2.2 The Vijayanagara Empire

While the Delhi Sultanate struggled to hold the north, a very different power was rising in the south. In 1336, two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, founded a kingdom on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. Its capital city gave it its name: Vijayanagara, “the city of victory.” For more than two centuries it would be one of the most powerful and prosperous states in the world.

A Southern Counterweight The Vijayanagara Empire (founded 1336) grew into the dominant power of southern India. It rose partly as a southern response to the expansion of the Sultanate, and it protected and promoted south Indian temples, languages and traditions on a grand scale.

A city that amazed the world

Vijayanagara’s capital (near modern Hampi, Karnataka) became one of the largest cities of its age, with great temples, markets, palaces and water works. Foreign visitors who came as traders and envoys, from Persia, Portugal and Italy, left written accounts marvelling at its size, wealth and bustling bazaars piled with gems, horses and spices.

In the Sources: Travellers’ Eyes Much of what we know about Vijayanagara comes from foreign travellers’ accounts, such as those of the Persian envoy Abdur Razzaq and Portuguese visitors. Their descriptions of crowded markets, irrigated fields and a splendid capital are precious primary sources, reminding us that history is reconstructed from the evidence people left behind.

Krishnadevaraya, the empire at its height

The empire reached its peak under Krishnadevaraya (ruled 1509–1529), a famous warrior-king and patron of the arts. Under him Vijayanagara expanded its territory, strengthened its administration, and supported poets and scholars in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Sanskrit. He himself was a writer. Temple building and irrigation flourished.

Think About It A ruler can be remembered for conquests and for poetry, temples and irrigation tanks. Why might a king invest in canals, temples and scholars rather than only in armies? What does it suggest about what made a state strong and lasting?

Rivalry with the Bahmani and Deccan Sultanates

To Vijayanagara’s north lay the Bahmani Sultanate, founded in 1347 in the Deccan, which later split into several Deccan Sultanates (such as Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmadnagar). For two centuries Vijayanagara and these northern neighbours clashed, chiefly over the fertile land and rivers between them.

The Battle of Talikota, 1565 In 1565, several Deccan Sultanates joined forces and defeated Vijayanagara at the Battle of Talikota (also called Rakshasa-Tangadi). The magnificent capital was sacked and largely abandoned, its ruins at Hampi still stand today. The empire survived in a weakened form but never recovered its old glory. One battle can undo two centuries of building.

Why Vijayanagara matters

Vijayanagara shows that the “reshaping” of India’s map was never only a northern story. While the Sultanate and later the Mughals dominated the north, the south had its own great empires, wealth and culture. The temples, irrigation tanks and literature of Vijayanagara shaped southern India for centuries afterward.

Let’s Explore On an outline map of India, mark Delhi, Vijayanagara/Hampi (on the Tungabhadra), and the Bahmani Deccan between them. Looking at the map, suggest one reason the land between Vijayanagara and the Bahmani kingdom was so often fought over.

Vijayanagara was the grandest of the kingdoms that rose as Delhi’s power faded, but it was not alone. Across India, regional powers asserted themselves, and some resisted conquest fiercely. We turn to them next.