What's new

The most powerful Dynasty of 15th century India

Ouch! You just wounded so many egos.:D
Not really. His statement doesn't make much sense. According to his logic the Delhi Sultanate was not successful because it was defeated by Timur in the 14th century and the Mughal Dynasty was not successful because it was defeated by the Marathas in the 18th century.
 
.
Early chiefs ; Harihara I and Bukka.
The two most prominent of the five brothers who led the Hindu opposition were named Hakka or Harihara (I) and Bukka. The traditional date for their foundation of Vijayanagar on the southern, or safe, bank of the Tungabhadra, facing the older fortress of Anegundi on the northern bank, is a. d. 1336. The building of it was finished in 1343. It is certain that ten years later the brothers were in a position to claim control over ' the whole country between the Eastern and the Western Oceans '. They never assumed royal rank. Bukka died in 1376. Two years before his decease he thought it advisable to send an embassy to Tai-tsu, the Ming emperor of China. Most of his life was spent in waging ferocious wars against the Bahmani kings. During the reign of Muhammad Shah (1358-73) it is supposed that half a million of Hindus were destroyed. His successor, Mujahid Shah (1373-7), on one occasion penetrated the outer defences of Vijayanagar and was able to damage an image
of Hanuman the monkey-god by a blow from his steel mace.

Harihara II, independent king.
Harihara II (ace. 1379) was the first really independent sovereign of Vijayanagar who assumed full royal state or titles. His reign coincided almost exactly with that of Muhammad Shah I, the fifth of the Bahmani sultans, and the only peaceable man of his family. Harihara consequently had a quiet time so far as the Muhammadans were concerned, and enjoyed leisure for the task of consolidating his dominion over the whole of southern India, including Trichinopoly and Conjeeveram (Kanchi). He was tolerant of various forms of religion, but gave his personal devotion to Siva-Virupaksha. He died in August 1404, and, as usual, the succession was disputed.

Deva Raya I.
The next sovereign to secure a firm seat on the throne was Deva Raya I (Nov. 1406 to about 1412). He and his successors had to engage in constant fighting with the Bahmani Sultan Firoz, who took the field against the Hindus almost every year. Early in his reign (1406) Firoz invaded the Hindu territory in great force and actually entered some of the streets of the capital, although unable to take the place. He remained encamped to the south of the city for four months, ravaging the land and taking prisoners by tens of thousands. Deva Raya was constrained to sue for peace and to submit to the humiliation of giving his daughter in marriage to the Muslim sovereign. The Sultan visited Vijayanagar during the marriage festivities, but took offence because, when he was leaving, the Raya did not accompany him the whole way back to his camp. Thus the marriage bond failed to heal the hereditary enmity.

Deva Raya II (1421-48) had to meet the attacks of Firoz Shah's brother and successor, Ahmad Shah (1422-35) a ferocious brute who held high festival for three days whenever on any one day the victims — men, women, and children —in a defenceless population, numbered twenty thousand. The Hindu kingdom of Warangal was finally overthrown by him in 1425.

The war with the Musalmans continued during the reign of Alau-d din Bahmani (1435-57), and ended unfavourably for the Hindu cause. Deva Raya, impressed with the facts that the Islamite armies owed their success largely to being better mounted than their opponents and supported by a large body of expert archers, tried the expedient of enlisting Muhammadans in his service and equipping them in the Bahmani fashion. But the experiment was not a success, and the Raya had to submit to the payment of tribute. The visit of the Italian Nicolo Conti, to Vijayanagar took place at the beginning of Deva Raya's reign,
and that of Abdu-r Razzak in 1443, towards its close.
 
Last edited:
.
The story of Vijayanagar during the second half of the fifteenth century is obscure. The kings were of little personal merit, palace intrigues were rife, and the Government was feeble. Narasinga Saluya, the powerful and semi-independent governor of Chandragiri in 1486, was obliged to depose the weak nominal sovereign reigning at the time and take the cares of government on his own shoulders, an event known as the First Usurpation. In the course of a few years he effected extensive conquests in the Tamil country to the south and restored the credit of the Government. His administration made so deep an impression on the public mind that the Vijayanagar empire was often designated by Europeans as the ' kingdom of Narsingh '. He was constantly at war with the Muhammadans. The new sultanate of BIjapur, which began its separate existence from 1489 or 1490, now took the leading position on the Muslim side, the last Bahmani kings being restricted to a small principality close to BIdar, their capital.

The power of Narasinga Saluva was transmitted to his son Immadi Narasinga, who in 1505 was killed by his general, Narasa Nayaka, a Tuluva. That was the Second Usurpation. The details of the transactions connected with both usurpations are obscure and controverted.

