The Obituary
Vijayanagara rose in 1336 as a Hindu power in the Deccan, a bulwark against the expansion of the northern sultanates. For two centuries it flourished, controlling much of southern India and growing immensely rich on trade in cotton, spices, and gems. Its capital, Hampi, drew astonished accounts from foreign travelers who compared it to the greatest cities they knew. The reckoning came in 1565 at Talikota, where a coalition of Deccan Sultanates destroyed the empire’s army. The victors looted and burned Hampi for months. Remnant rulers held on until 1646, but the empire never recovered.
Worth remembering
- Its capital Hampi was among the largest cities in the world around 1500, with an estimated half-million inhabitants.
- Portuguese and Persian visitors described markets piled with diamonds and a city of irrigation canals and grand temples.
Sources
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.