The middle kingdoms of India were the political entities in the Indian subcontinent from 230 BCE to 1206 CE. The period begins after the decline of the Maurya Empire and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, starting with Simuka, from 230 BCE. The "middle" period lasted for almost 1436 years and ended in 1206 CE, with the rise of the Delhi Sultanate, founded in 1206, and the end of the Later Cholas.
Vikramaditya II was the son of King Vijayaditya and ascended the Badami Chalukya throne following the death of his father. This information comes from the Lakshmeshwar inscriptions in Kannada dated 13 January 735 A.D. From inscriptions it has come to be known that even before his coronation, Vikramaditya II, as a crown prince (Yuvaraja), had conducted successful military campaigns against their arch enemy, the Pallavas of Kanchipuram. His most important achievements were the capture of Kanchipuram on three occasions, the first time as a crown prince, the second time as an emperor and the third time under the leadership of his son and crown prince Kirtivarman II. This is attested to by another Kannada inscription, known as the Virupaksha Temple inscription which alludes to the emperor as the conqueror of Kanchi on three occasions and reads Sri Vikramaditya-bhatarar-mume-Kanchiyan-mume parajisidor. The other notable achievement was the consecration of the famous Virupaksha Temple and Mallikarjuna Temple by his queens Lokadevi and Trilokadevi at Pattadakal. These two monuments are the centre piece of the UNESCO World Heritage Monuments at Pattadakal. Vikramaditya II was a powerful ruler and was in power for 40 years. In order to maintain peace he entered into marriage alliance with Rashtrakutas.
Kulottunga I also spelt Kulothunga, born Rajendra Chalukya, was a Chola Emperor who reigned from 1070 to 1122 succeeding his cousin Athirajendra Chola. He also served as the Eastern Chalukya monarch from 1061 to 1118, succeeding his father Rajaraja Narendra. He is related to the Chola dynasty through his mother's side and the Eastern Chalukyas through his father's side. His mother, Ammangaidevi, was a Chola princess and the daughter of emperor Rajendra I. His father was king Rajaraja Narendra of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty who was the nephew of Rajendra and maternal grandson of Rajaraja I. According to historian Sailendra Nath Sen, his accession marked the beginning of a new era and ushered in a period of internal peace and benevolent administration.
Amoghavarsha I was the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the most notable monarchs of Early Medieval India. His reign of 64 years is one of the longest precisely dated monarchical reigns on record. Many Kannada and Sanskrit scholars prospered during his rule, including the great Indian mathematician Mahaviracharya who wrote Ganita-sara-samgraha, Jinasena, Virasena, Shakatayan and Sri Vijaya.
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil dynasty originating from southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE during the reign of Ashoka of the Maurya empire. The Chola empire was at its peak and achieved imperialism under the Medieval Cholas in the mid-9th century CE. As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera and Pandya, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territories until the 13th century CE.
Vengi or Venginadu is an Indian region in modern-day Andhra Pradesh spread over the Godavari and Krishna river deltas. The capital city of Vengi is located at Pedavegi near Eluru. Vengi was the most prominent city in Ancient Andhra for nearly seven centuries. Vengi served as the capital for Andhra dynasty like Salankayanas This region was part of Ashoka's Mauryan Empire in the mid-3rd century BCE. After the Mauryan Empire collapsed in 185 BC, the region was dominated by the Satavahanas, who were succeeded in Vengi by the Andhra Ikshvakus. Around 300 CE, the Andhra Ikshvakus were replaced by the Salankayanas. In the late 5th century, the Salankayanas were annexed by the Vishnukundinas.
Vikramaditya VI became the Western Chalukya King after deposing his elder brother Someshvara II, a political move he made by gaining the support of Chalukya vassals during the Chola invasion of Chalukya territory. Vikramaditya's reign is marked with the abolishment of the Saka era and the start of the Chalukya-Vikrama era. He was the greatest of the Western Chalukya kings and had the longest reign in the dynasty. He earned the title Permadideva and Tribhuvanamalla. He had several queens who ably assisted him in administration. One of his queens, Chandala Devi, a princess from the Shilahara ruling family of Karad was called Abhinava Saraswati for her skills as an artist. Queen Kethala Devi administered the Siruguppa region and Savala Devi was in charge of an Agrahara in Naregal. According to the historian Kamath, Vikramaditya VI was a "great king who ruled over South India" and he finds a "pride of place in Karnataka history". More inscriptions in Kannada are attributed to Vikramaditya VI than any other king prior to the Vijayanagara era.
The Vishnukundina dynasty was an Indian dynasty based in Deccan, which ruled territory comprising present-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and other parts of southern India during the 5th and 7th centuries, carving land out from the Vakataka Empire. It played an important role in the history of the Deccan during the 5th and 7th centuries. The dynasty initially ruled from Indrapalanagara, and later shifted to Denduluru, and Amaravathi.
The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval Indian, thalassocratic empire that was established by the Chola dynasty that rose to prominence during the middle of the ninth century and united southern India under their rule.
Tailapa II, also known as Taila II and by his title Ahavamalla, was the founder of the Western Chalukya Empire in peninsular India. Tailapa claimed descent from the earlier imperial Chalukyas of Vatapi (Badami), and initially ruled as a Rashtrakuta vassal from the Tardavadi-1000 province in the present-day Vijayapura district of Karnataka. When the Rashtrakuta power declined following an invasion by the Paramara king Siyaka, Tailapa overthrew the Rashtrakuta emperor Karka II, and established a new dynasty.
