The Kingdom of the Deccan
- The southern part of India is called the Deccan or the Dakshinapatha
- The Deccan was separated from Northern India by the Vindhya and Satpura mountains, the Narmada and Tapti and the dense forests
- The Deccan was separated from Northern India by the Vindhya and Satpura mountains, the Narmada and Tapti and the dense forests
- The medieval period witnessed the rise of the Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan
- This period also saw the extension of the Delhi Sultanate namely the Khiljis and the Tughluqs into South India.
The Chalukyas (6th -12th century A.D.)
- The Early Western Chalukyas -6th-8th century A.D.
- The Later Western Chalukyas 10th-12th century A.D.
- The Eastern Chalukyas-7th-12th century.A.D
Early Western Chalukyas (6th-8thcentury A.D.)
- The Chalukyas rose to power in Karnataka in the 6th century A.D
- Their capital was Vatapi, (modern Badami) in the Bijapur district
- Had a humble beginning under Jayasimha and Ramaraya. Pulakesin-I (543-566.A.D)
Real founder
- Pulakesin II (610-642 A.D.)
- Greatest ruler of this dynasty
- He defeated Gangas, Malavas and Gurjaras.
- He successfully opposed Harsha’s attack in the north and defeated him in 637 A.D.
- In the south he was constantly struggling with the Pallavas.
- Pulakesin II defeated the Pallava King Mahendravarma I after which he crossed the Cauvery
- Made friendly alliances with the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas
- Made friendly alliances with the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas
- Pulakesin II lost his life during the war.
- Vikramaditya-I, Vijayaditya and Vikramaditya-ll were the other important rulers of this dynasty
- The last of the Chalukya Kings of Badami.
Later Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (10th -12th century A.D)
- The founder of this dynasty brought the Rashtrakuta rule to an end.
The important rulers
- Someshwara-ll
- Vikramaditya-VI
- Vikramaditya-VI
- Someswara IV was the last ruler
Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (7th -12th century A.D)
- Vishnu Vardhana, a brother of Pulakesin-ll, was the founder of the Eastern Chalukya Empire of Vengi.
- One of their descendants namely Kulothunga Chola (1071-1122 A.D.)
- He was enthroned as a Chola ruler.
Contributions of the Chalukyas
- The Chalukya kings were the followers of Hinduism.
- Ravikirti, the court poet of Pulakesin-ll who composed the Aihole Inscription was a Jain
- Great patrons of architecture
- Built around 70 Vishnu temples in Aihole.
- Hence Aihole has been called the ‘Cradle of Indian Temple architecture
- Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal
- Telugu literature developed during this period.
The Virupaksha temple:
- This temple was built by the Lokamahadevi the queen of Vikramaditya 11. In front of the Hall of the Priests or Antarala, there is a pillared Mandapam or a meeting place for the people.
- The Virupaksha temple is built on the model of the Kailasanatha temple at Kancheepuram.
The Rashtrakutas (8th -10th century A.D.)
- The period of the Rashtrakuta ascendancy (753-975A.D.) constitutes perhaps the most brilliant chapter in the history of the Deccan.
- The Rashtrakutas were the descendants of the Rathors of the North.
- Kannada was the mother tongue of the Rashtrakutas
Rashtrakutas (background)
- Means designated officers-in-charge of territorial divisions called Rashtra
- The members of the family were district officers under the early Chalukyas of Badami.
Dantidurga
- He occupied Ellora in 742 AD and became a feudatory of Kirtivarman of Badami
- He captured Maharastra, Gujarat and most of the districts of central and northern Madhya Pradesh.
- Rashtrakuta territory extended around Nasik in the Northern Deccan with Malkhed as its capital
- Dantidurga died in 756 A.D. and was succeeded by his uncle Krishna-I (756-775 A.D.).
Govinda-ll
- Govinda-ll (775- 780 A.D.), the son of Krishna I invaded the kingdom of Vengi and entered into alliances with the rulers of Gangavadi, Kanchi, Vengi and Malwa
Dhurva
- Dhurva (780-792 A.D.) who succeeded Govinda-ll, was an able ruler
Govinda-lll
- Govinda-lll (792 -81 4 A.D.) was succeeded by his fourteen-year-old son Amoghavarsha-I (814-880 A.D).
Krishna lll
- Krishna lll (936-968 A.D.) was the next famous ruler. He defeated the Cholas at Takkolam and captured Tanjore.
- He went as far as Rameshwaram
Karka-ll
- Karka-ll (972-973.A.D.), the last ruler of the Rashtrakutas was defeated by Tailapa-ll, the Chalukya ruler of Kalyani.
Krishna-I
- Kailasanatha temple at Ellora.
- The Elephanta caves near Mumbai were completed by the Rashtrakutas
Amoghavarsha
- The great patron of literature.
- He wrote Marga in the Kannada language
Jinasena (teacher of Amoghavarsha)
- Wrote Parsavaudaya, a biography of Parsava
The Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra (11th -14th Century A.D.)
Vinayaditya
- Vinayaditya (1006 -1022 A.D.) carved out a petty principality of Mysore and ruled over it with Sosavir as his capital.
- Vishnuvardhana was the first distinguished ruler of Vinayaditya’s family. He shifted his capital to Dwarasamudra.
