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The Battle of Raichur was a battle fought between the
Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...
and the Sultanate of Bijapur in 1520: "In 1520, Battle of Raichur was fought between Krishna Raya of Vijayanagara and Sultan Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur." in the town of
Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
. It resulted in a decisive victory for Vijayanagara forces, and the Bijapur ruler was defeated and pushed across the river
Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...
.


Background

The fort of
Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
was built by
Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty ( IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. T ...
king
Rudra Rudra (; sa, रुद्र) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the Rigveda, Rudra is praised as the 'mightiest of the mighty'. Ru ...
in 1284, and passed on to the Vijayanagar Kingdom after the decline of
Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty ( IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. T ...
s. Ever since, the fort had been under dispute for nearly two centuries. The fort, along with other areas of the northern Deccan, was captured by
Muhammad Bin Tughluq Muhammad bin Tughluq (1290 – 20 March 1351) was the eighteenth Sultan of Delhi. He reigned from February 1325 until his death in 1351. The sultan was the eldest son of Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty. In 1321, the you ...
in 1323.The Bahmani Sultanate captured the fort in 1347.
Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya (or Saluva Narasimha, Saluva Narasimha I; 1431–1491 CE) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Saluva Dynasty. A patron of the Madhwa saint Sripadaraya, he authored the Sanskrit work ''Rama Bhyudayam''. H ...
attempted to recapture the city of
Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
from the Bahmanis, but failed.The immediate prelude to the Battle of Raichur began in the year 1520. In that year, Krishnadevaraya sent Seyed Maraikar, a Muslim in his service, to Goa with a large sum of money to buy horses. Maraikar betrayed Krishnadevaraya's cause and went to Adil Khan with the money and offered his services. Krishnadevaraya made a demand that Maraikar be returned along with the money which was duly refused. During the period of peace Krishnadevaraya made extensive preparations for a grand attack on
Raichur Doab The Raichur Doab is a Doab, in this case the triangular region of land in the southern Indian states of Telangana and Karnataka lying between the Krishna River and its tributary, the Tungabhadra River. The doab is named for the town of Raichur ...
. After the court decided that
Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
should be attacked, the king invited Military Commander Pemmasani Ramalinga Nayudu (Nayakas) in his service to take part in the battle.


Battle

The battle was fought in
Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
between the armies of Krishnadevaraya and the Sultanate of Bijapur. Main commander of the Vijayanagara army was Saluva Timmarusu also known as Saluva Timma. The Vijayanagara Empire had a force consisting of 32,600 cavalry and 551 elephants according to contemporary sources. The Bijapur Sultanate had a force consisting of 7,000 cavalry and 250 elephants. Modern and contemporary writers disagree on the number of infantry personnel that each side had. The contemporary sources say that Krishnadevaraya had an infantry force consisting of a bit over 700,000 soldiers. Moreover, the use of a Portuguese contingent commanded by Cristovão de Figueiredo with the use of fireweapons help to conquer the fortress, there is a high probability that matchlocks, which were obtained through contact with the Portuguese, were used as well by the army of the Vijayanagara Empire. Additionally the Portuguese with their arquebuses picked off the defenders from the walls, and thus enabled the besiegers to approach close to the lines of fortification and pull down the stones. Driven to desperation, and their governor being slain, the garrison surrendered. Portuguese accounts state that cannons were used extensively by the Bijapur Sultanate; the Vijayanagara Empire used them minimally, at best. The Vijayanagara Empire emerged victorious despite the
Bijapur Sultanate The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta's T ...
having superior firepower.


Aftermath

When the city of
Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
surrendered, Krishnadevaraya made a triumphal entry into it. Krishnadevaraya was brutal towards Bahmani Generals of Raichur. Many Bahmani generals lost their lands. The other Muslim kings sent envoys to the emperor on hearing of his success and received a haughty reply.{{citation needed, date=April 2019. The king conveyed that if Adil Shah would come to him, do obeisance, and kiss his foot, his lands would be restored to him. The submission never took place. Krishnadevaraya then led his army as far north as
Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural i ...
and occupied it.{{sfn, Eaton, 2013, p=292 He took prisoner three sons of a former king of the Bahmani dynasty, who had been held captive by the Adil Shah and he proclaimed the eldest as king of the
Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by t ...
. This attempt to subvert the rule of the five Sultans who had established themselves on the ruins of the single
Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by t ...
sovereignty only resulted in stiffening their hostility towards their common foe.{{citation , last1=Sewell , first1=Robert , last2=Nunes , first2=Fernão , last3=Paes , first3=Domingos , title=A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_kc3LKI_slEC&pg=PA157 , year=2000 , publisher=Asian Educational Services , isbn=978-81-206-0125-3 , pages=157– Krishnadevaraya began to make preparations for an attack on
Belgaum Belgaum (ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi ...
, which was in Adil Shah's possession. Soon after, he fell seriously ill to carry out his project and died at the age of forty-five years, in the year 1530. He was succeeded by Achyuta Deva Raya.


Political consequences

The battle of
Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...
had far-reaching effects. The
Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellar ...
victory weakened the power and prestige of the Adil Shah. He turned his attention to making alliances with the other Muslim neighbours. The victory also caused other Sultans in
Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by t ...
to form an alliance to defeat the
Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...
. The war also affected the fortunes of the Portuguese on the west coast. Goa rose and fell simultaneously with the rise and fall of the Vijayanagar dynasty because their entire trade depended on Hindu support.{{Cite book , last=Bhat , first=N. Shyam , chapter=Political Interaction between Portuguese Goa and Karnataka , title=Portuguese Studies Review, Vol. 16, No. 2 , publisher=Baywolf Press , year=2009 , page=27


References

{{Reflist


Bibliography

* {{citation , last=Eaton , first=Richard M. , chapter=‘Kiss My Foot,’ Said the King: Firearms, Diplomacy and the Battle for Raichur, 1520 , editor1=Richard M. Eaton , editor2=Munis D. Faruqui , editor3=David Gilmartin , editor4=Sunil Kumar , title=Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and World History: Essays in Honour of John F. Richards , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h0_xhdCScQkC&pg=PA275 , date=2013 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=978-1-107-03428-0 , pages=275–298 * {{citation , last=Roy , first=Kaushik , title=Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400-1750: Cavalry, Guns, Government and Ships , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSVnAwAAQBAJ , year=2014 , publisher=A&C Black , isbn=978-1-78093-813-4


Further reading

* {{citation , last=Wagoner , first=Phillip B. , title=Tidings of the king: a translation and ethnohistorical analysis of the Rāyavācakamu , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_A1uAAAAMAAJ , year=1993 , publisher=University of Hawaii Press , isbn=978-0-8248-1495-3 * Krishnaraja Vijayam - Kumara Dhurjati (in Telugu). * Sougandhika Prasavapaharanamu - Ratnakaram Gopala Kavi (in Telugu). * K. Iswara Dutt, Journal of Andhra Historical Research Society. Vol. 10, pp. 222–224. * K. A. Nilakanta Sastry, Further Sources of Vijayanagar History - 1946(https://archive.org/details/FurtherSourcesOfVijayanagaraHistory) {{coord missing, Karnataka {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Raichur Battles involving the Vijayanagara Empire Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent History of Karnataka History of Andhra Pradesh 1520 in India Conflicts in 1520 Raichur district