The most powerful Dynasty of 15th century India

[Shark2]

The Vijayanagar Empire emerged as the most powerful Dynasty in India during the 15th century. A number of foreign travelers who visited the Vijayanagar Empire left a graphic account of the capital city and the Empire.
The Italian traveler Nicolo Conti who visited the Vijayanagar Empire in 1420 stated:" Their King is more powerful than all the other Kings in India." He says of the capital city:" The circumference of the city is 60 miles, its walls carried up to the montains. In this city there are ninety thousand soldiers. The Persian scholar Ferishta says:" The Rajas of Vijayanagar greatly exceed the Bahmani Sultans in power, wealth and extent of the country."
Abdur Razzaq who was an ambassador at the court of the Vijayanagar Empire says:" This King has in his domains three hundred ports and his territories comprise a space of 3 months journey. All travelers agree that the country was thickly populated with numerous towns and villages. Abdur Razzaq continues:" The troops amount in number to 11 lakhs. Abdur Razzaq considers the capital of Vijayanagar to be one of the most splendid cities anywhere in the world which he had seen or heard of." Describing the city he says:" It is built in such a manner that 7 citadels and the same number of walls enclose each other. The seventh fortress which is placed in the centre of the others occupies an area ten times larger than the market place of the city of Herat in Persia.

Reference: Medieval India From Sultanat to the Mughals by Satish Chandra
A forgotten Empire Vijayanagar: A contribution the history of India by Robert Sewell

 

[Charon 2]

I don't know if it's right to call the Vijayanagar empire as successful. They were defeated by the Deccan Sultanates in the Battle of Talikota.

 

[Shark2]

I don't know if it's right to call the Vijayanagar empire as successful. They were defeated by the Deccan Sultanates in the Battle of Talikota.

That was in the late 16th century. But in the 15th and early 16th century The Vijayanagar Empire defeated the Bahmani Sultanate which led to the collapse of the Bahmani Sultanate and the division into several smaller Deccan Sultanates.

 

[Charon 2]

That was in the late 16th century. But in the 15th and early 16th century The Vijayanagar Empire defeated the Bahmani Sultanate which led to the collapse of the Bahmani Sultanate and the division into several smaller Deccan Sultanates.

Okay which battle was the defeat of the Bahmani Sultanate? They still got the upper hand in the end by destroying the Vijayanagar empire in 1565. Then the Deccan Sultanates were conquered by the Mughals

 

[Cherokee]

Okay which battle was the defeat of the Bahmani Sultanate? They still got the upper hand in the end by destroying the Vijayanagar empire in 1565. Then the Deccan Sultanates were conquered by the Mughals

And every conquest was decimated by Marathas who in the end lost in last battle of panipath but has done enough damage to mughals that finally they were just holding little territory around delhi ( that also thanks to nawabs of awadh ) .

 

[Shark2]

Okay which battle was the defeat of the Bahmani Sultanate? They still got the upper hand in the end by destroying the Vijayanagar empire in 1565. Then the Deccan Sultanates were conquered by the Mughals

The rule of the Bahmani Sultanate ended in 1527 after it was defeated by Emperor Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire. After this defeat it was divided into several Deccan Sultanates like Bijapur and Golconda.

 

[GR!FF!N]

@Charon 2

the defeat and later collapse of the empire has more to do with internal politics than defeat in one battle.you do know that they nearly broke the ranks of the deccan sultanates before Adil Shah(i think) breached the treaty and attacked Rama Raya,right??

 

[Charon 2]

@Charon 2

the defeat and later collapse of the empire has more to do with internal politics than defeat in one battle.you do know that they nearly broke the ranks of the deccan sultanates before Adil Shah(i think) breached the treaty and attacked Rama Raya,right??

Not really as the Battle of Talikota led to the eternal collapse of the Vijayanagar empire. Of course there may be also other issues within the dynasty but the defeat against the Deccan Sultanates is the main reason why the Viyayanagar empir ended

 

[GR!FF!N]

Not really as the Battle of Talikota led to the eternal collapse of the Vijayanagar empire. Of course there may be also other issues within the dynasty but the defeat against the Deccan Sultanates is the main reason why the Viyayanagar empir ended

well,one of the major reasons.....

you do know that Vijaynagara ended in 1646 when the battle was in 1565,nearly 80 years ago,right??its like saying Kingdom of Sparta ended because of Battle of Leuctra.it is true that the battle diminished their capability,but the main reason of ending the kingdom is internal feud.

study the Aftermath Section...........

Battle of Talikota - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Charon 2]

well,one of the major reasons.....

you do know that Vijaynagara ended in 1646 when the battle was in 1565,nearly 80 years ago,right??its like saying Kingdom of Sparta ended because of Battle of Leuctra.it is true that the battle diminished their capability,but the main reason of ending the kingdom is internal feud.

study the Aftermath Section...........