- He captured Gangavadi from Kulothunga Chola.
- Gangavadi served as a buffer state between the Chalukyas and the Chola Empire.
Vira Ballala – ll
- Vira Ballala – ll (1173-1220 A.D.)the next important ruler, he defeated Billama V of Yadava Dynasty.
- He arrested the independence of the Hoysalas.
Narasimhan-ll
- Narasimhan-ll (1220-1235 A.D.) lost the territory between Krishna and Tungabhadra to Singhana, a Yadava ruler.
- He defeated Maravarman Sundara Pandya and restored Rajaraja-lll to the Chola throne and he erected the pillar of victory at Rameshwaram.
Ballala III
- Ballala III (1291-1342 A.D) was the last great ruler of this dynasty. In 1310A.D. he was defeated by Malik Kafur.
- He fell a victim to the Sultans of Madurai in 1342 A.D.
Ballala IV
- His son Ballala IV continued his struggle with the Muslims. With his death, the Hoysala Kingdom came to end.
Contributions
- Hoysalas paved the way for the rise of Mysore into a big Kingdom.
- Great patrons of art, architecture and literature.
- Hoysalas encouraged Kannada literature.
The Kakatiyas of Warangal (12th -14th Century A.D.)
- Prola-ll (1110 -1158 A.D.) the Kakatiya ruler captured the territory between the Krishna and the Godavari from the Chalukyas and ruled over it with Hanumakonda as his capital.
- His son Prataparudra-I (1158-1196.A.D.) shifted the capital to Warangal.
- The next remarkable ruler was Ganapathi (1199-1261. A.D.).
- He captured territories up to Kanchi from the Cholas.
- He invaded Kalinga and Western Andhra.
Daughter of Ganapati (Rudrambha) (1261 -1291 .A.D.)
- She abdicated the throne in favour of her grandson Prataparudhra-ll (1291-1326 A.D.).
- During his rule Malik Kafur invaded Warangal in 1309 A.D.
- Prataprudra – ll yielded and paid him an immense booty.
Ulugh Khan
- Ulugh Khan, the son of Ghiasud-din Tughluq captured Warangal in 1323 A.D. and sent Prataparudra II to Delhi
- His successors continued their struggle with the rulers of the Tughluq dynasty
- Vinayakadeva the last nominal ruler of this dynasty was put to death by Muhammad Shah I
KOHINOOR (the famous diamond belonged to Kakatiyas)
- Which was unearthed in Kollur on the banks of the Krishna River belonged to the Kakatiyas.
Contributions
- The Kakatiyas encouraged literature, art and architecture.
- The Thousand Pillar temple at Hanumakonda stands as an everlasting contribution
THE YADAVAS OF DEVAGIRI (12ÿ -14* Century A.D.)
- The Yadavas of Devagiri claimed their descent from the epic hero Lord Krishna.
- They were known as Sevunas because they ruled over Sevuna, the region from Nasik to Devagiri (Daulatabad).
BhjUama-V (1 1 75-11 90 A.D.)
- The Yadava ruler took advantage of the declining power of the Later Western Chalukyas of Kalyani,
- Defeated Someswara-IV and declared his independence.
- Came into conflict with Vira Balalla-ll (1173-1220A.D.), a Hoysala ruler. In the battle of Lakkundi, Bhillama V lost his life.
Jaitrapala
- Bhillama V was succeeded by his son Jaitrapala (1191-1210 A.D.)
- He defeated Kalachuris, Gurjaras and Kakatiyas.
- Jaitrapala was succeeded by his son Singhana (1210-1247A.D.)
Singhana
- He defeated Mahadeva, a Kakatiya ruler.
- Singhana was the most distinguished ruler of this dynasty.
- He defeated Vira Ballala-ll the Hoysala ruler and extended his dominion beyond the River Krishna.
- He invaded Gujarat many times and annexed Kolhapur which belonged to Silhara dynasty.
- Singhana was succeeded by his grandson Krishna (1247-1260 A. D). He was succeeded by his brother Mahadeva (1260-1271 A.D) who annexed north Konkan and put an end to the Silhara dynasty.
- Ramachandra Deva (1271-1 309 A.D.) was the last great ruler of this dynasty.
- Ala-ud-din-Khilji defeated him and made him as a vassal of the Delhi Sultanate.
Sankara Deva (1309 – 1312 A.D.) the son and successor of Ramachandra Deva
- Malik Kafur defeated and killed him in 1312 A.D.
- Harapala, brother-in-law of Sankara Deva raised the flag against the Khiljis.
- Mubarak, son of Ala-ud-din Khilji defeated and killed Harapala. Thus the Yadava dynasty came to an end.
The Elephanta Caves
- The Elephanta Caves were hewn out of rocks by the Rashtrakuta Kings. They are located on a small island near Mumbai
- The Portuguese named it so as they discovered a huge elephant sculpture here. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and contains many sculptures of gods and goddesses
The contribution of the Yadavas
Devagiri fort
- Built during the reign of the Yadavas.
- It was one of the strongest forts in India
- The Delhi Sultans later added a Juma Masjid and Chand Minar inside it.
End of the Deccan Kingdoms
- Further the attacks on them by the Sultans of Delhi ever since the rule of Alauddin Khilji led to their decline