The third or Tuluva dynasty thus founded produced one really great ruler, Krishna deva Raya, whose reign began in 1509 Coin of Krishna and lasted until i529. He was, therefore, the deva Raya, contemporary of Henry VIII of England. After his coronation early in 1510 Krishna Raya stayed at home in his capital for a year and a half, learning his kingly duties and forming plans for the aggrandizement of his realm. He set to work methodically on his scheme of conquest and at an early date reduced the fortress of Udayagiri in the Nellore District. Many other strong holds surrendered to his arms. His most famous fight took place on May 19, 1520, and resulted in the recovery of the much disputed fortress of Raichiir from Ismail Adil Shah of BTjapur. The Hindus gained a glorious victory in a contest so deadly that they lost more than 16,000 killed. The story of the fight, vividly told by the contemporary Portuguese chronicler, Nuniz, is too long to be repeated here. The Raya, a man of a generous and chivalrous temper, used his victory with humanity and moderation. In the course of subsequent operations he temporarily occupied BIjapur, which was mostly destroyed by the soldiers tearing down buildings in order to get fuel for cooking ; and he razed to the ground the fortress of Kulbarga, the early capital of the Bahmanis.

In 1529 the noble Raya ' fell sick of the same illness of which all his ancestors had died, with pains in the groin, of which die all the kings of Bisnaga '.

Achyuta Raya.
Krishna Raya was succeeded by his brother, Achyuta, a man of weak and tyrannical character, lacking even in personal courage. He soon lost the fortresses of Mudgal and Raichur, situated between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, which had been recovered by his able brother at a great price. Obscure intrigues led to an invitation to Ibrahim Adil Shah to visit Vijayanagar as the ally of one of the factions at court. He came, and was induced to retire by the payment of an immense subsidy in cash, amounting to something like two millions sterling, besides other valuable gifts.

SadasivaRaya.
When Achyuta died in 1542 his place was taken by his brother's son, Sadasiva, who was a merely nominal king, the whole control of the government being in the hands of Rama Raja (or Raya) Saluva, son of Krishna Raya's able minister, Saluva Timma, and closely connected with the royal family by marriage. In 1543 Rama Raja made an alliance with Ahmadnagar and Golkonda in order to effect a combined attack on Bljapur, which was saved from destruction by the abilities of Asad Khan, a clever and unscrupulous minister. Fifteen years later (1558) Bljapur and Vijayanagar combined to attack Ahmadnagar. The territory of that State was so cruelly ravaged by the Hindus, and Rama Raja treated his Muslim allies with such open contempt, that the Sultans were convinced of the necessity for dropping their private quarrels and combining against the arrogant infidel.
 
.
Not really. His statement doesn't make much sense. According to his logic the Delhi Sultanate was not successful because it was defeated by Timur in the 14th century and the Mughal Dynasty was not successful because it was defeated by the Marathas in the 18th century.

The difference is that the Delhi Sultanate recovered again with the Pashtun Lodi dynasty after the Sayyid dynasty had been attacked by Timur. The Vijayanagara empire slowly declined after their failure against the Deccan sultanates. The Mughals were defeated but their legacy survives in modern Pakistan and the 177 Million Muslims in India. The same goes for the Delhi Sultanates, Deccan Sultanates, Ghurids, Ghaznavids....
 
.
Alliance of the four sultans.
In 1564 the combination was duly effected, the parties to it being the four sultans or kings of Bljapur, Ahmadnagar, Golkonda, and BIdar. The ruler of Bcrar did not join. The allies began their southward march on Christmas Day, 1564. In January, 1565, they assembled their combined forces at the small town of Talikot'a in BIjapur territory to the north of the Krishna. That circumstance has given the current name to the ensuing battle, although it was fought on the south of the river at a distance of about thirty miles from Talikota. At Vijayanagar there was the utmost confidence. Remembering how often the Moslems had vainly attempted to injure the great capital, and how for over two centuries they had never succeeded in penetrating to
the south, the inhabitants pursued their daily avocations with no shadow of dread or sense of danger ; the strings of packbullocks laden with all kinds of merchandise wended their dusty way to and from the several seaports as if no sword of Damocles was hanging over the doomed city ; Sadasiva, the king, lived his profitless life in inglorious seclusion, and Rama Raya, king de facto, never for a moment relaxed his haughty indifference to the movements of his enemies. " He treated their ambassadors", says Firishta, "with scornful language, and regarded their enmity as of little moment."

