The Vijayanagara Empire 

• The Vijayangar Empire was founded by 2 brothers, Harihara and Bukka. 
• According to legend they were officers of Muhammad Tughluq. 
• They were sent to crush a rebellion in the South. 
• Instead they broke away and founded their own kingdom. 
• Harihara was crowned king in 1346. 
• His brother Bukka I ruled after him, 1357-1377. 
• The Vijayanagar Empire is named after its capital city (Its name means city of victory). 
• The rulers of Vijayanager gradually conquered more and more territory and the empire reached a peak early in the 16th century. 

Harihar II (1377-1406)

Expanded the empire towards the sea coast but his greatest success was in wresting Belgaum and Goa from Bahmani and in sending expedition to Sri Lanka.

Devraya I (1406-1422)

Was defeated by Firoz Shah Bahmani and had to marry his daughter to him. But later he allied with the Reddy Kingdom and managed to defeat Firoz Shah Bahmani. He also built a dam across Tungabhadra.

Devraya II (1422-1446)

Inducted a large number of Muslims in the army (Their induction however had begun during Devraya’s I reign). Nuniz informs us that a large number of kings paid tribute to him.

Krishna Deva Raya (1509-30)

Won Orissa (Gajapati Kingdom) for Vijaynagar and Vijaynagar emerged strongest during his reign.

• Krishna Deva Raya assumed the title of Yavanrayjaya Sthapancharya also called Abhinav Bhoja.
• Paes says that Krishna Deva Raya was a man of much justice but subject to sudden fits of rage.
• Krishna Deva Raya built a new city and expanded patronage to a large number of poets (Astha Diggajas).
• Krishna Deva Raya wrote the political treatise of Amuktamalyamada in Telugu (Jambbavati Kalyannam in Sanskrit) and emphasized on the welfare of people.
• Rama Raja entered into a treaty with the Portuguese to obtain themonopoly of horses.

Defeat of Vijaynagar Emipire

• Vijayanagar’ defeat came in the battle of Talikotta in 1565 due to Rama Raja’s policy of playing one Muslim dynasty against the other for making Vijaynagar supreme.

Vijaynagar Architecture

• The Vijaynagar rulers produced a new style of architecture called as Provida style. 
• The large number and prominence of pillars and piers are  some of the distinct features. 
• Horse was the most common animal on the pillars. 
• Another important feature was the Mandapa or open pavilion with a raised platform, meant for seating deities.
• Important temples were Vithalswami and Hazara temples at Hampi, Tadapatri and Parvati temples at Chidambaramand Varadraja and Ekambarnatha temples at Kanchipuram. 
• The Vijaynagar rulers inscribed the stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on the walls of the various temples. 
• Hazara temple and Vithalswami temples are examples of this type of wall inscription.

Points to remember : -The Vijayanagar emperor created their own architecture style named Provida style which plays a lot of emphasis on piers and pillars. They had inscribed the tales from Ramayana and Mahabharata on the various temple that they have established. Most importantly being Vithalswami Temple and Hazari temple at Humpi at Karanataka. Horse was a recurring animals present in all the depictions. -Two Portuguese visitors namely Nunez and Paes had visited the Vijayanagar empire and have described their experience, which are the basic source of our information. -Krishana Devaraya assumed the title of Abhinav Bhoja and established political treatise Anuktamalyamada which deals with the welfare of the people. -Ramaraja was one of the last kings of Tuluva dynasty and was defeated at Battle of Tallikota. -Harihara-II expanded the Vijayanagar empire to Goa and Coastal area and also sent an expedition to Sri Lanka. -Devaraya-I was defeated in the battle with Bahamani empire and constructed a dam across Tungbhadra river.