FORTS OF INDIA (Vijayanagar)
FORTS OF INDIA (Vijayanagar)
THE Raja of Anagundi gave shelter to a fugitive who happened to be a nophew of Mohammad bin Tughluq. The Sultan came in hot pursuit of his nephew and in a fight slew both the nephew and the Raja and appointed a governor. The latter, however, could not cope with the situation and had to be removed. Eventually the kingship and ministership of Anagundi was conferred on two brothers who had risen to be minister and treasurer, respectively, of the Raja of Anagundi. Under the advice of Madavachariya, Harihar and Bukka founded in 1335 a city on the banks of the Tungabhadra which they named Vijayanagar, the City of Victory. The kingdom prospered under their rule. Vijayanagar is now a ruined city in Bellary district, Karnataka.
Almost about the same time another power was rising in the south. In 1347 Bahmani Shah founded a kingdom with Gulbarga as his capital. The two kingdoms were rivals and came constantly in conflict. Even when the Bahmani kingdom broke into five kingdoms, the breakaways singularly or collectively carried out relentless wars against the kingdom of Vijayanagar. In 1366 Mohammed Shah invaded Vijayanagar and massacred a large number of people but he could not take the city. Even so Bukka had to buy peace. To protect the city Harihar II (1399-1406) rajsed walls and towers of the fort and strengthened their fortifications. Devaraya I (1406-1422) came into violent conflict and had to accept peace on humiliating terms. During the reign of the next King Devaraya II (1422-1446) the Bahmani kings blocked the capital and Starved its people. Fortunately Devaraya realised his weaknesses and mended the fences.
The fortifications of the city no doubt were formidable,- especially for the foreign horse who on reaching the citadel would find themselves exposed to strong fire from the batteries thus putting them into great confusion and loss. Paes who travelled Vijaya- nagar during the reign of Krishna- devaraya gives an account of the system. He says that certain pointed stones of great height are fixed in the ground. The forts were equipped with up-to-date weapons of offence and defence as high as man's breadth and at intervals of a lance shaft and half with the same distance between them and the great wall. Just to the south of Kamalpur, a strong fort wall with high batteries is the outer wall of the palace enclosure. There are lines of defence on the south Of Vijayanagar. On Tungabhadra side is the wall to the north of Kamalpur. Second, a stone wall about a mile long is a strong defence for approaching from the Kampili side. The third line contains a gateway leading to Talwar Ghatta where the people had to cross over to the Anagundi side Close to the northern bank of Tungabhadra there is a fort wall with battlements at intervals. Before we reach Anagundi, there are two more lines of fortifications. On the north of Anagundi is a strong wall with batteries connecting the two ranges of hills, which enclose Anagundi. There are then another three more lines of strong masonry walls. All these must have made the fort quite impregnable.
Abdul Razzak tells us that the fort ress of Vijayanagar is in the form of a circle situated on the summit of a hill. Varthima states that the capital is situated on the side of a mountain and is seven miles in circumference. Centi remarks that it was situated near very steep mountains.
