MAP of HAMPI
Vijayanagara Empire
Vijayanagara Empire Timeline (1336 - 1646)
Predecessors: Hoysala, Kakatiya and Pandya kingdoms
Premise of creation: Devastation of the Deccan and South India by the armies of the Delhi Sultan.
Sangama Dynasty
1336 - 1356: Established by Harihara Raya I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty to fight against Muslim invasion of South India. Harihara I was the first emperor -- expanded kingdom from Krishna to Kaveri (both rivers).
1356 - 1377: Succeeded by brother Bukka Raya I. Expanded empire through South India - conquering Madhurai, Shambuvarya Kingdom of Arcot, Reddis of Kondavidu, Goa, Odisha. He also got Ceylon and Malabar to pay tributes to his empire.
1377 - 1404: Succeeded by Harihara II. Expanded territory to include coastal Andhra between Nellore and Kalinga and conquer the Addanki and Srisailam areas as well as most of the territory between the peninsula to the south of the Krishna River.
1404-1406: Conflict between Virupaksha Raya, Bukka Raya II, and Deva Raya of which Deva Raya eventually would come out as victor.
1406 - 1422: Deva Raya I was the Emperor, and successfully controlled entire empire
Architecture: Hazara Ramachandra temple in the middle of the Royal Centre (promoted the worship of Rama as a special royal cult)
1422 - 1424: Insignificant rulers
1424 - 1446: Deva Raya II was the Emperor. Brought about the golden age of the Sangama Dynasty. Under Deva Raya II's rule, the empire would succeed in completely conquering southern India such as conquering Kondavidu, defeating the ruler of Quilon as well as other chieftains, extending the empire from Odisha to Malabar and from Ceylon to Gulbarga, and also taking over a lot of the major Indian ports.
Architecture: Prasanna Virupaksha temple (underground temple), and Hazare Rama were constructed during the Sangama dynasty, and followed Deccan-style architecture. Architecture of this period also includes structural structures bearing Islamic features - arches, domes, vaults
1446 - 1485: Incompetent successors led to the destruction of the Sangama dynasty. Virupaksha Raya II was the last emperor of the Sangama dynasty.
Saluva Dynasty and Tuluva Dynasty
1485 - 1505: Empire on the decline, but reconsolidated by Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya and Tuluva Narasa Nayaka
1509 - 1529: Reign of Krishna Deva Raya. The empire reached its peak during the rule of Krishna Deva Raya when Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious.The empire annexed areas formerly under the Sultanates in the northern Deccan and the territories in the eastern Deccan, including Kalinga, while simultaneously maintaining control over all its subordinates in the south. Many important monuments were either completed or commissioned during the time of Krishna Deva Raya.
Architecture: Vitthala Temple and Hazara Ramaswamy temple, following Dravida-gopuram style architecture (kalyanamanthapam - wedding halls).
Also made additions to the Virupaksha temple -- the spacious mandapa with columns fashioned as cut-out colonettes and leaping yalis (leonine beasts), and the entrance gopura with a pyramidal brick tower.
(!!) - Many additions were made to the Virupaksha temple post the Vijayanagara period, for e.g. some wall paintings belong to the period of Tipu Sultan or later.
1529 - 1542: Succeeded by Achyuta Deva Raya, who died in 1542.
Aravidu Dynasty
(most happening plot leading to the ruin of Hampi)
1542 - 1570: Succeeded by teenage nephew Sadasiva Raya. However, Aliya Rama Raya (Aravidu Dynasty) imprisoned Sadasiva Raya and became de-facto ruler.
Plotting against the sultanates: Eager to take advantage of the disunity among the Sultanates of Bijapur, Ahamednagar, Berar, Golkonda, and Bidar, Rama Raya involved himself in the political affairs of the powers across the Krishna river to the north. His ploy of supporting militarily one Sultanate against another, often changing alliances, brought rich rewards for a while. However, by 1563, exhausted with his intrigues, the bitter rivals from the north formed an alliance.
January 1565: Battle of Talikota between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates. The Sultanates decided to unite and destroy the kingdom. Inter-family marriages between Sultans solved many of their internal conflicts and they finally united against the Vijayanagara empire, which was seen as the common enemy. They formed an alliance and marched against Rama Raya and clashed with the Vijayanagara's forces in January 1565.