Kubja Vishnuvardhana I "Vishama-Siddhi" whose Kannada name was Bittarasa was the brother of Chalukya Pulakeshin II. Vishnuvardhana I ruled the Vengi territories in eastern Andhra Pradesh as the viceroy under Pulakeshin II from around 615 AD. Eventually, Vishnuvardhana declared his independence and started the Eastern Chalukya dynasty in AD.
The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the modern Bidar District of Karnataka state, and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the 6th-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. The dynasty is called Western Chalukyas to differentiate from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a separate dynasty. Prior to the rise of these Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta empire of Manyakheta controlled most of Deccan and Central India for over two centuries. In 973, seeing confusion in the Rashtrakuta empire after a successful invasion of their capital by the ruler of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, Tailapa II, a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling from Bijapur region defeated his overlords and made Manyakheta his capital. The dynasty quickly rose to power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I who moved the capital to Kalyani.
Rajaraja Narendra was the Eastern Chalukya king of the Vengi kingdom in South India. Rajaraja Narendra established the city of Rajahmahendravaram. His period was famous for its social and cultural heritage. During Rajaraja Chola I's reign, Rajahmahendravaram was sacked by the Western Chalukya. The region witnessed wars between the Western Chalukya and other neighbouring dynasties, with political support from the Chola dynasty.
The recorded history of Andhra Pradesh, one of the 28 states of 21st-century India, begins in the Vedic period. It is mentioned in Sanskrit epics such as the Aitareya Brahmana. Its sixth-century BCE incarnation Assaka lay between the Godavari and Krishna Rivers, one of sixteen mahajanapadas. The Satavahanas succeeded them, built Amaravati, and reached a zenith under Gautamiputra Satakarni.
The political history of medieval Karnataka spans the 4th to the 16th centuries in Karnataka region of India. Previously foreign empires held sway over the region, and the nucleus of power was outside modern Karnataka. The medieval era can be broadly divided into several periods: The earliest native kingdoms and imperialism; the successful domination of the Gangetic plains in northern India and rivalry with the empires of Tamilakam over the Vengi region; and the domination of the southern Deccan and consolidation against Muslim invasion. The origins of the rise of the Karnataka region as an independent power date back to the fourth-century birth of the Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi, the earliest of the native rulers to conduct administration in the native language of Kannada in addition to the official Sanskrit. This is the historical starting point in studying the development of the region as an enduring geopolitical entity and of Kannada as an important regional language.
The Chalukya dynasty was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty, known as the "Badami Chalukyas", ruled from Vatapi from the middle of the 6th century. The Badami Chalukyas began to assert their independence at the decline of the Kadamba kingdom of Banavasi and rapidly rose to prominence during the reign of Pulakeshin II. After the death of Pulakeshin II, the Eastern Chalukyas became an independent kingdom in the eastern Deccan. They ruled from Vengi until about the 11th century. In the western Deccan, the rise of the Rashtrakutas in the middle of the 8th century eclipsed the Chalukyas of Badami before being revived by their descendants, the Western Chalukyas, in the late 10th century. These Western Chalukyas ruled from Kalyani until the end of the 12th century.
About 25,000 inscriptions found in Karnataka and nearby states belong to historic Kannada rulers, including the Kadambas, the Western Ganga Dynasty, the Rashtrakuta, the Chalukya, the Hoysala and the Vijayanagara Empire. Many inscriptions related to Jainism have been unearthed. The inscriptions found are generally on stone (Shilashasana) or copper plates (Tamarashasana). These Kannada inscriptions are found on historical hero stones, coins, temple walls, pillars, tablets and rock edicts. They have contributed towards Kannada literature and helped to classify the eras of Proto Kannada, Pre Old Kannada, Old Kannada, Middle Kannada and New Kannada. Inscriptions depict the culture, tradition and prosperity of their era. The literature of Ramayana and Mahabharata are transferred through the generations by these inscriptions. The Hazara Rama Temple and Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple are the best examples of temples associated with Kannada inscriptions.
Bidar is a historic place located in the north-eastern part of the South Indian state of Karnataka. Bidar enjoys a picturesque situation, having been situated and built on the brink of a plateau, and thus commanding lovely views of the lowlands (talghat) towards the north and the east. Its latitude is 17°55'N., its longitude 77°32' E., and the height above the sea-level 2,330 feet (710 m). The climate is bracing and the temperature in the hottest season does not usually rise above 105 °F (41 °C). The Bidar plateau is an irregular oblong, 22 miles (35 km) in length and 12 miles (19 km) in extreme breadth.
The Chalukyas of Vemulavada were an Indian dynasty that ruled in and around the present-day Telangana between 7th and 10th centuries. Their capital was located at Vemulavada, and they were vassals of the Rashtrakutas.
Baddega, who assumed the title Solada-gaṇḍa, was an Indian ruler from the Vemulavada Chalukya dynasty. He was a vassal of the Rashtrakuta king Krishna II, and participated in Krishna's unsuccessful invasions of the Vengi Chalukya kingdom.
