VIJAYANAGAR AND BAHAMANI KINGDOM

1. Introduction

• Four dynasties – Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu – ruled Vijayanagar from A.D. 1336 to 1672. Many foreign travelers visited the Vijayanagar Empire and their accounts are also valuable.
• The Moroccan traveller, Iban Battuta, Venetian traveller Nicolo de Conti, Persian traveller Abdur Razzak and the Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes were among them who left valuable accounts on the socio-economic conditions of the Vijayanagar Empire.
• The copper plate inscriptions such as the Srirangam copper plates of Devaraya II provide the genealogy and achievements of Vijayanagar rulers. The Hampi ruins and other monuments of Vijayanagar provide information on the cultural contributions of the Vijayanagar rulers.
• The numerous coins issued by the Vijayanagar rulers contain figures and legends explaining their titles and achievements. Political History Vijayanagar was founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty. They were originally served under the Kakatiya rulers of Warangal.
• Then they went to Kampili where they were imprisoned and converted to Islam. Later, they returned to the Hindu fold at the initiative of the saint Vidyaranya. They also proclaimed their independence and founded a new city on the south bank of the Tungabhadra River.
• It was called Vijayanagar meaning city of victory. The decline of the Hoysala kingdom enabled Harihara and Bukka to expand their newly founded kingdom.
• By 1346, they brought the whole of the Hoysala kingdom under their control. The struggle between Vijayanagar and the Sultanate of Madurai lasted for about four decades. Kumarakampana‟ 's expedition to Madurai was described in the Maduravijayam.
• He destroyed the Madurai Sultans and as a result, the Vijayanagar Empire comprised the whole of South India up to Rameswaram. The greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty was Deva Raya II.
• But he could not win any clear victory over the Bahamani Sultans. After his death, the Sangama dynasty became weak. The next dynasty, the Saluva dynasty founded by Saluva Narasimha reigned only for a brief period (1486-1509).

2. Krishna Deva Raya (1509-1530)

• The Tuluva dynasty was founded by Vira Narasimha. The greatest of the Vijayanagar rulers, Krishna Deva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. The Muslim armies were decisively defeated in the battle of Diwani by Krishna Deva Raya.
• Then he invaded Raichur Doab which resulted in the confrontation with the Sultan of Bijapur, Ismail Adil Shah. But, Krishna Deva Raya defeated him and captured the city of Raichur in 1520. From there he marched on Bidar and captured it. Krishna Deva Raya’s Orissa campaign was also successful.
• He defeated the Gajapathi ruler Prataparudra and conquered the whole of Telangana. He maintained friendly relations with the Portuguese. Albuquerque sent his ambassadors to Krishna Deva Raya.
• His important works include Manucharitamand Harikathasaram. Pingali Suranna and Tenali Ramakrishna were other important scholars. Krishna Deva Raya himself authored a Telugu work, Amukthamalyadha and a Sanskrit work, Jambavati Kalyanam and Ushaparinayam.
• He repaired most of the temples of south India. He also built the famous Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy temples at Vijayanagar. He also built a new city called Nagalapuram in memory of his queen Nagaladevi. Besides, he built a large number of Rayagopurams.

Administration

• The administration under the Vijayanagar Empire was well organized. The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial and legislative matters. He was on the highest court of appeal.
• The succession to the throne was on the principle of hereditary. Sometimes usurpation to the throne took place as Saluva Narasimha came to power by ending the Sangama dynasty.
• The king was assisted by a council of ministers in his day-to-day administration. The Empire was divided into different administrative units called Mandalams, Nadus, and Sthalas and finally into gramas. The governor of Mandalam was called Mandaleswara or Nayak.
• Vijayanagar rulers gave full powers to the local authorities in the administration. The Vijayanagar army was well-organized and efficient. It consisted of the cavalry, infantry, artillery and elephants. High-breed horses were procured from foreign traders. The top-grade officers of the army were known as Nayaks or Poligars.
• They were granted land instead of their services. These lands were called amaram. Soldiers were usually paid in cash. Dancing, music, wrestling, gambling and cock-fighting were some of the amusements. The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and Virupaksha was their family deity. But other dynasties were Vaishnavites.
• Sri Vaishnavism of Ramanuja was very popular. 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.
• A large number of temples were built during this period and numerous festivals were celebrated. The Epics and the Puranas were popular among the masses.

Economic Conditions

• According to the accounts of foreign travellers, the Vijayanagar Empire was one of the wealthiest parts of the world at that time. Agriculture continued to be the chief occupation of the people.
• The Vijayanagar rulers provided a stimulus to its further growth by providing irrigation facilities. New tanks were built and dams were constructed across the rivers like Tunghabadra. Nuniz refers to the excavation of canals.
• There were numerous industries and they were organized into guilds. Metal workers and other craftsmen flourished during this period. Diamond mines were located in Kurnool and Anantapur district.
• Vijayanagar was also a great centre of trade. The chief gold coin was the varahabut weights and measures varied from place to place. Inland, coastal and overseas trade led to the general prosperity. There were several seaports on the Malabar Coast, the chief being Cannanore.
• Commercial contacts with Arabia, Persia, South Africa and Portugal on the west and with Burma, the Malay Peninsula and China on the east flourished.
• The chief items of exports were cotton and silk clothes, spices, rice, iron, saltpetre and sugar. The imports consisted of horses, pearls, copper, coral, mercury, Chinese silk and velvet clothes. The art of shipbuilding had developed.

Cultural Contributions

• The temple-building activity further gained momentum during the Vijayanagar rule. 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 horse was the most common animal found in these pillars. The most important temples of the Vijayanagar style were found in the Hampi ruins of the city of Vijayanagar. Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy temples were the best examples of this style.
• The Varadharaja and Ekamparanatha temples at Kanchipuram stand as examples of the magnificence of the Vijayanagara style of temple architecture. The Raya Gopurams at Thiruvannamalai and Chidambaram speak the glorious epoch of Vijayanagar.
• They were continued by the Nayak rulers in the later period. The metal images of Krishna Deva Raya and his queens at Tirupati are examples of the casting of metal images. Music and dancing were also patronized by the rulers of Vijayanagar.

3. Bahamani Kingdom

• The founder of the Bahamani Kingdom was Alauddin Bahaman Shah also known as Hasan Gangu in 1347. Its capital was Gulbarga.
• There were a total of fourteen sultans ruling over this kingdom. Among them, Alauddin Bahaman Shah, Muhammad Shah I and Firoz Shah were important.
• Ahmad Wali Shah shifted the capital from Gulbarga to Bidar. The power of the Bahamani kingdom reached its peak under the rule of Muhammad Shah III. It extended from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal.
• On the west it extended from Goat to Bombay. On the east, it extended from Kakinada to the mouth of the river Krishna. The Success of Muhammad Shah was due to the advice and services of his minister Mahmud Gawan.

Mahmud Gawan

• The Bahmani kingdom reached its peak under the guidance of Mahmud Gawan. He was a Persian merchant. He was also a military genius. He waged successful wars against Vijayanagar, Orissa and the sea pirates on the Arabian Sea. His conquests include Konkan, Goa and Krishna-Godavari delta. Thus he expanded the Bahmani Empire through his conquests.
• By the year 1526, the Bahmani kingdom had disintegrated into five independent sultanates. They were Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Berar, Golconda and Bidar known as Deccan Sultanates.