Hampi, Vijaynagar Empire - The Rise And Fall - VOL III

The Origins:
In the beggining of the 14th century, around 1311 A.D, two young soldiers were taken prisoners from the central part of India (somewhere between Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh ) by the Moghuls. Forcefully converted to islam by the Moghuls and tortured heavily ( apparently for not surrendering to their regime ), these soldiers manage to escape from the Moghuls and head down south to seek refuge. Down south, they meet sage Vidyaranya who is desperate to establish a Hindu stronghold in order to protect the culture and to avoid the invasion of Moghuls down south. Vidyaranya, after learning the full story of these two soldiers, will have them reconverted to hinduism and appeal them to lay the foundations for a new Hindu empire. They selected the central parts of karnataka ( owing to the protection by the sarrounding hills ) to establish the empire. So in 1336, these two soldiers laid the foundations for the vijaynagar empire with Hampi as their capital. They were none other than Harihara and Bukka. They belonged to the Sangama dynasty. Hampi was typically ruled by Jains. Harihara and Bukka have supposedly requested the jains to move to the present day Bylakuppe region. After the jains moved out the empire was established and various dynasties ruled this region for over two centuries. Sangama, Saluva, Thuluva and Aravidu were the dynasties that ruled here.
The intentions of the Vijaynagar kings and their attitudes are not yet very clear. Some historians are of the opinion that the Vijaynagar kings were a lot more benevolent compared to their Bahamani counterparts. They had adopted the islam style in their architectures and had contacts with Persia. Abdul Razzaq was a very famous poet/traveller in the courts of Krishnadevaraya. Some other Historians write about the atrocities committed by the Vijaynagar kings over the Bahamani sultans. In one of the books it is written that hundreds of mosques were ransacked and women were humiliated and raped in front of their kith and kin. There has been no historical evidence to prove it, but the mere grudgery and the hatred that developed in the Bahamani rulers kind of answers about these atrocities.
Whatever be the reason, the empire was founded on the basis of vengeance, vengeance against the invading Moghuls and till today nothing that has born out of vengeance has survived. Vijaynagar and Bahamani empires were no exceptions. The glory of both the kingdoms were lost and the British took over. The British rule is well written and explained in the Indian history. Their rule also didnt last for long. Ultimately they had to give into Ahimsa, non-violence and love.