Rama Raya (died 23 January 1565 CE), known as "Aliya" (son-in-law in
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
) was a statesman of the
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, 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 an ...
, the son-in-law of Emperor
Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...
and the progenitor of the
Aravidu dynasty
The Aravidu Dynasty was the fourth and last Hindu dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire in South India. Its founder was Tirumala Deva Raya, whose brother Rama Raya had been the masterful regent of the last ruler of the previous dynasty. Rama Raya's deat ...
of
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 ...
, the fourth and last dynasty of the empire.
As regent, he was the de facto ruler of the empire from 1542 to 1565, although legally the emperor during this period was
Sadasiva Raya
Sadasiva Raya (1542–1570) was a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, a powerful Southern Indian empire based in the Deccan region in the 16th century India.
When the Vijayanagara ruler Achyuta Raya, who was the younger brother of Krishnadevar ...
, who was merely a puppet ruler.
Rama Raya was killed at the
Battle of Talikota
The Battle of Talikota (23 January 1565) was a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and an alliance of the Deccan sultanates. The battle resulted in the defeat of Aliya Rama Raya which led to the eventual collapse of the poli ...
, after which the Vijayanagara Empire got fragmented into several semi-independent principalities paying only nominal allegiance to the empire.
Early life and career
Rama Raya was born in a
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
family. His mother was Abbaladevi, and she was the daughter of a chieftain in
Nandyal
Nandyal is a city and District headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division.
Demographics
In the 2011 census of India, Nandya ...
a. The
Aravidu family of Rama Raya was native to South Andhra.
"Aliya" Rama Raya and his younger brother
Tirumala Deva Raya
Tirumala Deva Raya (reign 1565–1572 CE) was the first Crowned King of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Aravidu Dynasty. He was the younger brother of Aliya Rama Raya and son-in-law of Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 ...
were sons-in-law of the great
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, Bell ...
emperor
Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...
. The word "Aliya" means "son-in-law" in the
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
language. Along with another brother Venkatadri, the Aravidu brothers rose to prominence during the rule of Krishna Deva Raya.
Rama Raya was a successful army general, able administrator, and tactful diplomat who conducted many victorious campaigns during the rule of Krishnadevaraya. After the demise of his illustrious father-in-law, as a member of the family, Rama Raya, began to wield great influence over the affairs of the state. In particular, Rama Raya rose to power following a civil war with the help of
Pemmasani Erra Timmanayudu of the
Pemmasani Nayaks
Pemmasani Nayaks were a ruling clan in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. They came into prominence during Vijayanagara times as rulers of Gandikota over 300 years.Gandikota, by Tavva Obul Reddy, 2016, Telugu Samajam publishmentMuthevi Rav ...
.
Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...
was succeeded in 1529 by his younger brother
Achyuta Deva Raya
Achyuta Deva Raya (died 1542 CE) was a ruler of a Vijayanagara Empire of South India. He was the younger brother of Krishna Deva Raya, whom he succeeded in 1529.
During his reign, Fernao Nuniz a Portuguese traveller, chronicler and horse t ...
, upon whose demise in 1542, the throne devolved upon his nephew
Sadashiva Raya
Sadasiva Raya (1542–1570) was a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, a powerful Southern Indian empire based in the Deccan region in the 16th century India.
When the Vijayanagara ruler Achyuta Raya, who was the younger brother of Krishnadevar ...
, then a minor. Rama Raya appointed himself regent during the minority of
Sadashiva Raya
Sadasiva Raya (1542–1570) was a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, a powerful Southern Indian empire based in the Deccan region in the 16th century India.
When the Vijayanagara ruler Achyuta Raya, who was the younger brother of Krishnadevar ...
. After Sadashiva Raya came of age to rule, Rama Raya kept him a virtual prisoner.
During this time, he became the virtual ruler, having confined Sadashiva Raya. Rama Raya removed many loyal servants of the kingdom and replaced them with officers who were loyal to him. He also appointed two Muslim commanders, the Gilani brothers who were earlier in the service of the Sultan Adil Shah as commanders in his army, a mistake that would cost the empire the final
Battle of Talikota
The Battle of Talikota (23 January 1565) was a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and an alliance of the Deccan sultanates. The battle resulted in the defeat of Aliya Rama Raya which led to the eventual collapse of the poli ...