Battle of Talikota, 1565.
If mere numbers could have assured victory, the confidence of the rulers and people of Vijayanagar would have been justified. Estimates of the forces at the command of Rama Raja vary, but it seems certain that his vast host numbered between half a million and a million of men, besides a multitude of elephants and a considerable amount of artillery. On the other side, the Sultan of Ahmadnagar brought on the ground a park of no less than six hundred guns of various calibres. The total of the allies' army is supposed to have been about half that of the Vijayanagar host.

The battle was fought on January 23, 1565, on the plain between the Ingaligi ford and Mudgal. At first the Hindus had the advantage, but they suffered severely from a salvo of the Ahmadnagar guns shotted with bags of copper coin, and from a vigorous cavalry charge. Their complete rout followed on the capture of Rama Raja, who was promptly decapitated by the Sultan of Ahmadnagar with his own hand. No attempt was made to retrieve the disaster. About 100,000 Hindus were slain, and the great river ran red with blood. The princes fled from the city with countless treasures loaded upon more than five hundred elephants, and the proud capital lay at the mercy of the victors who occupied it almost immediately.

The plunder was so great that every private man in the allied army became rich in gold, jewels, effects, tents, arms, horses, and slaves ; as the sultans left every person in possession of what he had acquired, only taking elephants for their own use.'

Ruin of Vijayanagar.
The ruin wrought on the magnificent city may be described in the words of Sewcr, who is fan)iliar with the scene of its desolation. When the princes fled with their treasures,' then a panic seized the city. The truth became at last apparent. This was not a defeat merely, it was a cataclysm. All hope was gone.The myriad dwellers in the city were left defenceless. No retreat, no flight was possible except to a few, for the pack-oxen and carts had almost all followed the forces to the war, and they had not returned. Nothing could be done but to bury all treasures, to arm the younger men, and to wait. Next day the place became a prey to the robber tribes and jungle people of the neighbourhood. Hordes of Brinjaris, Lambadis, Kurubas, and the like pounced down on the hapless city and looted the stores and shops, carrying off great quantities of riches. Couto states that there were six concerted attacks by these people during the day. The third day saw the beginning of the end. The victorious Musalmans Tiad halted on the field of battle for rest and refreshment, but now they had reached the capital, and from that time forward for a space of five months Vijayanagar knew no rest. The enemy had come to destroy, and they carried out their object relentlessly. They slaughtered the people without mercy ; broke down the temples and palaces ; and wreaked such savage vengeance on the abode of the kings, that with the exception of a few great stone-built temples and walls, nothing now remains but a heap of ruins to mark the spot where once the stately buildings stood. They demolished the statues, and even succeeded in breaking the limbs of the huge Narasimha monolith. Nothing seemed to escape them. They broke up the pavilions standing on the huge platform from which the kings used to watch the festivals, and overthrew all the carved work. They lit huge fires in the magnificently decorated buildings forming the temple of Vitthalaswami near the river, and smashed its exquisite stone sculptures. With fire and sword, with crowbars and axes, they carried on day after day their work of destruction. Never perhaps in the history of the world has such havoc been wrought, and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city ; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plenitude of prosperity one day, and on the next seized, pillaged, and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description.'

Rama Raja's brother, Tirumala, who along with Sadasiva the nominal king took refuge at Penugonda, himself usurped the royal seat some few years after the battle. This third usurpation, the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty, may be dated in or about 1570. The most remarkable king of the new dynasty was the third, by name Venkata I, who came to the throne about 1585. He seems to have moved his capital to Chandragiri, and was noted for his patronage of Telugu poets and Vaishnava authors. It is unnecessary to follow the history of his successors, who gradually degenerated into merely local chiefs. In March 1639-40 Venkata II granted the site of Madras to Mr. Day the English factor, and in 1645-6 that transaction was confirmed by Ranga II, who was the last representative of the line with any pretensions to independence.

Much of the Deccan was overrun by the Muhammadans and passed under the sovereignty of the Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda, who in their turn were overthrown by Aurangzeb in 1086 and 1687.
 
.
The difference is that the Delhi Sultanate recovered again with the Pashtun Lodi dynasty after the Sayyid dynasty had been attacked by Timur. The Vijayanagara empire slowly declined after their failure against the Deccan sultanates. The Mughals were defeated but their legacy survives in modern Pakistan and the 177 Million Muslims in India. The same goes for the Delhi Sultanates, Deccan Sultanates, Ghurids, Ghaznavids....
The Delhi Sultanate did not recover as it lost more than half of its territories and northern India was divided into several Kingdoms like the Mewar Dynasty, Malwa Kingdom, Gwalior Kingdom, Bengal Sultanate and many more. The Lodi Kingdom was the weakest of all the Dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate. The legacy of the Vijayanagar Empire also continued to exist even after its collapse in 1646. The former feudatories of the Vijayanagar Empire like the Mysore Kingdom and Travancore Kingdom continued to exist until the establishment of the Republic of India in 1947 and these Kingdoms were the most developed states of whole South Asia during the British Raj and even today.
 
