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socio-economic conditions, administration, fall of Vijayanagar empire
- The Vijayanagara Empire, an important South Indian empire was founded by Harihara Raya I and his brother Bukka Raya I. The capital of the empire was Vijayanagara, present days Hampi in Karnataka. The empire ruled from 1336 AD to 1646 AD although the power of the empire declined after the Battle of Talikota in 1565 AD.
- Vijayanagara Empire was ruled by mainly four important dynasties. They were Sangama Dynasty: It was the first dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire and Harihara Raya I( 1336-1356 AD) was the first ruler of the dynasty. Some of the rulers of the dynasty were: Bukka Raya, Virupaksha Raya, Deva Raya, Ramachandra Raya, Mallikarjuna Raya and Praudha Raya.
- Saluva Dynasty: It was the first dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire andNarasimhadeva Raya (1485 AD to 1491 AD) first ruler of Saluva Dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire. He was succeeded by his son Thimma Bhupala. Narasimha Raya II was the last ruler of Saluva Dynasty succeeded his father Thimma Bhupala.
- Tuluva Dynasty: It was the third dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire. The rulers of Tuluva Dynasty were: Narasa Nayaka, Viranarasimha Raya, KrishnadevaRaya, Achyutadeva Raya and Sadasiva Raya. Krishnadeva raya was a very powerful ruler of Vijayanagara Empire. It is considered that during his reign the empire reached its zenith. He ruled the empire from 1509 AD to 1529 AD.
- Aravidu Dynasty: The fourth and last dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire was Aravidu Dynasty. After the Battle of Talikota the empire started to decline and Muslim states of Bijapur became prominent.
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 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 conflict between Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahmani kingdom lasted for many years. The dispute over Raichur Doab, the region between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra and also over the fertile areas of Krishna-Godavari delta led to this long-drawn conflict. The greatest ruler of the Sangama dynasty was Deva Raya II. But he could not win any clear victory over the Bahmani Sultans. After his death, Sangama dynasty became weak. The next dynasty, Saluva dynasty founded by Saluva Narasimha reigned only for a brief period (1486-1509).
Administration:
- Vijayanagar was the first southern Indian state to have encompassed three major linguistic and cultural regions and to have established a high degree of political unity among them. The administration of the kingdom sporadically achieved a relatively high degree of centralization, although centrifugal tendencies regularly appeared. To the original five rajyas (provinces) held by the Sangama brothers, new ones were added as territories were acquired.
- The administration under the Vijayanagar Empire was well organized. The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial and legislative matters. He was 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, 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.
- Besides land revenue, tributes and gifts from vassals and feudal chiefs, customs collected at the Ports, taxes on various professions were other sources of income to the government. Land revenue was fixed generally one sixth of the produce. The expenditure of the government includes personal expenses of king and the Charities given by him and military expenditure. In the matter of Justice, harsh punishments such as mutilation and throwing to elephants were followed.
- 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 in lieu of their Services. These lands were called amaram. Soldiers were usually paid in cash.
Social Life:
- Allasani Peddanna in his Manucharitam refers the existence of four castes – Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras – in the Vijayanagar Society. Foreign travelers left vivid accounts on the splendour of buildings and luxurious social life in the city of Vijayanagar. Silk and Cotton clothes were mainly used for dress. Perfumes, flowers and ornaments were used by the people. Paes mentions of the beautiful houses of the rich and the large number of their household servants. Nicolo Conti refers to the prevalence of slavery. 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. Srivaishnavism 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.
- The position of Women had not improved. However, some of them were learned. Gangadevi, wife of Kumarakampana authored the famous work Maduravijayam. Hannamma and Thirumalamma were famous poets of this period. According to Nuniz, a large number of women were employed in royal palaces as dancers, domestic servants and palanquin bearers. The attachment of dancing girls to temples was in practice. Paes refers to the flourishing devadasi system. Polygamy was prevalent among the royal families. Sati was honoured and Nuniz gives a description of it.
Economic Condition:
- According to the accounts of the foreign travelers, 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 varaha but weights and measures varied from place to place. Inland, coastal and overseas trade led to the general prosperity. There were a number of seaports on the Malabar coast, the chief being Cannanore. Commercial contacts with Arabia, Persia, South Africa and Portugal on the west and with Burma, Malay peninsula and China on the east flourished. The chief items of exports were cotton and silk clothes, spices, rice, iron, saltpeter and sugar. The imports consisted of horses, pearls, copper, coral, mercury, China 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 sculptures on the pillarwere carved with distinctive features. The horse was the most common animal found in these pillars. Large mandapams contain one hundred pillars as well as one thousand pillars in some big temples. These mandapams were used for seating the deity on festival occasions. Also, many Amman shrines were added to the already existing temples during this period.
- The most important temples of the Vijayanagar style were found in the Hampi ruins or 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 for the magnificence of the Vijayanagara Style of Temple Architecture. The RayaGopurams 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 for casting of metal images. Music and dancing were also patronized by the rulers of Vijayanagar.
