It has high walls and numerous halls and shrines
The Maha Mantapa, situated in the inner courtyard of the temple complex is a beautifully decorated with carvings of warriors, horses etc.
A characteristic feature of the temple complexes is the chariot streets that extended from the temple gopuram in a straight line
Rayagopuram – these were grand entrance tower built in front of temples in Hampi,Chidambaram,tirupati etc
Nagalapuram- It was the new city built by him in the memory of his queen Nagaldevi
Lotus Mahal-
This mahal have two story and both have opening with arched gateway
There are more than 20 pillars and are decorated with different carvings of animals, plants etc.
Virupaksha temple-
It is located in Hampi,Vijayanagar
It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The main temple consists of a sanctum, three ante chambers, a pillared hall and an open pillared hall.
The hall in front of the main shrine was built by Krishnadeva Raya to mark his accession