Vijayanagara | |
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City | |
Coordinates: 15°20′00″N 76°27′36″E / 15.33333°N 76.46000°E | |
Country | India |
State | Karnataka |
District | Vijayanagara |
Founded by | Harihara I and Bukka |
Named for | City of Victory |
UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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Location | Hampi (City), Vijayanagara district, Karnataka, India[1] |
Includes | Virupaksha Temple |
Criteria | Cultural: i, iii, iv |
Reference | 241 |
Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
Endangered | 1999–2006 |
Area | 4,187.24 ha |
Buffer zone | 19,453.62 ha |
Website | Archaeological Survey of India – Hampi |
Coordinates | 15°20′04″N 76°27′44″E / 15.33444°N 76.46222°E |
Vijayanagara (transl. 'City of Victory') was a city at the modern location of Hampi, in the Indian state of Karnataka.[2] Vijayanagara was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire.[2] Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included sites in the Vijayanagara district, the Ballari district, and others around these districts. A part of Vijayanagara ruins known as the Group of Monuments at Hampi has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3]
Hampi, an ancient human settlement mentioned in Hindu texts, houses pre-Vijayanagara temples and monuments.[4] In the early 14th century, the dominant Kakatiyas, Seuna Yadavas, Hoysalas, and the short-lived Kampili kingdom, who inhabited the Deccan region, were invaded and plundered by armies of Khalji and later Tughlaq dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate.[5]
Vijayanagara was founded from these ruins by the Sangama brothers, who were working as soldiers in the Kampili Kingdom under Kampalidevaraya.[2][5][6] The city grew rapidly. The Vijayanagara-centred empire functioned as a barrier to the Muslim sultanates in the north, leading to the reconstruction of Hindu life and scholarship, multi-religious activity, rapid infrastructure improvements, and economic activity.[2][7][8] Along with Hinduism, Vijayanagara accepted communities of other faiths such as Jainism and Islam, leading to multi-religious monuments and mutual influences.[9][10] Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers state Vijayanagara to be a prosperous and wealthy city.
By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world's second largest medieval era city (after Beijing) and probably India's richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal.[11][12]
Wars between nearby Muslim Sultanates and Hindu Vijayanagara continued, however, through the 16th century. In 1565, the Vijayanagara leader Aliya Rama Raya was captured and killed,[13][14] and the city fell to a coalition of Muslim Sultanates of the Deccan Plateau. The conquered capital city of Vijayanagara was looted and destroyed for 6 months, after which it remained in ruins.[3][15][16]