Hampi was an abandoned city situated in Karnataka. The city is considered the country’s most historically rich place. Now, this city is considered under the UNESCO world heritage site as the group of monuments at Hampi. Once upon a time, the city was also among the rich cities in the world, it is located inside Vijayanagar city. People from all across the country visit Hampi for its beautiful architecture and historical significance.
People are mainly fascinated by its architecture and history, there is no doubt that why Hampi is so famous among the people that people visit across the globe. Let’s dig into the beautiful history of the city of Hampi and the Vijayanagara empire.
In ancient times, Hampi was known as the Pampa Kshetra, Kishkindha Kshetra, and even Bhaskara Kshetra. These names come from the famous old ancient Tungabhadra River Pampa. According to mythology, it is said that Pampa was Brahma’s daughter who married Lord Shiva. Hampi is another version of Hampe which is a Kannada name. Hampi, also known as Vijayanagara, used to rule the city today. If you explore the city more, you will find the many stunning, beautiful, excellent architecture of those times and the rich kingdom of the 14th century which was destroyed during the war and attacks made by the Mughals.
Also Visit : The Fascinating History and Story of Hampi
Let’s date back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Mauryan Empire, Neolithic, and Chalcolithic eras, from which ceramic potteries were found. the popular folklore is that two local chiefs called Hakka and Bukka one on a hunting expedition and reported of an unusual sighting to their guru Vidyaranya. In over 200 years, a total of four dynasties ruled over Vijayanagar, also called the city of victory.
At one point, Hampi was one of the biggest trading centers in the world and in no time, the city market grew rapidly and goods were exchanged for spices and cotton, and at that time the currencies were all silver and gold. Hampi is just not rich in wealth but also rich in architectural and historical significance. Hampi reached its prime during the rule of Krishna Deva Raya, who ruled between 1509 and 1529. This was the same period when international trading flourished and reached great heights under progressive trading practices and also many international trade agreements that were carried out.
During this era, Vijayanagara Empire almost took most of South India and also beyond. However, Hampi yielded to the attacks carried out by five Deccan Sultans: Ahmednagar, Bidar, Bijapur, Golconda, and Berar. They attacked Hampi in 1565 and looted the city for a long period of time, almost six months. And this long attack of six months brought such massive destruction that it would have taken them forever to rise again. The entire temples of Hampi were destroyed and most of the markets were robbed. This was the biggest attack on Hampi that has ever been witnessed, and their golden era come to an end with this attack. After the attacks, the empire was ruled by different Kings; unfortunately, nobody really could be able to bring the lost glory back, but they tried. But for those who love ancient historical stories, then they must watch the Robert Sewells, which was a forgotten Empire Vijayanagar that was made to narrate the incidents that had happened during their rule. Also, there is a first-ever, named Hampi’s Ruins, Described and Illustrated by Longhurst. Today, the monuments, hundreds of monuments have been built during the ruling, and now those are very popular among tourists and pilgrims.
Furthermore, the Vijayanagar empire was established and founded by Bukka and Harihara who were the Sangama brothers. The brothers lived in Warangal where they were working as treasure and ministers but in 1323, they had to flee when the city was attacked by the Mughals, and then they went to Kampili. However, they had to flee from there too because of the same reason, that city was also attacked by the Mughals. The brother crossed the river Tungabhadra to form a new city, which is now called Vijayanagara. Hence, the city was ruled by different dynasties, mainly 4 dynasties were ruled from 1336 to 1565, the Sangam dynasty, the Tuluva dynasty, Saluva Dynasty, and Aravidu Dynasty. The kings and princes of each dynasty made sure that during their ruling time, they should do whatever it takes to bring back the richness and wealth to the city and ended up building more than 500 monuments.
The Sangama Dynasty was founded or established by Bukka Raya 1 and Harihara 1. Then the ruling was passed on from them to Harihara II and Devaraya II and other generations. Then, the Saluva dynasty was ruled by two rulers in the name of Saluva Narasimha Deva and Immadi Narasimha. Then next, the Tuluva Dynasty was the third dynasty to rule the Vijayanagara Empire. The Immadi Marasimha who initially ruled the dynasty was killed by Vira Narasimha, who took over the throne and made the Tuluva dynasty in 1505. The Aravidu Dynasty was the last dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire and Tirumala was the founder, however, this dynasty was defeated and taken over by Bijapuri Muslims.
