Vijayanagar and Bahmani Empire

Vijayanagar and Bahmani Empire 

Vijaynagar Kingdoms

The Sangama Dynasty

• During the period of disintegrating North India, Vijayanagar and Bahmani kingdoms gave long periods of stability in the Deccan region south of Vindhyas

• Sangama dynasty was founded by Harihara and Bukka, who were the feudatories of Kakatiyas of Warangal in 1336.

Year	Ruler	Significance
1336 – 1356	Haihara I	Laid the foundations of Vijayanagar empire
1356 – 1379	Bukka I	Strengthened the city of Vidyanagar and renamed it to Vijaynagar
1379 – 1404	Harihara II	Son of Bukka I
1406 – 1422	Deva Raya I	1) Built a dam across Tungabadhra 2) Nicolo de Conti visited Vijaynagar 3) Induction of Muslim cavalrymen and archers in army begun
1423 – 1446	Deva Raya II	1) He was called Praudh Deva Raya 2) His inscriptions have the title Gajabetekara 3) Dindima was the court poet 4) Abdur Razzak, Persian Traveler, envoy of Sharukh visited Vijaynagar

The Suluva Dynasty

Year	Ruler	Significance
1486 – 1491	Suluva Narashima	Founder of Suluva dynasty
1491	Tirumal Narasimha	Minor during the reign of Narasa Nayaka
1491 – 1505	Immadi Narashima	Vasco-da-Gama landed in Calicut during his reign

The Tuluva dynasty

Year	Ruler	Significance
1505 – 1509	Vira Narashima	Son of Narasa Nayaka, became the King after assassinating Immadi Narashima
1509 – 1529	Krishna Deva Raya	1) He re-established the internal law and order situation and restored the old territories of Vijayanagar which were usurped by other powers. 2) Architecture: he built the Vijay Mahal, Vithal swami temple and Hazara Mahal. 3) Foreign Travelers: Duarte Barbosa and Dominigo Paes were Portuguese travellers who visited Vijayanagar empire. 4)  The Ashtadiggajas: Peddana, Timmaya, Bhattamurthi, Dhurjati, Mallan, Raju Ramachandra, Surona and Tenali Ramakrishna. 5) He maintained the friendly relationship with Portuguese governor Albuquerque 6) He took the titles Yavanaraja Sthapnachrya, Abhinava Bhoja, Andhra Pitamaha etc 7)   Literature: he composed Amuktamalayada –Telugu work on Polity and Jambavati Kalyanam – Sanskrit Drama
1529 – 1542	Achyuta Deva Raya	Farnao Nunij, a Portuguese horse trader visited Vijaynagar
1542	Venkata I	Rama Raja exercised real power
1543 – 1576	Sadashiva Raya	The Battle of Talikota was fought in 1565 in which the five kingdoms of Bahmani Empire fought against the Vijaynagar and imposed a crushing defeating on Vijaynagar, executing Rama Raja and looting the city and destroying it completely Caesar Frederick, a Portuguese traveller, Visited Vijaynagar

The Araveedu dynasty (1570 – 1650 AD)

• Tirumal Raya ruled in this period in the name of Sadashiva Raya. He shifted his capital from Vijaynagar to Penugonda.

Administration in Vijaynagar Empire

• Territorial division
  1. Rajyas or Mandalams – Provinces
  2. Nadu – District
  3. Sthala – Sub-district
  4. Grama – Village
• Chola’s village self-government rule considerably weakened due to the growth of hereditary Nayakship.
• Ayngar System, a body of 12 functionaries to conduct village affairs developed.
• Pagodas/Varahas – Gold coins issued in Vijaynagar
• Vijaynagar was more a confederacy rather than a centralized empire with the local governors having considerable autonomy.
• Amaram – territory with fixed revenue were given to Military chiefs called Palaiyagar or Nayaks who had to maintain a fixed number of horses, elephants and foot soldiers for the service of the state
• Urban life flourished, especially around temples.

Temple Architecture

• They had a vibrant combination of Chalukyan, Hoysala, Pandya and Chola style in their temple architectures.
• Provida style was developed in Vijaynagar which had a large number of Pillars and Piers.
• Mandapas with rising platforms were made along with Amman Shrine in temples
• Stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata were inscribed on the walls of Vijaynagar temples.
• Important temples are
  1. Vithalswami and Hazara Rama temple – Hampi
  2. Tadapatri and Parvati temple – Chidambaram
  3. Varadaraja and Ekambranath temple - Kanchipuram

The Bahmani Empire

• The Bahmani Empire was situated in the north and acted as a dominating rival to the Vijaynagar Empire.
• It was founded by an Afghan, Alauddin Hasan in 1347.
• Vijaynagar and Bahmani Empire clashed for the Tungabadhra doab, Krishna-Godavari delta and the Marathwada country.
• For the first time, the use of Artillery was heard in their battles.
• The Bahmani capital was Hasanabad (Gulbarga) between 1347 and 1425 when it was moved to Muhammadabad (Bidar)

Year	Ruler	Significance
1347 – 1358	Allaudin Hasan Bahman Shah	Known as Hasan Gangu, founded the Bahmani kingdom with capital at Gulbarga
1397 – 1422	Tajuddin Firoz Shah	1) He determined to make Deccan as the cultural centre of India due to the decline of Deccan Sultanate in the North 2) He improvised the ports of Chahul and Dabhol 3) He inducted Hindus in administration on a large scale 4) He encouraged the pursuit of Astronomy and built an observatory near Daulatabad
1422 – 1435	Ahmad Shah	1) Last great ruler who transferred the capital from Gulbarga to Bidar 2) He was called as Wali for his association with Sufi Gesu Daraz
1463 - 1482	Mahmud Gawan	1) He was granted the title Malik-ul-Tujjar and was the Prime minister of Sultan Muhammad Shah III Lashkari 2) His military expeditions led to the weakening of Vijaynagar Empire. The loss of the port of Goa and Dabhol dealt a serious blow to Vijaynagar Empire 3) He divided the kingdom into 8 provinces or Tarafs, each governed by a Tarafdar 4) Khalisa lands were set aside for the expenses of Sultan 5) He built a magnificent Madarasa in Bidar

Collapse:

The party strife between the nobles had led to the division into old-comers and new-comers or Deccanis and Afaqis (Gharibs). They had Mahmud Gawan executed in 1482 and the nobles became independent governors of 5 major principalities.

They were:

• Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar
• Qutbshahi of Golconda
• Baridshahi of Bidar
• Imadshahi of Berar
• Adilshahi of Bijapur

The Bahmani kingdom acted as a cultural bridge between the North and the South. The culture which developed, as a result, had its own specifications which were distinct from North India.