The capture and killing of Aliya Rama Raya in the famous Battle of Talikota, after a seemingly easy victory for the Vijayanagara armies, created havoc and confusion in the Vijayanagara ranks, which were then completely routed. The Sultanates' army later plundered Hampi and reduced it to the ruinous state in which it remains; it was never re-occupied.
Tirumala Deva Raya, Rama Raya's younger brother who was the sole surviving commander, left Vijayanagara for Penukonda with vast amounts of treasure on the back of 1500 elephants.[36]
1565 - 1646 (100 years): The empire went into a slow decline regionally, but were kept alive for another 100 years by the Aravidu dynasty. A civil war in 1614 left them with a much reduced kingdom. Trade continued with the colonial powers.
1646: The empire was finally conquered by the Sultanates of Bijapur and Golkonda.
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The largest feudatories of the Vijayanagar empire – the Mysore Kingdom, Keladi Nayaka, Nayaks of Madurai,Nayaks of Tanjore, Nayakas of Chitradurga and Nayak Kingdom of Gingee declared independence and went on to have a significant impact on the history of South India in the coming centuries.
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Contemporary Timeline
1799: Colin Mackenzie collected some manuscripts and made maps
1836: Inscriptions were collected
1850s-1860s: First photographs published
A Forgotten Empire by Sewell published
1902: Conservation begins under John Marshall
1925: Hampi Ruins by A. H. Longhurst published
1980: Vijayanagara Research Project
1986: Hampi was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site
2011: Demolition of Hampi Bazaar
(Note: Information compiled from Wikipedia, "A New Light on Hampi" by John M. Fritz and George Michell, UNESO, "Themes in Indian History" by Dr. Raghunath Nair)
- Last great Hindu Kingdom
- “City of Victory”
- Also known as Karnata Empire
- Empire was named after its capital city of Vijayanagara
- Founded to fight against the Muslim invasion of South India by the end of the 13th century
- The Empire’s patronage allowed arts and architecture to reach new heights in this region
- Reached its apogee under the reign of Krishna Deva Raya (1509 - 1530)
- Governance: 5 Provinces (Rajya) → Regions (Vishaya Vente or Kottam) → Counties (Sime or Nadu) → Municipalities (Kampana or Sthala)
- Capital city had well connected water-distribution systems (usually within royal enclosures or temples)
- Economy: agriculture, land ownership, diamond mining, textiles, and trade (imports and exports)
- Determined to protect Hinduism, but tolerant towards all religions
- Architecture: Mingling of South Indian styles with Deccan styles → richness
- Architecture includes large monoliths (Sasivekalu (mustard) Ganeshaand Kadalekalu (ground nut) Ganesha at Hampi) and wall-paintings (Dashavatara and Girijakalyana(marriage of Parvati, Shiva's consort) in the Virupaksha Temple at Hampi)
- An aspect of Vijayanagara architecture that shows the cosmopolitanism of the great city is the presence of many secular structures bearing Islamic features (mainly during 15th century, during the reign of Deva Raya I and Deva Raya II) --- arches, domes, vaults
Vijayanagara Empire Timeline (1336 - 1646)
Predecessors: Hoysala, Kakatiya and Pandya kingdoms
Premise of creation: Devastation of the Deccan and South India by the armies of the Delhi Sultan.
Sangama Dynasty
1336 - 1356: Established by Harihara Raya I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty to fight against Muslim invasion of South India. Harihara I was the first emperor -- expanded kingdom from Krishna to Kaveri (both rivers).
1356 - 1377: Succeeded by brother Bukka Raya I. Expanded empire through South India - conquering Madhurai, Shambuvarya Kingdom of Arcot, Reddis of Kondavidu, Goa, Odisha. He also got Ceylon and Malabar to pay tributes to his empire.
1377 - 1404: Succeeded by Harihara II. Expanded territory to include coastal Andhra between Nellore and Kalinga and conquer the Addanki and Srisailam areas as well as most of the territory between the peninsula to the south of the Krishna River.
1404-1406: Conflict between Virupaksha Raya, Bukka Raya II, and Deva Raya of which Deva Raya eventually would come out as victor.
1406 - 1422: Deva Raya I was the Emperor, and successfully controlled entire empire
Architecture: Hazara Ramachandra temple in the middle of the Royal Centre (promoted the worship of Rama as a special royal cult)
1422 - 1424: Insignificant rulers
1424 - 1446: Deva Raya II was the Emperor. Brought about the golden age of the Sangama Dynasty. Under Deva Raya II's rule, the empire would succeed in completely conquering southern India such as conquering Kondavidu, defeating the ruler of Quilon as well as other chieftains, extending the empire from Odisha to Malabar and from Ceylon to Gulbarga, and also taking over a lot of the major Indian ports.
