Why did Hampi fall into ruin ?
Answers
Explanation:
But do you know why Hampi is called the City of Ruins? Read on to find out.
Hampi, located in Karnataka, consists of over 1,600 surviving remains of the last major Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara that includes "forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes, temples, shrines, pillared halls, mandapas, memorial structures, water structures and others.” There is also evidence of Ashokan epigraphy in the 3rd century BC while the initial historical record of settlement in Hampi goes back to the 1st century. The city also finds a mention in the Ramayana and the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampaa Devi Tirtha Kshetra.
Hampi was the centre of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century. It was a wealthy and prosperous city with several temples, farms and markets attracting traders from Portugal and Persia. The empire reached its zenith while other kingdoms down south were being defeated by the Delhi Sultanate.
However, the scenario took a turn in the early 14th century when Muhammad bin Tughlaq ascended the throne in Delhi. He was believed to be a draconian ruler with his reign giving rise to internal rebels, one of whom took refuge in a tiny kingdom called Anegundi near Hampi. Tughlaq’s army eventually showed up, defeated the kingdom and killed the rebel.
Tughlaq appointed a general to take care of the kingdom. However, the general returned to Delhi and left two people (believed to be brothers from one of the ruling families of the region) in-charge. They, slowly and rapidly, expanded their territories. People trusted them with keeping invaders from Delhi at bay and eventually joined hands with them. This unified kingdom came to be known as the mighty Vijayanagara empire that had the whole of South India under its control.
Soon after the Vijayanagara empire came into being, another one was also founded in its immediate north. Alauddin Hassan Bahman Shah, a commander in Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s army, founded the first Muslim kingdom in the Deccan called the Bahmani Sultanate following a revolt against Tughlaq. The kingdom, over a period of two centuries, split into 5 five Deccan Sultanates of Ahmednagar, Berar, Bijapur, Bidar and Golconda.
Back in the Vijayanagara empire, ruler Aliya Rama Raya got into conflicts with the Sultanates quite frequently in the 16th century due to his changing loyalties. The Sultanates, finally, formed an alliance and invaded Vijayanagara. And then began the iconic Battle of Talikota between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates in which the latter defeated and killed Aliya Rama Raya.
Raya would have won the war had two Muslim generals of the Vijayanagara army not switched sides suddenly. The Muslim officers shifted their loyalty to the sultanates at the last moment and captured a surprised Raya. They, then, beheaded him on the battlefield creating chaos and confusion within the Vijayanagara army, which then lost the battle completely.
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Answer:
the Vijayanagara Empire's defeat (1565 CE) at the hands of the combined forces of the Bahmani kingdoms, Hampi fell into ruin