Deva Raya II’s war with Ala al-Din Ahmad II

01Three battles

Firishta says Deva Raya II, having trained his new corps of archers, crossed the Tungabhadra in 1443, took Mudgal, besieged Raichur and Bankapur, and plundered as far as Bijapur. Ala al-Din Ahmad II came to meet him, and three battles were fought. In the first the Hindus had the advantage; in the second the Bahmanis; in the third Deva Raya’s eldest son was killed. Two Bahmani officers were taken prisoner in Mudgal.

02An envoy’s view

The Persian envoy Abdur Razzaq was at Vijayanagara in 1443 and left a famous description of the city, its markets and the Mahanavami festival, calling it a city such as the eye has not seen. He also tells of an attempt on Deva Raya’s life by his brother that year. The war ended with the prisoners returned and the frontier unchanged. Deva Raya’s reign is remembered as the height of Vijayanagara before Krishnadevaraya.

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 →