Battle of Raichur: Difference between revisions

| place            = [[Raichur]], [[Karnataka]], India

| result            = Decisive [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagar]] victory

| combatant1        = [[File:Vijayanagara flag.png|25px]] '''[[Vijayanagara Empire]]'''

| combatant2        = '''[[Adil Shahi dynasty|Sultanate of Bijapur]]'''

| commander1        = [[File:Vijayanagara flag.png|25px]] [[Krishnadevaraya]]<ref name=Bhat/> Cristovão de Figueiredo

| strength1        = Modern estimates<br>70,000 [[infantry]]<br>30,000 [[cavalry]]<br> 550 [[war elephants]]{{cn|date=April 2019}}

Contemporary source <br>732,000 [[soldiers]] (consists of 32,000 [[cavalry]] and 550 [[elephants]]) Portuguese contingent

| strength2        = Modern estimates<br>14,000 (composing [[infantry]] and [[cavalry]]){{cn|date=April 2019}}

<br>Contemporary sources<br>140,000 [[soldiers]] (consists of [[cavalry]] and [[infantry]])

The '''Battle of Raichur''' was a battle fought between the [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijayanagar Empire]] and the [[Adil Shahi dynasty|Sultanate of Bijapur]] in 1520 CE<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nath |first=Pratyay |chapter=Warfare in Early Modern South Asia |editor=Pius Malekandathil |title=The Indian Ocean in the Making of Early Modern India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viUlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA178 |year=2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-99746-1 |page=178 |quote="the battles of Raichur (1520)"|oclc=960041925}}</ref><ref name="Roy 68">{{harvp|Roy|2014|p=68}}: "In 1520, Battle of Raichur was fought between Krishna Raya of Vijayanagara and Sultan Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur."</ref> in the town of [[Raichur]], [[India]]. It resulted in a decisive victory for Vijayanagar forces, and the Bijapur ruler was defeated and pushed across the river [[Krishna River|Krishna]]. <ref>{{cite book |author=Krishna Reddy |title=Indian History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CeEmpfmbxKEC&q=raichur+battle&pg=SL2-PA167|year=2008 |publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill|isbn=9780070635777 }}</ref>

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]]. After the court decided that [[Raichur]] should be attacked, the king invited Military Commander [[Pemmasani Ramalinga Nayudu]] (Nayakas) in his service to take part in the battle.

The battle was fought in [[Raichur]] between the armies of [[Krishnadevraya|Krishnadevaraya]] and the [[Sultanate of Bijapur]].<ref name="Roy 68"/> The Vijayanagara Empire had a force consisting of 32,600 cavalry and 551 elephants. 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 <ref>{{Cite web|title=Ismāʿīl ʿĀdil Shāh - Bijāpur ruler|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ismail-Adil-Shah}}</ref> commanded by Cristovão de Figueiredo<ref>{{Cite web|title=Portuguese Studies Review, Vol. 16, No. 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSiaBAAAQBAJ&q=Raichur+Portuguese&pg=PA27|date=15 December 2009}}</ref> with the use of fireweapons help to conquer the fortress,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Evolve Back|url=https://www.evolveback.com/hampi/the-battle-of-raichur-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-vijayanagara-empire/}}</ref> there is a high probability that [[matchlocks]], which were obtained through contact with the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]], were used as well  by the army of the Vijayanagara Empire.<ref>{{citation |last=Buchanan |first=Brenda J. |title=Gunpowder, Explosives and the State: A Technological History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7qoDQAAQBAJ |year=2016 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-93190-8 |oclc=965718764 |quote="There is also a strong likelihood of the adoption of European matchlocks in the Vijayanagara Empire at around the same time [1517], through contact with the Portuguese."}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{harvp|Eaton|2013|p=289}}: "All of this suggests that by 1520 cannon were being used in the field—extensively by Bijapur, at best minimally by Vijayanagara—but with only limited effect."</ref>  The Vijayanagara Empire emerged victorious despite the [[Adil Shahi dynasty|Bijapur Sultanate]] having superior firepower.<ref>{{harvp|Roy|2014|p=68}}: "Though Bijapur had superior firepower, Vijayanagara emerged victorious."</ref>

The battle of [[Raichur]] had far-reaching effects. The [[Hindu]] 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]] to form an alliance to defeat the [[Vijayanagar Empire]]. The war also affected the fortunes of the [[Portuguese people|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.<ref name=Bhat>{{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}}</ref>