Vijayanagara Empire
Medieval South Indian
The Vijayanagara Empire was a Hindu kingdom in southern India from the 14th to 17th centuries, founded after the Delhi Sultanate's southward expansion.
At its height, it controlled most of peninsular India and was one of the wealthiest states of its time.
Its capital, also called Vijayanagara, now lies in ruins at Hampi.
The empire is remembered for its architecture, patronage of the arts, and resistance to Muslim sultanates to the north.
Sequential historical accounts
- inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- vassalsFeudal subordinates owing service
founding · fall · capital · siege · sack · decline · sovereignty
Huge solitary standing stone
- graniteIgneous rock, quartz-rich
- pillarUpright architectural support
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
- carvingShaping by cutting away
bas-relief · temple complex · colonnades · pavilion · fortifications · ornamentation · corbel · ruins
Organized land-based military
- cavalryMounted military force
- elephantsTusked, trunk-bearing mammals
- fortificationsDefensive barriers against attack
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
campaigns · expansion · territory · garrisons · commanders · battles · archers · infantry
Cultural arm of UN
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
excavation · monuments · restoration · tourism · epigraphy · scholarship · cultural influence · golden age
South Indian Dravidian language
- TeluguDravidian language of southeastern India
- TamilSouth Indian language
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
- literatureBody of written works
poetry · patronage · festival · dance · music · sculpture · bronze · court
chronicles
Sequential historical accounts
- inscriptionsWords carved into surfaces
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
vassals · founding · fall · capital · siege · sack · decline · sovereignty
monolith
Huge solitary standing stone
- graniteIgneous rock, quartz-rich
- pillarUpright architectural support
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
carving · bas-relief · temple complex · colonnades · pavilion · fortifications · ornamentation · corbel · ruins
army
Organized land-based military
- cavalryMounted military force
- elephantsTusked, trunk-bearing mammals
- fortificationsDefensive barriers against attack
warfare · campaigns · expansion · territory · garrisons · commanders · battles · archers · infantry · mercenaries
UNESCO
Cultural arm of UN
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
archaeology · excavation · monuments · restoration · tourism · epigraphy · scholarship · cultural influence · golden age · glory
Kannada
South Indian Dravidian language
- TeluguDravidian language of southeastern India
- TamilSouth Indian language
- SanskritAncient Indo-Aryan language
literature · poetry · patronage · festival · dance · music · sculpture · bronze · court · artisans
temple
Sacred worship structure
puja · ritual · pilgrimage · sacred · Jainism · priests · festivals · worship · shrine · consecration
succession
Following in order
- coronationCeremony installing a sovereign
- regentInterim throne holder
- lineageDescent from progenitors
throne · emperor · sovereign · royal · monarchs · imperial · reign · dynasty
- empiresemperor, empress, imperial, Imperial China, Imperial Russia
- Former StatesPrussia, Czechoslovakia, Austria-Hungary, Soviet Union, East Germany
- Indian historyancient India, Indian independence, Akbar, British Raj, Mahatma Gandhi
- Indian DynastiesMughal, Lodi
- Medieval IndiaAkbar, Shah Jahan, Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Rajputs
- DeccanDeccan Traps, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Maharashtra