The Hoysala Kingdom was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur, but was later moved to Halebidu.
The Vijayanagara Empire was a late medieval Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, members of a pastoralist cowherd community that claimed Yadava (shepherd) lineage.
The history of southern India covers a span of over four thousand years during which the region saw the rise and fall of a number of dynasties and empires.
Vidyaranya, usually identified with Mādhavācārya, was the jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from ca. 1374–1380 until 1386 - according to tradition, after ordination at an old age, he took the name of Vidyaranya, and became the Jagadguru of this Matha at Sringeri.
BukkaRaya I was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. He was a son of Bhavana Sangama, the chieftain of a cowherd pastoralist community, Yadava people of Golla (kuruba)descent. The first Bahmani-Vijayanagar War occurred during the reign of Bukka Raya I, in which he was besieged, and sued for peace.
Deva Raya I was an Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. After Harihara II died, there was a dispute among his sons over succession, in which Deva Raya I eventually emerged victor. He was a very capable ruler noted for his military exploits and his support to irrigation works in his Empire. He modernized the Vijayanagara army by improving the cavalry, employed skilled archers of the Turkic clans and raised the fighting capacity of his bowmen and imported horses from Arabia and Persia.
Deva Raya II was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. The greatest of the Sangama dynasty rulers, he was an able administrator, warrior, and scholar. He authored well-known works in Kannada and Sanskrit. He was patron to some of the most noted Kannada poets of the medieval period, including Chamarasa and Kumara Vyasa, the Sanskrit poet Gunda Dimdima, and the noted Telugu language poet Srinatha, whom the king honored with the title Kavisarvabhauma. He supported development in secular literature as well as the noted South Indian mathematician Parameshvara, from the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics in his empire.
Vishnuvardhana was a king of the Hoysala Empire in what is today the state of Karnataka, India. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in c.1108. Originally a follower of Jainism and known as Bitti Deva, he came under the influence of the Hindu philosopher Ramanuja, converted to Hindu Vaishnavism and took the name "Vishnuvardhana". His queen Shanthala however remained a Jain. This was the transition period from Jainism to Hinduism. Vishnuvardhana took the first steps in creating an independent Hoysala Empire in South India through a series of battles against his overlord, the Western Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI, and the Chola Empire to the south. He recovered parts of Gangavadi province from the hegemony of the Cholas in the battle of Talakad, and parts of Nolambavdi. According to historian Coelho, the Hoysalas gained the dignity of a kingdom due to the efforts of Vishnuvardhana, whose rule was packed with "glorious" military campaigns. According to historians Sen, Chopra et al., and Sastri, Vishnuvardhana was a "great soldier" and an "ambitious monarch".
Harihara I, also called Hakka and Vira Harihara I, was the founder of the Vijayanagara Empire, in present-day Karnataka, India, which he ruled from 1336 to 1356 CE. He and his successors formed the Sangama dynasty, the first of four dynasties to rule the empire. He was the eldest son of Bhavana Sangama, the chieftain of a cowherd pastoralist community, who claimed gadaria or descent.
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 origin of the Vijayanagara Empire is a controversial topic in South Indian history, with regard to the linguistic affiliation of the founding dynasty, the Sangama family. The Vijayanagara Empire rose to power in southern India in the 14th century CE. Over the past decades historians have expressed differing opinions on whether the empire's founders, Harihara I and Bukka I, were of Kannada people or Telugu origin. There are various opinions about role of the Vidyaranya, the Hindu saint and guru of Harihara I and Bukka I in the founding of the Vijayanagara empire.
Veera Ballala II was the most notable monarch of the Hoysala Empire. His successes against the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Southern Kalachuris, the Pandyas of Madurai and the waning Western Chalukya Empire, and his domination over the diminishing Cholas of Tanjore took the Hoysalas to the peak of their power. The historian Chaurasia claims that by the end of the 12th century, Ballala II's conquests had made the Hoysalas the most powerful dynasty of Deccan. According to historian Derrett, Ballala II was "the most outstanding among Hoysala kings", and historian William Coelho in comparing Ballala II to King Vishnuvardhana writes, "he vied in glory with his grandfather".
Veera Ballala III was the last great king of the Hoysala Empire. During his rule, the northern and southern branches of the Hoysala empire were consolidated and administered from Halebidu. During his rule, he fought numerous wars with the Yadavas of Devagiri, the Pandyan Dynasty of Madurai and other minor dynasties of South India. But it was his conflict with the invading forces of Alauddin Khalji, and later those of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the Sultan of Delhi, that would alter the course of history of South India. For his courage and fortitude, the historians Suryanath Kamath, Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian have called him a "great ruler". With his death in c. 1343, South India saw the rise of a new Hindu empire, the Vijayanagara Empire. In the words of the historian Sen "the Hoysalas were the greatest among those who claim to be the makers of modern Mysore". Harihara I and Bukka Raya I, the brothers who founded the Vijayanagara Empire had served the king in a military capacity.
Ma'bar Sultanate, also known as the Madurai Sultanate, was a short lived kingdom based in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu, India. It was Urdu speaking. The sultanate was proclaimed in 1335 CE in Madurai led by Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, a native of Kaithal in North India, declared his independence from the Sultanate of Delhi.
The History of Karnataka goes back several millennia. Several great empires and dynasties have ruled over Karnataka and have contributed greatly to the history, culture and development of Karnataka as well as the entire Indian subcontinent. The Chindaka Nagas of central India Gangas, Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, Chalukyas of Vengi, Yadava Dynasty of Devagiri were all of Kannada origin who later took to encouraging local languages.
The political history of medieval Karnataka spans the 4th to the 16th centuries in Karnataka region of India. The medieval era spans several periods of time from 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 which was the earliest of the native rulers to conduct administration in the native language of Kannada in addition to the official Sanskrit.
The name Karnataka is derived from Karunadu, meaning 'lofty land' or 'high plateau', due to its location on the Deccan Plateau. The name can also mean 'land of black soil' in Kannada. There are other possible roots of the name. The recorded history of Karnataka goes back to the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. The capital of "Baali" and "Sugriva" referenced in the Ramayana is said to be Hampi. Karnataka is mentioned in the Mahabharata as "Karnata Desha"." Historically, the region was also called "Kuntala Rajya".
The Vijayanagara military supported the Vijayanagara Empire in particular with regard to the empire's long-lasting rivalry with the Bahmani Sultanate. Besides a large standing army, the Vijayanagara rulers also maintained a powerful navy. This helped make the Vijayanagara empire the most centralised polity ever to have emerged in South India.
The Battle of Kannanur took place in 1342–43, in what is now Kannanur, Tamil Nadu, India. This clash involved the Hoysala dynasty and the Madurai Sultanate. King Ballala III of the Hoysalas led an expedition to conquer the Coromandal coast but faced opposition from the Madurai Sultan, Ghiyas-ud-din Muhammad Damghani. Initially, the Hoysala forces triumphed in the first encounter. However, they were defeated by the Sultan's forces during the subsequent siege of the Kannanur fort, where they were defeated by the determined Madurai forces. The retreat of the Hoysalas led to the capture and execution of Ballala III and the seizure of the Hoysala treasury by the Madurai Sultan. This significant event marked a turning point, resulting in the decline of Hoysala power in the region, leaving a lasting impact on the area's history.
Bhavana Sangama or simply Sangama was the father of the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I, the founders of the Vijayanagara Empire in present-day Karnataka, India.