Battle of Talikota - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

After this destructive battle the Hindu kingdom was only a shadow of its former glory

 

[GR!FF!N]

After this destructive battle the Hindu kingdom was only a shadow of its former glory

thats true,losing such a massive battle in disastrous way generally crumbles any empire...

 

[scorpionx]

The battle of Bannihatti is considered to be a death blow to the Vijay Nagar empire. Although it's rulers after the reign of Krisha Deva already lost the tenacity to maintain their policy of territorial expansionism for a considerably long time ,1565 onward the areas continued to shrink more rapidly and the kingdom slowly lost its political relevance in the region.

 

[Jaggu]

what was the reason why a powerful army of Vijayanagar lost the battle of Talikota?

 

[Jaanbaz]

I don't know if it's right to call the Vijayanagar empire as successful. They were defeated by the Deccan Sultanates in the Battle of Talikota.

Ouch! You just wounded so many egos.

 

[NP-complete]

From Oxford history of India:

The Hindu empire of Vijayanagar, from a.d. 1336 to 1646.

Although the history of the Hindu empire of Vijayanagar is closely entwined with that of the Muslim, Bahmani empire and the' later sultanates of the Deccan for more than two centuries, it is impracticable to combine the two histories in a single narrative. Separate treatment is inevitable, but a certain amount of repetition cannot be avoided. The story of the Hindu monarchy which set itself up as a barrier to check the onrush of the armies of Islam is one of singular interest, and might be narrated with a fullness of detail rarely possible in Indian history. The multitude of relevant inscriptions, numbering many hundreds, is extraordinary. Several European and Muslim travellers from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century have recorded the historical traditions of the empire with vivid descriptions of the system of government and the glories of the magnificent capital. The study of the polity, manners, customs, and religion of the Vijayanagar empire merits particular attention, because the State was the embodiment of the Telinga or Telugu and Kanarese forms of Hinduism which differed avidely from the more familiar forms of the north. The sources of our knowledge are not confined to inscriptions and the notes of foreign observers. The Muhammadan historians who lived in the Deccan, headed by Firishta, give valuable information ; and much may be learned from critical examination of the monuments and coins. A remarkable school of art was developed at Vijayanagar, and literature, both Sanskrit and Telugu, was cultivated with eminent success.

Origin of the kingdom or empire.
The traditionary accounts of the origin of the kingdom or empire vary widely, Sewell enumerates six or seven. There is, however, no doubt that the new power was the outcome of the efforts made by five brothers, sons of one Sangama, to stay the tide of Muslim invasion and to preserve Hindu dharma in the peninsula. Good authority exists for regarding the brothers as fugitives from the eastern Telinga or Telugu kingdom of Warangal, the capital of which was taken by the Muhammadans in 1323. Equally good, or perhaps better, authority views them as chieftains under the Kanarese dynasty of the Hoysala or Ballala kings of the Mysore country, whose capital, Dhora-Samudra, was sacked in 1327. It is certain that the activity of the five brothers was a reply to the Muhammadan attacks on both Warangal and Dhora-Samudra. The mad tyranny of Muhammad bin Tughlak of Delhi prevented him from retaining control over his southern conquests. The Bahmani kingdom founded by one of his revolted governors in 1347 upheld the standard of Islam independently of Delhi. When that kingdom broke up in the closing years of the fifteenth century, the five new sultanates formed from it, having inherited its traditions, were normally at war with Vijayanagar, and with the Telinga Raj of Warangal, which reasserted itself at times, until 1425, when it was finally destroyed.

Foreign relations of Vijayanagar.
The external history of the Vijayanagar empire, consequently, is mainly that of wars with the various Muhammadan dynasties of the Deccan, But from the middle of the fifteenth century both parties occasionally found it convenient to forget their principles and to enter into unholy temporary alliances. In the end the Muslims, who were more vigorous, better mounted, and better armed than the Hindus, won the long contest. Their destruction of the city of Vijayanagar in 1565, carried out with a completeness which no Prussian could surpass, effectually put an end to the Hindu empire of the south as such. But the victory did not immediately increase very largely the territory under Muslim rule. The peninsula to the south of the Tungabhadra continued to be essentially Hindu, governed by a multitude of Hindu chiefs, uncontrolled by any paramount power. While the foreign relations of Vijayanagar were in the main concerned with the Musalman sultanates, the Hindu empire also had important dealings with the Portuguese, who first arrived on the Malabar coast in 1498, and established themselves permanently at Goa late in 1510. The transactions with the Portuguese bring the affairs of Vijayanagar into touch with the outer world ; and we are indebted to Portuguese authors for the best accounts of the politics and manners of the great Hindu State.