- Different languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil flourished in the regions. There was a great development in Sanskrit and Telugu literature. The peak of literary achievement was reached during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya. He himself was a scholar in Sanskrit and Telugu. His famous court poet Allasani Peddanna was distinguished in Telugu literature. Thus the cultural contributions of the Vijayanagar rulers were many-sided and remarkable.
Decline of the Vijayanagara Empire: The Battle of Talikota (1565):
During his rule, Rama Raya interfered in the conflicts among the Deccan Sultanates, first, in alliance with one, and then with another. In the beginning he joined with Ahmednagar, Bidar and Golconda and fought with Bijapur. In 1558, he invaded Ahmednagar, joining with Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur and during this march, his army committed great outrages; they insulted the Muslim women, destructed Mosques and disrespected the holy Quran. This incensed the followers of Islam, even the allied troops of Bijapur. Meanwhile the Sultanates lost many of their dominions to Rama Raya. Ferishta tells us that Rama Raya daily continuing to encroach on the dominions of the Sultans, Ali Adil Shah resolved to curb his insolence and reduce his power by a league of the faithful against him; for which purpose he convened an assembly of his friends and confidential advisers. According to them the number of Rama’s forces was too vast, against which no single Muhammadan monarch could hope to contend with the smallest prospect of success. Therefore, the Sultans decided to unite to reduce the power of Rama Raya.
The political treaties and marriage agreements (Hussein Nizam Shah gave his daughter Chand Bibi in marriage to Ali Adil Shah and Huddeea Sultana, Ali’s sister, was married to Murtaza Shah, son of Hussein Nizam Shah) were drawn out, and mutually confirmed by the most solemn oaths.
The Battle of Talikotta was fought between Rama Raya and the combined armies of the four Deccan Sultans, Hussein Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar, Ibrahim Qutub Shah of Golconda, Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur and Ali Barid Shah of Bidar, on the banks of the river Krishna on 26 Jan 1565. Rama Raya entrusted his Right Wing to Tirumala, to oppose Qutb Shah, and his left wing to Venkatadry, against Ali Adil Shah, while Rama Raya, an old but energetic man in his seventy’s, himself commanded the center. Rama Raya was seated himself on a rich throne set with jewels, under a canopy of crimson velvet, embroidered with gold and adorned with fringes of pearls, caused his treasurer to place heaps of Money around him, that he might confer rewards on such of his soldiers as merited the distinction; rich ornaments of gold and jewels were also placed before him for the same purpose.
Unfortunately, an elephant belonging to Nizam Shah, became wild and dashed towards him and he fell down from the palanquin. Before he could recover, he was bounded by ropes and taken to Nizam Shah and finally, he was beheaded. The Muslim army looted the city; people were slaughtered; temples and houses were burnt; the sacred Hindu idols were destroyed and the wealthy empire was plundered. The plunder was so great, that every private man in the allied army became rich in gold, jewels, tents, arms, horses, and slaves. The kingdom of Vijayanagara never recovered its ancient splendor!
Aravidu Dynasty (1565-1646): Although Vijayanagara was destroyed, Tirumala along with Sadashiva escaped to Penukonda where they tried to rebuild the empire. In 1568, Tirumala murdered Sadasiva, and seized the throne for himself (1568-1575). Tirumala was succeeded by his son Sri Ranga Raya (1575-1586) and later followed by his brother, Venkatapati Raya I (1586-1614) who shifted the capital from Penukonda to Chandragiri. During that time, the largest feudatories of the Vijayanagar empire; the Wodeyars of Mysore and the Nayakas of Ikkeri declared their independence. Venkatapati was succeeded by Sri Ranga Raya II in 1614 and later by Ramadeva (1617-1632). Venkata III (1632-1642) again shifted the capital to Vellore. Sri Ranga III (1642-1646) was the last ruler of the Vijayanagara empire.
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The Vijayanagara Empire was a Hindu kingdom that ruled over southern India from the 14th to the 16th centuries. It was founded by Harihara I and Bukka Raya I, two brothers who were generals in the Hoysala army. The empire reached its peak under the rule of Krishnadevaraya, who reigned from 1509 to 1529.
The Vijayanagara Empire was a major power in the Indian subcontinent. It controlled a vast territory that included parts of modern-day Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The empire was also a major center of Trade and Commerce.
The Vijayanagara Empire was a Hindu kingdom, and Hinduism-2/”>Hinduism was the dominant religion. However, the empire was tolerant of other religions, and Muslims, Christians, and Jews were allowed to live and practice their faiths freely.
The Vijayanagara Empire was a feudal state, and the king was the supreme ruler. The king was assisted by a council of ministers, who were responsible for the administration of the empire. The empire was divided into provinces, which were ruled by governors.
The Vijayanagara army was one of the most powerful in India. The army was made up of cavalry, infantry, and elephants. The army was also equipped with firearms, which were introduced to India by The Portuguese.
The Vijayanagara Empire was a major center of art and architecture. The empire produced some of the finest examples of Hindu temple architecture. The empire was also a major center of literature and music.
The Vijayanagara Empire declined in the 16th century due to a number of factors, including internal conflicts, invasions by the Deccan sultanates, and the Portuguese. The empire finally collapsed in 1565 after the Battle of Talikota.
