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Summary
Medieval India Class 04

A BRIEF DISCUSSION ON TRAVELLERS HANDOUT- 1:07 PM

REGIONAL KINGDOM IN INDIA (10th TO 14th CENTURY)- 1:21 PM

  • Kakatiya kingdom (1123-1323)-
  • They ruled modern-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with the capital at Warangal, earlier rulers served as feudatory to Rashtrakutas and Western Chalukyas.
  • They assumed sovereignty under Pratap Rudra-I who made Wrangal his capital.
  • Kakatiyas were Telugu-speaking people and became great veteran of Telugu literature.
  • One of the greatest rulers was Ganapati Dev (1199-1262 A.D), after his death his daughter Rudrama Devi is one of few queens in Indian history.
  • Marco Polo visited the kingdom and praised her administrative skills, and her son Rudra Pratap become the next ruler. However, the kingdom suffered a lot because of the invasion by Malik Kafoor.
  • Kakatiya rulers were great patrons of Saivism for example - Ramappa temple which has recently been declared a UNESCO site was constructed under the patronage of ruler Rudra Dev and his commander Rechala Rudra.
  • Kohinoor diamond belongs to Kakatiya rulers.
  • The kingdom was prosperous both because of agriculture and trade.
  • Therie premium poirt was Motupalli port.
  • Hoysala of Dwar Samudra-
  • Vinayadita became sovereign rulers by carving out territory in the Mysore region in 1006 AD.
  • The first distinguished ruler was Vishnu Vardhan who shifted his capital to Dwar Samudra present day Halebid.
  • The most powerful rulers here are Veer Bhallal-I, Vir Bhallal-II, and Narsimhan.
  • During the reign of Bhallal -III the kingdom was attacked by Malik Kafur.
  • Hoysala paved the way for the rise of Mysore into a big kingdom.
  • They were great patrons of literature and architecture.
  • They patronage both sanskrit and Kannada literature.
  • Yadavas (Sevuna) of Devagiri-
  • They ruled from Devagiri.
  • The earliest ruler mentioned is Dridhprahara who was a feudatory of Rashtrakutas.
  • They assumed sovereignty under Bhallana-V in the 12th century.
  • Other notable rulers are Jaitrapala, and Singhana, the last great ruler of the dynasty was Ram Chandra Dev.
  • He was defeated by Allaudin Khilji and became a vassal state of the Delhi Sultanate.
  • His daughter Jhatyapali was married to Allaudin Khilji.
  • After the death of Ramchandra Dev his son Shankar Dev rebelled against Delhi but was defeated and killed and Devagiri was annexed by Delhi Sultanate.

EASTERN GANGA DYNASTY (1038-1434)- 1:56 PM

  • The rulers of the dynasty ruled the modern-day Indian state of Odisha as well as parts of Andhra, Chhattisgarh, and Bengal.
  • Their primary capital was Kalinga Nagar and their secondary capital was Dantapuram.
  • The dynasty is most remembered as builders of world-renowned temples for example- Anant Varman's (1076-1100 AD) patronage construction of Jagannath Puri Temple.
  • Narsimha Dev -I patronage the construction of the Konark temple.
  • The dynasty declined because of the invasion of Feroz Shah Tughlaq and was replaced by the Gajpati dynasty (15th to 16th century).
  • The Gajpati dynasty was established by Kapilendra Dev in 1435 AD, the capital was Cuttak.
  • Some of the notable rulers of the dynasty were Purushattam Dev, Pratap Rudra Dev. 

VIJAY NAGAR EMPIRE - 2:04 PM

  • The decline of Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, and Pandyas Two brothers Harihar and Bukka Raya set up a small principality on the banks of Tunghbhadra River with a capital called Vijaynagar (Modern day Hampi).
  • They were originally feudatories of Kakatiyas rulers but very soon they expanded their territory and the entire south India came under one banner under the Vijaynagar empire.
  • It was ruled by four different dynasties for a period of more than 300 years.
  • Sangam Dynasty-
  • Harihar Raya became the first ruler he adopted Varaha (boar) as his emblem.
  • His brother Bukka Raya became the 2nd ruler who further expanded the territory.
  • His son Kumar Kampana led an attack on Madurai Sultanate and emerged victorious.
  • This story is the central plot of the poem Madhur Vijayam written by Ganga Devi.
  • Deva Raya-I is considered one of the great rulers known for his military exploits as well as irrigation work for example - he commission a 24 km irrigation channel from the Tungbhadra River to the capital.
  • The greatest ruler of the dynasty was Deva raya-II (1424-1446) who is known for his military victory against both Bahannis and Gajapathi.
  • He enlisted many Muslim cavalrymen, gave them jagirs, and was inducted into administration.
  • Between 1460-65 the Gajapati army attacked Vijaya Nagar and conducted a series of victorious campaigns.
  • This was mainly because of incompetent rulers hence military commander Saluva Narasimha rebelled against the last king Praudha Raya of the Sangam dynasty and declared himself to be a ruler.

