Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Muslim Invasion & the Vijayanagar Empire
The Muslim rulers in Delhi campaigned in South India from 1296, rebuking a series of loc-
al rulers, including the Hoysalas and Pandyas, and by 1323 had reached Madurai.
Mohammed Tughlaq, the sultan of Delhi, dreamed of conquering the whole of India,
something not even Emperor Ashoka had managed. He rebuilt the fort of Daulatabad in
Maharashtra to keep control of South India, but eventually his ambition led him to over-
reach his forces. In 1334 he had to recall his army in order to quash rebellions elsewhere
and, as a result, local Muslim rulers in Madurai and Daulatabad declared their independen-
ce.
At the same time, the foundations of what was to become one of South India's greatest
empires, Vijayanagar, were being laid by Hindu chiefs at Hampi.
The Vijayanagar empire is generally said to have been founded by two chieftain brothers
who, having been captured and taken to Delhi, converted to Islam and were sent back south
to serve as governors for the sultanate. The brothers, however, had other ideas; they recon-
verted to Hinduism and in around 1336 set about establishing a kingdom that was eventu-
ally to encompass southern Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and part of Kerala. Seven centuries
later, the centre of this kingdom - the ruins and temples of Hampi - is now one of South
India's biggest tourist drawcards.
The Bahmanis, who were initially from Daulatabad, established their capital at Gulbarga
in Karnataka, relocating to Bidar in the 15th century. Their kingdom eventually included
Maharashtra and parts of northern Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh - and they took pains to
protect it.
Not unnaturally, ongoing rivalry characterised the relationship between the Vijayanagar
and Bahmani empires until the 16th century when both went into decline. The Bahmani
empire was torn apart by factional fighting and Vijayanagar's vibrant capital of Hampi was
laid to waste in a six-month sacking by the combined forces of the Islamic sultanates of
Bidar, Bijapur, Berar, Ahmednagar and Golconda. Much of the conflict centred on control
of fertile agricultural land and trading ports; at one stage the Bahmanis wrested control of
the important port of Goa from their rivals (although in 1378 the Vijayanagars seized it
back).
The Vijayanagar empire is notable for its prosperity, which was the result of a deliberate
policy of giving every encouragement to traders from afar, combined with the development
of an efficient administrative system and access to important trading links, including west-
