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Bahmani–Vijayanagara War (1362–1367): Difference between revisions
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The stretch of land between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers became a point of contention among various dynasties, including the [[Western Chalukya Empire|Western Chalukyas]] and [[Chola Empire|Cholas]], as well as the [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Yadavas]] and [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysalas]], who previously ruled over the territories later claimed by the Bahmanis and Vijayanagar. When the Bahmanis and Vijayanagar emerged from the remnants of these empires, history repeated itself. Moreover, the unique circumstances surrounding the formation of these two states made frequent warfare between them a common occurrence. During their inception, each state acquired only certain parts of the Raichur Doab, yet as the political successors of their predecessors, both aspired to control the entire region.<ref name=":1" /> | The stretch of land between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers became a point of contention among various dynasties, including the [[Western Chalukya Empire|Western Chalukyas]] and [[Chola Empire|Cholas]], as well as the [[Seuna (Yadava) dynasty|Yadavas]] and [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysalas]], who previously ruled over the territories later claimed by the Bahmanis and Vijayanagar. When the Bahmanis and Vijayanagar emerged from the remnants of these empires, history repeated itself. Moreover, the unique circumstances surrounding the formation of these two states made frequent warfare between them a common occurrence. During their inception, each state acquired only certain parts of the Raichur Doab, yet as the political successors of their predecessors, both aspired to control the entire region.<ref name=":1" /> | ||
== Prelude == | |||
During Bahman Shah's reign, he forbade the circulation of Vijayanagar's gold coins within his kingdom. In response, Bukka Raya rebelled and, with the backing of Deccan bankers, melted down Bahmani coins.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Powell-Price |first=John Cadwgan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=is-UbmzQhrYC |title=A History of India from the Earliest Times to 1939 |date=1958 |publisher=T. Nelson |isbn=978-90-70088-81-1 |pages=204 |language=en}}</ref> The Bahmanis warned the bankers against this, and by 1340, all bankers and money changers within Bahmani territory were captured and executed. Their descendants were barred from conducting business for the next forty years.{{sfn|Allan|1964|pp=172-173}} | |||
[[File:002bahman-2.JPG|thumb|Coins of Alauddin Bahman Shah]] | |||
Bukka Raya, the king of Vijayanagar, protested against the Bahmani's claim to issue gold coins as a sign of sovereignty, and demanded the cession of [[Raichur Doab]] to the Vijayanagar empire. Kanhayya, the ruler of Warangal, demanded the [[Kaulas Fort|fortress of Kaulas]], which had previously been granted to Bahman Shah. This request stemmed from his son's desire to claim the fort from the Sultanate against his own wishes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sherwani |first=Haroon Khan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3kIeAAAAMAAJ |title=The Bahmanis of the Deccan |date=1985 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |pages=88–97 |language=en}}</ref> Bukka Raya also threatened the Bahmanis with joining an alliance with the Delhi Sultanate to invade Deccan. Muhammad Shah, the Bahmani Sultan at the time, delayed his reply until he was prepared. When he finally responded, he questioned why his vassal of Vijayanagar had not sent him gifts upon his accession, stating that it should have been done at least once.{{sfn|Allan|1964|pp=172-173}} | |||
The negative response from Muhammad Shah spurred the rulers of Vijayanagar and Warangal to form an alliance against the Bahmanis.<ref name=":2" /> | |||
=== Battle of Kaulas (1362) === | |||
In 1362, the King of Warangal dispatched his son Vinayak Deva from Warangal with a large army comprising infantry and cavalry towards the fortress of Kaulas. To assist Kanhayya, Vijayanagar sent twenty thousand troops. In response, Muhammad Shah dispatched Amirul Umara Bahadur Khan, the son of Ismail Mukh, Azam-i-Humayun, and Safdar Khan Sistani along with the armies of Bidar and Berar. The battle took place near Kaulas, where the Bahmanis defeated the forces of Warangal and pursued them all the way to the gates of Warangal.<ref name=":0" /> Kanhayya was forced to pay a ransom of one lakh gold Huns and surrender twenty-five war elephants to the Bahmanis. Bahadur Khan then returned to [[Kalaburagi|Gulbarga]], the capital of the Bahmanis, after securing the ransom.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Verma |first=Amrit |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtR9EPSfudAC |title=Forts of India |date=1985 |publisher=Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |pages=51 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
== The War == | == The War == | ||
=== Capture and execution of Vinayak Deva (1362) === | === Capture and execution of Vinayak Deva (1362) === | ||
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Muhammad Shah pursued Bukka Raya, but Raya managed to retreat inside his capital and barricade himself in. Recognizing this, Muhammad Shah ordered a siege. Bukka emerged from Vijayanagar to engage in battle, but suffered another heavy defeat, losing his remaining ten thousand soldiers. He then retreated once more behind the walls of Vijayanagar and shut himself inside.<ref name=":3" /> Muhammad Shah, realizing that his victory alone couldn't resolve matters, began to ravage Vijayanagar and plunder its riches. He initiated a massacre of civilians, resulting in the deaths of almost 400,000 to half a million people, including ten thousand Brahmins. The district of Karnataka was so devastated that it took several decades for its population to recover to normal levels.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> Ultimately, due to protests from Brahmins and other Hindu chiefs, Bukka Raya was compelled to seek peace. According to Ferishta, the Sultan sheathed his sword only after the payment to the musicians was made.<ref name=":1" /> | Muhammad Shah pursued Bukka Raya, but Raya managed to retreat inside his capital and barricade himself in. Recognizing this, Muhammad Shah ordered a siege. Bukka emerged from Vijayanagar to engage in battle, but suffered another heavy defeat, losing his remaining ten thousand soldiers. He then retreated once more behind the walls of Vijayanagar and shut himself inside.<ref name=":3" /> Muhammad Shah, realizing that his victory alone couldn't resolve matters, began to ravage Vijayanagar and plunder its riches. He initiated a massacre of civilians, resulting in the deaths of almost 400,000 to half a million people, including ten thousand Brahmins. The district of Karnataka was so devastated that it took several decades for its population to recover to normal levels.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> Ultimately, due to protests from Brahmins and other Hindu chiefs, Bukka Raya was compelled to seek peace. According to Ferishta, the Sultan sheathed his sword only after the payment to the musicians was made.<ref name=":1" /> | ||
== Aftermath == | |||
Raya dispatched envoys to the Sultan's camp, requesting peace and appealing for a brotherly relationship between the two states. Upon hearing this, Sultan Muhammed Shah smiled and replied that he desired nothing more than the payment of the Delhi musicians' salary from the Bahmani treasury, as stipulated in the draft he had sent. The musicians, having begged for the Sultan's pardon, also made a suggestion. They pointed out that the massacres committed by the Sultan were entirely against the precepts of Islam, as many women and children were also put to death by those claiming to follow that noble faith, which Islam neither allows nor enjoins. Shah was deeply moved by this appeal and ordered that in any future campaign undertaken on behalf of the Bahmanis, only actual combatants should be killed, and no prisoner of war should ever be harmed.<ref name=":0" /> A treaty was then signed, stipulating that both parties would refrain from killing prisoners or civilians in the future, although it was violated several times.<ref name=":2" /> | |||
After a thirty-year period of peace, [[Harihara II]] initiated another [[Bahmani–Vijayanagar War (1398)|war with the Bahmanis]] during the reign of [[Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah|Tajuddin Firuz Shah]] in 1398.{{Sfn|Jaques|2006|p=547}} | |||
==Reference== | ==Reference== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Battles involving the Vijayanagara Empire]] | |||
[[Category:Battles involving the Bahmani Sultanate]] | |||