Vijayanagar, (Sanskrit: “City of Victory”) great ruined city in southern India and also the name of the empire ruled first from that city and later from Penukonda (in present-day southwestern Andhra Pradesh state) between 1336 and about 1614. The site of the city, on the Tungabhadra River, is now partly occupied by the village of Hampi in eastern Karnataka state; the ruins at Hampi were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.

Vijayanagar: Tiruvengalanatha temple complex Tiruvengalanatha temple complex at Vijayanagar, near Hampi, Karnataka, India. Frederick M. Asher

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The city and its first dynasty were founded in 1336 by five sons of Sangama, of whom Harihara and Bukka became the city’s first kings. In time Vijayanagar became the greatest empire of southern India. By serving as a barrier against invasion by the Muslim sultanates of the north, it fostered the reconstruction of Hindu life and administration after the disorders and disunities of the 12th and 13th centuries. Contact with the Muslims (who were not personally disliked) stimulated new thought and creative productivity. Sanskrit was encouraged as a unifying force, and regional literatures thrived. Behind its frontiers the country flourished in unexampled peace and prosperity.

Vijayanagar: ruins Portion of the ruins at Vijayanagar, near Hampi, Karnataka, India. © Dinodia

The first dynasty, the Sangama, lasted until about 1485, when—at a time of pressure from the Bahmanī sultan and the raja of Orissa—Narasimha of the Saluva family usurped power. By 1503 the Saluva dynasty had been supplanted by the Tuluva dynasty. The outstanding Tuluva king was Krishna Deva Raya. During his reign (1509–29) the land between the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers (the Raichur doab) was acquired (1512), the Orissa Hindus were subdued by the capture of Udayagiri (1514) and other towns, and severe defeats were inflicted on the Bijapur sultan (1520). Krishna Deva’s successors, however, allowed their enemies to unite against them. In 1565 Rama Raya, the chief minister of Vijayanagar, led the empire into the fatal battle at Talikota, in which its army was routed by the combined forces of the Muslim states of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda and the city of Vijayanagar was destroyed. Tirumala, brother of Rama Raya, then seized control of the empire and founded the Aravidu dynasty, which established a new capital at Penukonda and kept the empire intact for a time. Internal dissensions and the intrigues of the sultans of Bijapur and Golconda, however, led to the final collapse of the empire about 1614.