Vijayanagara Empire: Rise and Fall

Foreign Travellers

• Duarte Barbosa (1500-1516 A.D.) - Portuguese traveller who gave a valuable narrative of the government and the people of the Vijayanagar empire.
• Domingos Paes (1520-1522 A.D) - Portuguese traveller who visited the court of Krishna Deva Raya.
• Fernao Nuniz (1534-1537 A.D) - Portuguese merchant who wrote the history of the empire from its earliest days to the closing years of Acchyutdeva Raya's reign.
• Ibn Battuta (1333-1347 A.D.) - Moroccan traveller who visited India during the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq and came to Vijayanagar during the reign of Harihar I.
• Nicolo de Conti (1420-1421 A.D.) - Venetian traveller who gave a comprehensive account of the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar.
• Abdur Razzaq (1443-1444 A.D.) - Persian traveller who stayed at the court of the Zamorin at Calicut.

Local Vernacular Literature

• Amuktamalyada of Krishna Deva Raya - gives details of political ideas and the polity of Vijayanagar empire.
• Allasani Peddana's Manucharitam - gives account of social condition especially caste system of Vijayanagar empire.
• Maduravijayam of Gangadevi - gives account of Kampana's conquest of Madurai during the reign of Bukka I.
• Gangadasa Pralappa Vilasam of Gangadhara - gives account of the siege of the Vijayanagar city by the Bahamanis and the Gajapatis of Orissa after the death of Deva Raya II.
• Saluvabhyudayam of Rajanattha Dindima - gives account of historical eulogy of Saluva dynasty.

Archaeological Sources

• Baggapelsi copper plate - gives account of Harihara I achievements.
• Bitraghunta grant of Sangama II - gives genealogy of 5 Sangama brothers who laid the foundation of Vijayanagar empire.
• Channarayapateena of Harihara II - gives details of Bukka I conquests.
• Srirangam copper plate - gives details of achievements of Deva Raya II.
• Devulapalli copper plate - gives genealogy of Saluva dynasty.

Vijayanagara Empire

• Established in 1336 by Harihara-I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty.
• Four dynasties - Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva, and Aravidu - ruled Vijayanagar from A.D. 1336 to 1672.
• Reached its climax in the end of 14th century.
• Lasted until 1646, although its power declined after a major military defeat in 1565 by the combined armies of the Deccan sultanates.
• The empire is named after its capital city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka.