Ancient City of Vijayanagara
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The Ancient City of Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....
was the urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
core of the imperial city and the surrounding principalities of the capital of the Vijayanagar empire during the 14th century to 16th century CE. Notes by foreign travellers such as Abdur Razzak
Abdur Razzaq (traveller)
Kamal-ud-Din Abd-ur-Razzaq ibn Ishaq Samarqandi, , was a Persian chronicler and Islamic scholar. He was the ambassador of Shah Rukh, the Timurid dynasty ruler of Persia to Calicut, India, from January 1442 to January 1445...
, the Persian
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
who visited Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....
in 1440, mention six fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s before the gates to the royal palace. The large area between the first and third fortifications contained agricultural fields, gardens and residences. The notes of Robert Sewell
Robert Sewell (historian)
Robert Sewell was a civil servant in colonial India. He is the author of the book A Forgotten Empire Vijayanagar: A Contribution to the History of India...
describe countless shops and bazaar
Bazaar
A bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
s (markets) filled with people from different nationalities between this fortification and the palace.
Excavations
Recent excavations have unearthed archaeological artifacts dating from the 3rd century BCE to early in the 2nd millennium, documenting evidence from over seven hundred important sites. These sites include ash moundMound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
s, ancient settlements, megalithic cemeteries, temples and rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
. These findings show that the Vijayanagar area was densely settled for a long period before the creation of the empire.
Land
Starting at its outermost fortificationFortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s, the principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
of Vijayanagar spans from Anegondi
Anegondi
Anegondi , which literally means elephant pit in Kannada, is a small village in Koppal district of Karnataka state, located on the north banks of the Tungabhadra River on the opposite bank of the Vittala Temple....
in the north to Hosapete in the south and covers a total area of 650 km². Vijayanagara's core, an area of 25 km², includes the Tungabhadra River
Tungabhadra River
The Tungabhadra River is a sacred river in southern India that flows through the state of Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh, where it serves as the chief tributary of the Krishna River...
flowing through rocky terrain with huge boulders piled in massive formations. In addition to this naturally daunting landscape, builders constructed fortifications surrounding the regal city in several layers. The rocky hillocks made excellent sentinel points for watch towers and granite boulders provided the raw material for temple construction. South of the river the rocky landscape disappears, replaced by flat cultivable land where large and small temples complexes were built. The largest human populations were located to the south of the irrigated lands that were watered by a system of clever ducts and anecut (dams) channelling water to the capital from the river. At its peak, Vijayanagara may have had up to a million residents.
Zoning
For the sake of simplicity archaeologists have divided the capital area into many zones. Of these, the major two zones are the Sacred Centre and the Royal Centre. The former, generally spread along the south bank, is characterized by the highest concentration of religious structures. The Royal Centre is notable for it’s the stately structures, both civil and military. The very seat of power of the empire was located at the core of this area.Islamic Quarter also sometimes called, as the Moorish Quarter is located between the northern slop of the Malyavanta hill towards and the Talarigatta Gate. According to the archaeologists, high-ranking Muslim officers of the king’s court and the military officers stayed in this area.
Legends
Two important legends associated with Hampi, the core area of Vijayanagar, had an important part in making it a pilgrim destination for several centuries prior to the Vijayanagara era. One legend describes a local Goddess, Pampa, who married Virupaksha (Lord Shiva) on the Hemakuta Hill and was thereafter considered to be an incarnation of ParvatiParvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
. From Pampa came the name Pampe or (in Kannada) Hampe.
The other legend draws on the Hindu epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
in which Lord Rama and his brother, Lakshmana, searched for Sita in the vicinity of the ancient capital of Kishkindha
Kishkindha
Kishkindha is mythical the monkey kingdom of the Vanara King Sugriva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Indian mythology of Ramayana times...
and met Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
on Rishyamuka Hill. Sugreeva, the monkey king in exile, and Rama made a covenant to mutually help each other find Sita and get rid of the evil King Vali. This agreement is celebrated by the presence of a temple in which are icons of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Sugreeva. Hanuman, the devout follower of Rama, is said to have been born on Anjenadri Hill near the Tungabhadra river facing Hampi. Hence his name is Anjaneya
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
. Archaeology traces the history of Hampi to neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
settlements while inscriptional evidence confirms that in more recent times the area came under the rule of the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and finally the tiny kingdom of Kampili.
