The Kingdoms of the Deccan

Introduction

Image 1 : Imperial Expansion of the Chalukyas of Vatapi (ByBrownhead, Imperial expansion of Chalukyas of Vatapi, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Several kingdoms started to develop in different parts of the Indian subcontinent when the power of the Sultanate waned. Most of the states in this region became independent under the provinces of the Sultanate.

Many small or big rulers started to rule their states freely in the Gujarat or Malwa regions. This region witnessed the upliftment of provinces of regions during the medieval period in the realm of the Chalukyas as well as the Rashtrakutas.

The kingdoms of the Deccan are listed below.

Image 2: The Kingdoms of the Deccan

Kingdom of Chalukya

The state of Chalukyas was classified into three periods as period their rolling time early, later and eastern. The earlier part of this state started in the 6th century A.D and lasted up to the 8th Century A.D. This time the state is located in the surrounding provinces of Karnataka and the most powerful ruler of this stage was Pulakesin II.

He was the founder of this dynasty and set up this state after defeating Gangas, Malavas as well as Gujarat. He fought a constant battle against Pallavas and won the battle against Mahendravarma I, the ruler of the Pallava state.

Other important rulers of this stage were Vijayaditya, Vikramaditya-I and Vikramaditya-II. The last ruler of this state was Kirtivarman II. The later part of this state started in the 10th century A.D and lasted up to the 12th Century A.D. The notable rulers of this state were Someshwara-II and Vikramaditya-VI. The last ruler of this state was Someswara IV.

The Eastern stage of Chalukyas started before the later stage the descendants of this state were Kulothunga Chola and he became the ruler of the Chola state.

Kingdom of Rashtrakuta

It is one of the most important kingdoms of the Deccan region. The rulers of this kingdom are listed below.

• Vinayaditya − He was the pioneer who carved out this trivial territory.

• Vishnuvardhana − He was the first former ruler of this kingdom and he won the battle against Billama V, the ruler of the Yadava kingdom.

• Narasimhan-II − He won the battle against Maravarman Sundara Pandya and restored the throne of Chola. He erected the pillar of victory at Rameswaram.

• Ballala-III − He was the last powerful ruler of this kingdom and Malik Kafur defeated him in 1310 A.D. He was the victim of Madurai sultans.

• Ballala-IV − He made a great struggle against Muslims and after his death; the kingdom of Hoysala was completely ruined.

Kingdom of Yadavas

The rulers of Yadavas claimed them as the descent of the Lord Krishna, the epic hero. The rulers of this kingdom are listed below.

• Bhillama-V − He took the advantage of the reducing power of the late rulers of Chalukya and he won the battle against Someswara-IV. He had a conflict with Balalla-II, the ruler of the Hoysala state.

• Jaitrapala − He succeeded after his father and he won the battle against Kalachuris, Gujarat as well as Kakatiyas.

• Singhana − He was considered the most distinguished king of this state and he defeated Mahadeva, the ruler of Kakatiya. He expanded his state up to the Krishna River. After him, Krishna captured the throne of this state.

• Mahadeva − He conquered the rulers of the North Konkan regions that ruined the Silhara kingdom.

• Ramachandra Deva − He was considered the last powerful ruler of this kingdom and he was defeated by Ala-ud-din-Khilji.

• Sankara Deva − He ruled this kingdom for a very short period and Malik Kafur conquered him in the year 1312 A.D. After him, the dynasty had an end.

Kingdom of Vijayanagara

The empire of Vijayanagara was known as Karnata founded with the collaboration of Harihara and Bukka, the rulers of the Sangama kingdom. It was located by the river Tungabhadra. The kingdom had a constant war with Bahmani rulers over Tungabhadra doab, Raichur doab as well as Marathwada. After the Battle of Talaikotta, this empire had an end in 1565. The last powerful ruler of this kingdom was Sri Ranga III.

Kingdom of Bahmani

The kingdom of Bahmani was set up as Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah and it lasted for more than 150 years. After defeating Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the sultan of the Delhi Sultanate this kingdom was founded.

Ahsanabad, now popular as Gulbarga, was the capital of this state up to 1425. After that, it was transferred to Muhammadabad or Bidar. This golden age of this kingdom was under the rule of Mahmud Gawan, the prime minister of the state.

The boundary was expanded up to Goa and several administrative reformations were seen during this kingdom. After the death of Mahmud Gawan, the kingdom was ruined. The kingdoms of the Deccan region were generally weaker than the northern kingdoms and they were smaller compared to Northern states.

Conclusion

The kingdoms of Deccan were also known as Dakshinapatha provinces and these provinces were located behind the Vindhya as well as Satpura mountains and stretched up to the bank of river Tapti. The dense forests separated this region from the northern region of India. This province was safe and secure from outsiders because of their location. The rulers of the Delhi Sultanates like Tughluqs started to increase their power in northern India at the same time.

FAQs

Q1.What were the contributions of Chalukyas?

Ans.They followed the rituals and beliefs of Hindus and were great patrons of different art forms like architecture, and paintings. The literature of Telegu was improved during this reign.

Q2.What were the contributions of Hoysalas?

Ans.They paved the way for rising Mysore an independent state. The rulers of this state developed the literature of Kannada.

Q3.What were the contributions of Yadavas?

Ans.The fort of Devgiri was built during this reign. The rulers of this kingdom set up Juma Masjid along with Chand Minar. The rulers of the Sultans of Delhi attacked this state to have an end to this kingdom.