.
The Delhi Sultanate did not recover as it lost more than half of its territories and northern India was divided into several Kingdoms like the Mewar Dynasty, Malwa Kingdom, Gwalior Kingdom, Bengal Sultanate and many more. The Lodi Kingdom was the weakest of all the Dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate. The legacy of the Vijayanagar Empire also continued to exist even after its collapse in 1646. The former feudatories of the Vijayanagar Empire like the Mysore Kingdom and Travancore Kingdom continued to exist until the establishment of the Republic of India in 1947 and these Kingdoms were the most developed states of whole South Asia during the British Raj and even today.

Well the Lodi dynasty was conquered by the Mughals but I think the Sayyid dynasty was weaker because it lasted only from 1414-1451 while Lodis ruled Delhi from 1451 to 1526.

Overall Northern India and also sometimes Southern India were in the hands of the Delhi Sultanates for 320 years. I think this time period was also the of the Islamic Golden Age of India
 
. .
Not really Hindus here are accepting that fact, we aren't like Pakistanis who go around claiming Arab and Turk empires. We have our own empires and accept there faults.

Mughals were basically Muslim Indians at the end. First the Chagatai Turkic language was replaced by the Persian language in the court and then in the late period it evolved to Urdu.
 
.
Well the Lodi dynasty was conquered by the Mughals but I think the Sayyid dynasty was weaker because it lasted only from 1414-1451 while Lodis ruled Delhi from 1451 to 1526.

Overall Northern India and also sometimes Southern India were in the hands of the Delhi Sultanates for 320 years. I think this time period was also the of the Islamic Golden Age of India
Not really. The Delhi Sultanate ruled in southern India for less than 20 years during the reign of Alauddin and Bin Tughluq. And unlike the Mughal Dynasty the Delhi Sultanate struggled to truly unify northern India. The Delhi Sultanate only ruled whole northern India during the reigns of Alauddin and Bin Tughluq. And the Delhi Sultanate was not the Islamic Golden Age of India as the Delhi Sultanate unlike the Mughal Dynasty contributed barely anything in the fields of science.
For example in the Vijayanagar Empire Indian mathematics flourished and several great south Indian mathematicians like Madhava and Nilakantha made major contributions in the fields of mathematics and astronomy on the other hand in northern India Indian mathematics collapsed because of the Delhi Sultanate.
 
.
what was the reason why a powerful army of Vijayanagar lost the battle of Talikota?

Two of the Muslim commanders in Ramaraya's army treacherously attacked from behind. By using the situation in the beginning of the war itself Ramaraya was beheaded by Adil shah and his head was exhibited to the Hindu troops. You can see wiki
 
.
Not really. The Delhi Sultanate ruled in southern India for less than 20 years during the reign of Alauddin and Bin Tughluq. And unlike the Mughal Dynasty the Delhi Sultanate struggled to truly unify northern India. The Delhi Sultanate only ruled whole northern India during the reigns of Alauddin and Bin Tughluq. And the Delhi Sultanate was not the Islamic Golden Age of India as the Delhi Sultanate unlike the Mughal Dynasty contributed barely anything in the fields of science.
For example in the Vijayanagar Empire Indian mathematics flourished and several great south Indian mathematicians like Madhava and Nilakantha made major contributions in the fields of mathematics and astronomy on the other hand in northern India Indian mathematics collapsed because of the Delhi Sultanate.

I also said they ruled Southern India "sometimes". The Islamic powers in Southern India were the Bahmani Sultanate and its successor the Deccan Sultanates. I don't know anything about mathematic contribution in the Vijayanagar Empire but the Khilji dynasty succesfully protected India from Mongol invasions.
 
.
I also said they ruled Southern India "sometimes". The Islamic powers in Southern India were the Bahmani Sultanate and its successor the Deccan Sultanates. I don't know anything about mathematic contribution in the Vijayanagar Empire but the Khilji dynasty succesfully protected India from Mongol invasions.
The Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics flourished in southern India during the Vijayanagar period on the other hand northern India did not even produce one great Indian mathematician during the Delhi Sultanate period.
 
.
Bahmani Sultanate was founded in 1347 by Zafar Khan, an Afghan Officer in the service of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq.
 
.
Bahmani Sultanate was founded in 1347 by Zafar Khan, an Afghan Officer in the service of Mohammad-bin-Tughlaq.

His ethnic origins are unknown. He also could have been Turkic. The rulers named themselves after Bahman, a legendary Iranian king.
 
Last edited:
.
Back
Top Bottom