The legendary association of this area with Lord Virupaksha (Harihara and Bukka Raya being of Shaiva faith) and Lord Rama (the personification of the perfect king) was not lost on the empire's founders. Its natural ruggedness and inaccessibility must have been additional reasons to choose this location for the capital of the new empire. During the empire's rule, Vijayanagara was known as one of the most beautiful cities in India. A copper plate inscription
Indian copper plate inscriptions
Indian copper plate inscriptions play an important role in the reconstruction of the history of India. Prior to their discovery, historians were forced to rely on ambiguous archaeological findings such as religious text of uncertain origin and interpretations of bits of surviving traditions,...
(Tamarashasana) of Marappa (one of the Sangama brothers) is dated 1346 and traces the Sangama genealogy, identifying the Sangama family deity (gotradhidaivam) as Lord Virupaksha of Hampi. Inscriptions attesting to the elevation of Lord Virupaksha to Rashtra devata (God of the Kingdom) have been found. By the time of Bukka I, the capital had already grown into a great capital and inscriptions call it great Nagari named Vijaya situated in Hemakuta.
Forts and roads
The capital was the political nerve centre of the empire as well as a center of commerce and pilgrimage. Envoys from other kingdoms, merchants, pilgrims, soldiers and ordinary people all travelled about in the great city on its extensive network of roads. Research has shown over 80 transportation related sites linked by several broad roads about 30 to 60 m wide that were the major transport routes into the city core. Smaller roads , less than 10 m wide, led to temples, settlements and irrigation fields. All major roadways could be monitored from watch towers, gates and rest houses.
Urban settlements
The greater metropolitan region of the city was inhabited by royalty, imperial officers, soldiers, agriculturists, craftsman, merchants, labourers among others. Literary sources from this era testify to the presence of large military encampments on the city's outskirts. Outside the metropolis, walled towns and villages were scattered about the countryside. Some settlements may have been populated by only a few thousand people while others were large enough to hold ten to fifteen thousand residents. Each settlement had multiple shrines and temples. Numerous Vijayanagar period relics have been lost due to the inhabitation of these settlements by modern day settlers.Agriculture and craft
While today the city's landscape appears to be barren, there is recorded evidence of extensive deforestation and numerous agricultural activities. This suggests that the landscape has changed dramatically. Virtually all available arable land was irrigated using a variety of innovative methods. A significant percentage of the population was involved in agriculture, making the city self sufficient for food. This enabled it to withstand long sieges, of which there were many during the empire's three century long existence. Numerous canals were dug to provide a perennial water supply to the narrow strip of fertile land bordering the Tungabhadra RiverTungabhadra River
The Tungabhadra River is a sacred river in southern India that flows through the state of Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh, where it serves as the chief tributary of the Krishna River...
. Many of these canals are still in use today though they usually have been modified to meet current requirements. Many of the tanks (bunds) created for water storage purposes like the Kamalapura tank are still in use. Excavation of the Intensive Survey Area has shown the presence of sixty water reservoir embankments. Numerous other agricultural features such as check dams, erosion control walls and wells have been recorded. The net result of these systems was a complex agricultural landscape characterized by a multitude of agricultural regimes appropriate to the complex topography, resources, needs and differing populations.
Sandur, which formed the southern boundary of the greater metropolitan region, is still known today for iron and haematite ores. Iron slag and other metallurgical debris have been documented at more than thirty sites. Of these, five sites have been dated to the Vijayanagar period and contain iron smelting workshops.
Sacred sites
Gopuram
A Gopuram or Gopura, is a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of any temple, especially in Southern India. This forms a prominent feature of Koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style. They are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial...
s, such as the Mallikarjuna temple in the town of Mallappanagudi located on the main road connecting modern Hosapete and Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....
and built in the period of Deva Raya I. There are many smaller temples and shrines. Even more numerous are the images of deities carved into boulder and slab surfaces as well as hero stones (virgal) which were also considered sacred. Sculpted icons of Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
, Bhairava
Bhairava
Bhairava , sometimes known as Bhairo or Bhairon or Bhairadya or Bheruji , Kaala Bhairavar or Vairavar , is the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation...
, Virabhadra
Virabhadra
According to Hindu mythology, Virabhadra or Veerabhadra was a super being created by the wrath of Rudra , when he stepped in to destroy the Yagna of Daksha, after his daughter Dakshayani - consort of Shiva, self-immolated in yagna fire...
and goddesses in various forms are also frequently seen as well as images from folk traditions such as naga stones (snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
stones) linked with woman's ritual activities. Tombs associated with Muslim inhabitants of the city are also present.