The Bahmani–Vijayanagara war of 1398

01Firishta’s account

Firishta, the main source, writes that the Vijayanagara army crossed the Tungabhadra and occupied the doab while Firuz Shah was dealing with rebels. Firuz advanced to the Krishna but could not cross in the face of the enemy. Then a qazi named Siraj and a few companions went into the Vijayanagara camp disguised as entertainers and killed the king’s son during a performance. In the confusion the Bahmanis crossed, and the Vijayanagara army withdrew.

02Weighing the account

Firishta wrote two centuries later, and his story of the qazi has the colour of court storytelling; Vijayanagara records do not mention the episode. What is clear is that the war ended with the frontier unchanged and an indemnity paid to the Bahmanis. Harihara II’s reign as a whole was one of expansion; under him Vijayanagara held almost the whole south, from Goa to the Tamil country.

Dynasty · 1336–1646 CEVijayanagara Empire (Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva, Aravidu)Founded in 1336 on the Tungabhadra by the brothers Harihara and Bukka, Vijayanagara held the south for Sanatan Dharma for more than two centuries. Four dynasties ruled it; its city at Hampi was among the largest in the world before its fall in 1565.Read →