Architecture: Prasanna Virupaksha temple (underground temple), and Hazare Rama were constructed during the Sangama dynasty, and followed Deccan-style architecture. Architecture of this period also includes structural structures bearing Islamic features - arches, domes, vaults
1446 - 1485: Incompetent successors led to the destruction of the Sangama dynasty. Virupaksha Raya II was the last emperor of the Sangama dynasty.
Saluva Dynasty and Tuluva Dynasty
1485 - 1505: Empire on the decline, but reconsolidated by Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya and Tuluva Narasa Nayaka
1509 - 1529: Reign of Krishna Deva Raya. The empire reached its peak during the rule of Krishna Deva Raya when Vijayanagara armies were consistently victorious.The empire annexed areas formerly under the Sultanates in the northern Deccan and the territories in the eastern Deccan, including Kalinga, while simultaneously maintaining control over all its subordinates in the south. Many important monuments were either completed or commissioned during the time of Krishna Deva Raya.
Architecture: Vitthala Temple and Hazara Ramaswamy temple, following Dravida-gopuram style architecture (kalyanamanthapam - wedding halls).
Also made additions to the Virupaksha temple -- the spacious mandapa with columns fashioned as cut-out colonettes and leaping yalis (leonine beasts), and the entrance gopura with a pyramidal brick tower.
(!!) - Many additions were made to the Virupaksha temple post the Vijayanagara period, for e.g. some wall paintings belong to the period of Tipu Sultan or later.
1529 - 1542: Succeeded by Achyuta Deva Raya, who died in 1542.
Aravidu Dynasty
(most happening plot leading to the ruin of Hampi)
1542 - 1570: Succeeded by teenage nephew Sadasiva Raya. However, Aliya Rama Raya (Aravidu Dynasty) imprisoned Sadasiva Raya and became de-facto ruler.
Plotting against the sultanates: Eager to take advantage of the disunity among the Sultanates of Bijapur, Ahamednagar, Berar, Golkonda, and Bidar, Rama Raya involved himself in the political affairs of the powers across the Krishna river to the north. His ploy of supporting militarily one Sultanate against another, often changing alliances, brought rich rewards for a while. However, by 1563, exhausted with his intrigues, the bitter rivals from the north formed an alliance.
January 1565: Battle of Talikota between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates. The Sultanates decided to unite and destroy the kingdom. Inter-family marriages between Sultans solved many of their internal conflicts and they finally united against the Vijayanagara empire, which was seen as the common enemy. They formed an alliance and marched against Rama Raya and clashed with the Vijayanagara's forces in January 1565.
The capture and killing of Aliya Rama Raya in the famous Battle of Talikota, after a seemingly easy victory for the Vijayanagara armies, created havoc and confusion in the Vijayanagara ranks, which were then completely routed. The Sultanates' army later plundered Hampi and reduced it to the ruinous state in which it remains; it was never re-occupied.
Tirumala Deva Raya, Rama Raya's younger brother who was the sole surviving commander, left Vijayanagara for Penukonda with vast amounts of treasure on the back of 1500 elephants.[36]
1565 - 1646 (100 years): The empire went into a slow decline regionally, but were kept alive for another 100 years by the Aravidu dynasty. A civil war in 1614 left them with a much reduced kingdom. Trade continued with the colonial powers.
1646: The empire was finally conquered by the Sultanates of Bijapur and Golkonda.
--------------
The largest feudatories of the Vijayanagar empire – the Mysore Kingdom, Keladi Nayaka, Nayaks of Madurai,Nayaks of Tanjore, Nayakas of Chitradurga and Nayak Kingdom of Gingee declared independence and went on to have a significant impact on the history of South India in the coming centuries.
--------------
Contemporary Timeline
1799: Colin Mackenzie collected some manuscripts and made maps
1836: Inscriptions were collected
1850s-1860s: First photographs published
A Forgotten Empire by Sewell published
1902: Conservation begins under John Marshall
1925: Hampi Ruins by A. H. Longhurst published
1980: Vijayanagara Research Project
1986: Hampi was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site
2011: Demolition of Hampi Bazaar
(Note: Information compiled from Wikipedia, "A New Light on Hampi" by John M. Fritz and George Michell, UNESO, "Themes in Indian History" by Dr. Raghunath Nair)