. Rama Raya lacked royal blood of his own and to legitimize his rule he claimed vicarious connection with two of the most powerful Empires of medieval India, the
Western Chalukya Empire
The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the Deccan Plateau, western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannada people, Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalya ...
and the
Chola empire
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BC ...
.
Sultanate affairs
During his rule, the Deccan Sultanates were constantly involved in internal fights and requested Rama Raya on more than one occasion to act as a mediator, enabling Rama Raya to push north of the Krishna river and expand his domains utilizing the disunity of the Deccan Sultans. Rama Raya had a lot of money at his disposal, which he generously spent, and often sought strategic alliances with Deccani sultans, who he had intentionally kept divided.
He also suppressed revolts of the chieftains of
Travancore
The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...
and
Chandragiri
Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headqua ...
. Some scholars have criticised Rama Raya for interfering in the affairs of the Sultans too much, but scholars like
Dr. P.B. Desai have ably defended his political affairs, indicating that Rama Raya did whatever he could to increase the prestige and importance of the Vijayanagar empire, ensuring no single Sultanate would rise above the others in power, hence preventing a difficult situation for Vijayanagar empire. In fact Rama Raya had interfered in Sultanate affairs only upon the insistence of one Sultan or the other, just the way the Sultans had acted as parleys between Rama Raya and Achyuta Raya in earlier years. When the Nizam of Ahmednagar and Qutbshah of Golconda sought Rama Raya's help against Bijapur, Rama Raya secured the Raichur doab for his benefactors. Later in 1549 when the Adilshah of Bijapur and Baridshah of Bidar declared war on Nizamshah of Ahmednagar, Ramaraya fought on behalf of the Ahamednagar ruler and secured the fort of Kalyana. In 1557 Ramaraya allied himself with Ali Adilshah of Bijapur and Baridshah of Bidar when the Sultan of Bijapur invaded Ahmednagar. The combined armies of the three kingdoms defeated the partnership between Nizamshah of Ahmednagar and the Qutbshah of Golconda.
The Vijayanagar ruler's constantly changing sides to improve his own position eventually prompted the Sultanates to form an alliance. Intermarriage between Sultanate families helped resolve internal differences between Muslim rulers. The Battle of Talikota resulted from this consolidation of Muslim power in the northern Deccan, who had felt insulted by Ramaraya and formed a 'general league of the faithful.'
Battle of Talikota
Aliya Rama Raya remained loyal to the legitimate dynasty until it was finally extinguished by war, with the notable exception of imprisoning the appointed ruler Sadashiva Raya and ruling in his stead. In 1565, it was Aliya Rama Raya, as the pre-eminent general of the
Vijayanagar
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 Maharas ...
army, who led the defense against the invading army of Deccan Sultans (i.e. Husain Nizam Shah, Ali Adil Shah and Ibrahim Qutb Shah) in the battle of
Talikota
Talikoti also Talikot is a taluq in Vijaypur district in the northern part of the Indian state of Karnataka, about 85 kilometres to the southeast of Vijayapura city. It lies on the river called Doni. It is famous for the Battle of Talikot ...
.
This battle, which had seemed an easy victory for the large Vijayanagar army, instead became a disaster as two Muslim commanders (Gilani brothers) of the Vijayanagara army betrayed and switched sides and turned their loyalty to the united Sultanates during critical point of battle. It led to the surprise capture and death by beheading
of Aliya Rama Raya who led the army, a blow from which it never recovered. Rama Raya was beheaded by
Hussain Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar. His severed head was on display at
Ahmednagar at the anniversary of the battle of Talikota and would be covered in oil and red pigment by the descendant of his executioner.
The city of
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, Bell ...
was thoroughly sacked by the invaders and the inhabitants were massacred. The royal family was largely exterminated.
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, Bell ...
, once a city of fabled splendour, the seat of a vast empire, became a desolate ruin,
now known by the name of a sacred inner suburb within it,
Hampi
Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India.
Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th&n ...
.
References
* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise History of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raya, Aliya Rama
1565 deaths
16th-century Indian monarchs
People of the Vijayanagara Empire
People from Bijapur district, Karnataka
History of Karnataka
Indian Hindus
Year of birth uncertain