The Vijayanagara Empire — Part 6: One-Page Revision Summary and Glossary

One-Page Revision Summary

Founded: 1336 | Harihara and Bukka (Sangama) | Tungabhadra river | Contemporary name: karnataka samrajyamu

Extent at peak: Krishna river (north) → southern tip of peninsula

Four Dynasties:

1. Sangama (1336–1485) — Founders; Hiriya Canal built
2. Saluva (1485–1505) — Military commanders; brief
3. Tuluva (1505–1570) — Peak; Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529)
4. Aravidu (1570–1646) — Post-Talikota; Penukonda → Chandragiri

Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529):

• Military: Raichur doab (1512), Orissa (1514), Bijapur (1520)
• Literary: Amuktamalyada (Telugu); court of Ashtadiggajas
• Titles: "Hindu Suratrana"; "Establisher of Yavana kingdom"
• Architecture: Hall + eastern gopuram of Virupaksha temple; Nagalapuram township

Amara-Nayaka System: Military chiefs → assigned territory → collect taxes → maintain forces → send annual tribute. Derived from iqta (Delhi Sultanate). Became hereditary → centrifugal force.

Economy: Horse imports from Arabia/Central Asia (kudirai chettis; Portuguese from 1498); bazaars in spices, textiles, precious stones; Kamalapuram tank + Hiriya canal + Krishnadeva Raya's tank.

Battle of Talikota (1565): Rama Raya vs. Bijapur + Ahmadnagar + Golconda | Venue: Rakshasi-Tangadi | City sacked and abandoned.

Architecture at Hampi (3 zones):

• Sacred centre: Virupaksha temple (Shiva); Vitthala temple (Vishnu/stone chariot)
• Urban core: bazaars, mosques, Chinese porcelain finds
• Royal centre: Mahanavami Dibba (40 ft, 11,000 sq ft base); Lotus Mahal; Elephant Stables; Hazara Rama temple
• Seven fortification lines (Abdur Razzaq); agricultural land enclosed within walls
• Indo-Islamic synthesis: domes + arches in gateways

Heritage: Hampi — national importance 1976; UNESCO World Heritage Site 1986; Colin Mackenzie discovered 1800.

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Glossary

1. Raya: The title used by Vijayanagara rulers meaning king or lord.

2. Amara-Nayaka (Nayankara): A military commander assigned a territory (amara) by the raya; responsible for collecting revenues, maintaining troops and paying tribute. The system is the administrative backbone of the empire.

3. Gopuram: The monumental gateway tower of a South Indian temple; raya gopurams were the imperial-scale gateways introduced or enlarged by Vijayanagara rulers.

4. Mandapa: A pillared hall or pavilion within a temple complex, used for music, dance, divine marriages (kalyana mandapa) or the swinging of deities.

5. Iqta: An assignment of revenue from a specific territory granted to military commanders in the Delhi Sultanate; functionally analogous to the amara-nayaka assignment but explicitly non-hereditary.

6. Amuktamalyada: The major Telugu work on statecraft and devotion composed by Krishnadeva Raya; notable for its progressive advice on trade policy and the treatment of foreign merchants.

7. Ashtadiggajas: Literally "eight directional elephants"; the eight great Telugu poets who adorned the court of Krishnadeva Raya.

8. Kudirai Chettis: Local horse-merchant communities who participated in the trade of horses from Arabia and Central Asia — trade vital to Vijayanagara's military power.

9. Mahanavami Dibba: A massive ceremonial platform (base approximately 11,000 sq. ft, height 40 ft) in the royal centre at Hampi, used during the Dussehra/Navaratri festival for royal display of power and receipt of nayaka tribute.

10. Karnataka Samrajyamu: The term used by contemporaries for the Vijayanagara Empire (Telugu for "Karnataka kingdom"), as opposed to the later historical label "Vijayanagara Empire" used by modern historians.

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