SALUVA DYNASTY- 2:52 PM

  • The dynasty was founded by Saluva Narasimha who was able to recover the coastal regions of Andhra from Gajapati.
  • His dynasty only ruled for two decades, Saluva Narasimha's minor sons were killed and were kept under the care of another military commander Narsa Nayaka.
  • Tuluva dynasty (1505-1542/70 AD)-
  • The first ruler of the Tuluva dynasty was Vir Narasimha Raya who faced a lot of internal rebellion as well as threats from Bahamanis and Gajapati.
  • He was succeeded by his step-brother Shri Krishna Dev Raya who is considered the greatest ruler of the Vijay Nagar empire.
  • Shri Krishna Devraya was a great warrior, great statesman, and efficient administrator as well as patron of art and culture.
  • By 1523 AD Shri Krishna Devraya had captured Warangal and parts of Odisha.
  • He was also able to repulse Bahamani and in fact, in the battle of Raichur in 1520 AD, his army entered as far as Gulbarga.
  • Shri Krishna Devraya invested in tanks and canals for irrigation, oversees trade, he maintained friendly relations with Portuguese and Arab traders.
  • He himself was a great scholar for example - he authored Amuktmalyada which discusses the political ideas and politics of the Vijaynagar empire even though the central theme is marriage between Lord Rangnayaka (Vishnu) and Goda Devi (Andal). 
  • His court was adorned with 8 great poets known as Ashtadiggajja -
  • 1. Allassani Peddana author of mani charitam 
  • 2. Nandi Thimmana 
  • 3. Mallana
  • 4. Dhurjati
  • 5. Pingali surana
  • 6. Tenali Ramakrishna
  • 7. Ramanuja Bhushan 
  • 8. Ram Bhadra kavi
  • After the death of Shri Krishna Devraya, the power went into the hands of Ramaraya who was the son of Shri Krishna Devraya.
  • Ramaraya became the defacto ruler, he was able to play Deccan sultans against each other however the battle of Talikotta in 1565, a combined army of Deccan sultans defeated the army of Vijay Nagar.
  • Ramaraya was killed and the city of Vijay Nagar was thoroughly sacked.
  • Tirumala, brother of Ramaraya after fleeing from the city declared himself to be the king in 1570 establishing the Aravidu dynasty which became the last dynasty.
  • The dynasty ruled till mid 17th century but the glory of the Vijay Nagar empire ended after the battle of Talikotta.

ADMINISTRATION OF VIJAYNAGAR EMPIRE- 3:23 PM

  • The empire was divided into different administrative units Mandalams, Nadus, Sthala, and Gramas.
  • The governor of Mandalam was called Mandaleshwar who enjoyed a lot of autonomy in administration.
  • The important source of revenue for the State was land revenue (1/6th of the produce), customs duties collected at ports, taxes on various professions, and tributes from feudal chiefs.
  • Harsh punishments such as mutilation or throwing elephants were followed.
  • The top-grade officers of the army were known as Nayak or Polygar, they were granted land in lieu of their services.
  • This land was called Amaram land and because of this, the system is called the Amar Nayak system.
  • Soldiers were paid in cash, kings invested in irrigation, and they were patrons of Shaivaism and Vaishnavism but also patronage Jains and Muslims.
  • Vijay Nagar rulers contributed to temple architecture with a fusion of both Chalukya and Chola art.
  • Early rulers were patrons of Kannada rulers, however, Shri Krishna Devraya was a patron of Telugu literature.
  • Sanskrit and Tamil also flourished.

BAHAMANI KINGDOM- 3:49 PM

  • It was founded by Allauddin Hasan in 1347 AD, he was an Afghan who was also called Hasan Gangu as he had risen in the service of a Brahmin Pandit Ganga dhar Shashtri.
  • After becoming king he took the title of Allauddin Hasan Bahman Shah.
  • Some important rulers are - Mohd. -I and Feroz Shah Bahmani.
  • Feroz Shah Bahmani inducted Hindus into administration.
  • Mahmud Gawan-
  • He was the prime minister who raise in service of Mahmud Shah.
  • He called a Persian chemist in India to teach the preparation of gun power.
  • He controlled the military power of the governor as well as corruption in the administration, at this time there was an internal conflict going on in the kingdom among two fractions of nobles Deccanis (local origin) and Afaqis (foreign origin).
  • Mahmud Gawan himself was an Afaqis and in a conspiracy against him, he was arrested and given capital punishment on charges of espionage.
  • After his death many of the nobles deserted the Bahamani kingdom which led to the disintegration of the kingdom by 1520 it was divided into  five smaller kingdoms-
  • 1. Golconda (Kitub Shahi dynasty)
  • 2. Bijapur (Adil Shahi dynasty)
  • 3. Ahmednagar (Nizam Shahi dynasty)
  • 4. Bidar (Amin Ali shah)
  • 5. Berar (Imad Shah)

The topic for next class- Bahamani Kingdom, Mughals