The Vijayanagara Empire was a major power in the Indian subcontinent for over two centuries. It was a major center of trade and commerce, art and architecture, literature and music. The empire was also a major center of Hindu culture. The Vijayanagara Empire left a lasting legacy on India, and its influence can still be seen today.
Here are some additional details about the Vijayanagara Empire:
- The capital of the Vijayanagara Empire was Hampi, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The Vijayanagara Empire was a major center of trade and commerce. It was located on the trade route between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
- The Vijayanagara Empire was a major center of art and architecture. The empire produced some of the finest examples of Hindu temple architecture.
- The Vijayanagara Empire was a major center of literature and music. The empire produced some of the finest examples of Hindu literature and music.
- The Vijayanagara Empire was a major center of Hindu culture. The empire was a major center of Hindu temples, monasteries, and universities.
- The Vijayanagara Empire left a lasting legacy on India. Its influence can still be seen today in the architecture, art, literature, and music of India.
What is the capital of India?
The capital of India is New Delhi.
What is the Population of India?
The population of India is over 1.3 billion people.
What is the Official Language of India?
The official language of India is Hindi.
What is the currency of India?
The currency of India is the Indian rupee.
What is the religion of India?
The majority religion of India is Hinduism.
What is the flag of India?
The flag of India is a tricolor with saffron at the top, white in the middle, and green at the bottom. The saffron stripe represents courage, the white stripe represents peace, and the green stripe represents faith.
What is the National Anthem of India?
The national anthem of India is Jana Gana Mana.
What is the national animal of India?
The national animal of India is the tiger.
What is the national bird of India?
The national bird of India is the peacock.
What is the national flower of India?
The national flower of India is the lotus.
What is the national tree of India?
The national tree of India is the banyan tree.
What is the national sport of India?
The national sport of India is cricket.
What is the national dish of India?
The national dish of India is chicken tikka masala.
What is the national drink of India?
The national drink of India is tea.
What is the national holiday of India?
The national holiday of India is Republic Day, which is celebrated on January 26.
What is the history of India?
India has a long and rich history, dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization. India was ruled by many different empires over the centuries, including the Mughal Empire and the British Empire. India gained independence from Britain in 1947.
What is the culture of India?
India is a diverse country with a rich culture. Indian culture is influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism-2/”>Buddhism, Islam, and other religions. Indian art, music, dance, and cuisine are all world-renowned.
What is the economy of India?
India is a developing country with a rapidly growing economy. India is a major producer of textiles, Software, and pharmaceuticals. India is also a major exporter of rice, tea, and spices.
What is the government of India?
India is a democratic republic. The president is the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. The Parliament is the legislative body of India.
What is the Education system in India?
The education system in India is divided into three levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary education is compulsory for all children aged 6 to 14. Secondary education is optional, but most children attend secondary school. Tertiary education is offered at universities and colleges.
What is the healthcare system in India?
The healthcare system in India is a mix of public and private providers. The public healthcare system is free for all citizens, but it is often overcrowded and underfunded. The private healthcare system is more expensive, but it is generally of higher quality.
What are the challenges facing India?
India faces a number of challenges, including POVERTY, illiteracy, Corruption, and Environmental Degradation. India is also facing the challenge of rapid Population Growth.
What are the opportunities for India?
India has a number of opportunities, including a large and growing population, a young workforce, and a rapidly growing economy. India is also a major player in the global economy.
What is the future of India?
The future of India is bright. India is a rapidly developing country with a number of opportunities. India is poised to become a major player in the global economy.
Sure, here are some MCQs without mentioning the topic Vijaynagar:
Which of the following is not a major river in India?
(A) The Ganges
(B) The Indus
(C) The Brahmaputra
(D) The NarmadaWhich of the following is not a major language spoken in India?
(A) Hindi
(B) Bengali
(C) Tamil
(D) TeluguWhich of the following is not a major Religion in India?
(A) Hinduism
(B) Islam
(C) Christianity
(D) BuddhismWhich of the following is not a major state in India?
(A) Uttar Pradesh
(B) Maharashtra
(C) Tamil Nadu
(D) VijaynagarWhich of the following is not a major city in India?
(A) Delhi
(B) Mumbai
(C) Chennai
(D) VijaynagarWhich of the following is not a major mountain range in India?
(A) The Himalayas
(B) The Vindhyas
(C) The Satpuras
(D) The VijaynagarsWhich of the following is not a major desert in India?
(A) The Thar Desert
(B) The Great Indian Desert
(C) The Rann of Kutch
(D) The Vijaynagar DesertWhich of the following is not a major wildlife sanctuary in India?
(A) The Kaziranga National Park
(B) The Periyar National Park
(C) The Jim Corbett National Park
(D) The Vijaynagar National ParkWhich of the following is not a major festival in India?
(A) Diwali
(B) Holi
(C) Dussehra
(D) VijaynagarWhich of the following is not a major food item in India?
(A) Rice
(B) Wheat
(C) Curry
(D) Vijaynagar