Vijayanagara Kingdom

Established in 1336, it was one of the dominant kingdoms of southern India in the late medieval and pre-modern periods, until its dissolution in the seventeenth century. It derived its name from its capital city, Vijayanagara (“city of victory” in Sanskrit), which corresponds to the area in and around the site of Hampi in present-day Karnataka. The kingdom was established by a group of brothers from the Sangama dynasty, Hakka (Harihara I; r. 1336–1356 CE) and Bukka (r. 1356-1377 CE), who were also its first kings. Following losses to internal revolts as well as incursions by the Bahmani rulers and the Gajapati rulers of eastern India, the Sangama dynasty was replaced by one founded by Narasimha Saluva. This short-lived dynasty was soon replaced by the Tuluvas, whose notable rulers included Krishnadevaraya (r. 1509–1529 CE) and Achyutaraya (1529–1542 CE). The defeat and abandonment of Vijayanagara after the battle of Talikota in 1565 marked the decline of the eponymous kingdom. The Aravidu dynasty, which ruled over the remnants of the kingdom, established new capitals capitals at Penukonda and Chandragiri in present-day Andhra Pradesh, but by the mid-seventeenth century, the territory of the Vijayanagara empire broke up into several, smaller kingdoms, ruled by its erstwhile governors.