Hoysala Empire
A family or clan named Hoyasala had attained considerable power in the present day Karnataka during the 12th and 13th century. This empire ruled almost all the present day Karnataka between the 11th to mid of the 14th century. Their capital was Belur which was later shifted to Halebidu. This period was a very important era for the development of the art, architecture and religion in the Southern countries. The Hoyasala Empire contributed in the growth of both the Kannada and Sanskrit literature.
The earliest known king of this empire is Nripa Kama II who lived around 1026-1047 AD. He was probably a feudatory of the Western Gang Dynasty and is known to have indulged in futile wars against the Cholas.
However, another early Hoyasala ruler Vinayaditya was a feudatory of Chalukyas of Kalyani. Vinayaditya was having family ties with Western Chalukyan King Someshwara I. His son Ereyanaga tried to establish himself as an independent monarch but was not successful. He was succeeded by Veera Ballala-I who was also an unimportant ruler. The first notable great Hoyasala king was Vishnuvardhana, who was also known as Bittiga.
Vishnuvardhana
The period assigned to reign of Vishnuvardhana or Bittiga is 1108-1152 AD. He is best known for taking steps to consolidate the Hoyasala Empire.
He established his capital at Dorsamudra, which is modern Halebidu in Karnataka. Vishnuvardhana was younger brother of Veera Ballala-I. He assumed the title of Talakadagonda and Veera Ganga. He built Nirtinarayana temple at Talakad and Chennakasava temple at Belur. He was originally a Jain and Jain religion enjoyed high favour under his minister Gangaraja’s protection. He carried out numerous conquests and defeated the mighty kings of the Chola, Pandya and Chera kingdoms. It is said that under the influence of Ramanujacharya, Vishnuvardhana converted to Hinduism and became a Vashnavite. This is evident by a number of Vishnu temples, built during his reign. He died in 1152 and his son Narsimha I ascended the throne. Narsimha I killed the Western Chalukyan ruler Tailapa III. He was succeeded by Veera Ballala II.
Veera Ballala II
Veera Ballala II (1173–1220 AD) was another greatest monarch of the Hoyasala Empire. He put the Chalukyas of Kalyani to en end by defeating Someshwara IV. After this defeat Someshwara IV shifted his capital to Banavasi, and the Kalyani passed to the hands of Yadavas of Devagiri. With Cholas he had family relationships. The successors of Vera Ballala II were mostly unimportant rulers. The last great King was Veera Ballala III.
Veera Ballala III
Veera Ballala III was the last great ruler of the Hoyasala Empire. His reign was from 1291 AD till 1343 AD. In 1310, the commanders of Sultan Alauddin Khilji had invaded the Deccan devastating most of the countries. By 1318 Devagiri was occupied by Sultan of Delhi and by 1336, almost all Hindu Kingdoms of the south except the Hoyasala Empire were annexed to the Delhi Sultanate. A muslim Madurai Sultanate was also formed in those years. Veera Ballala III campaigned against the muslims. He made Tiruvannamalai as his new capital and founded another capital at the banks of River Tungabhadra at Hosapattana where his able commanders Harihara and Bukkaraya (popularly known as Hakka and Bukka) founded the Vijayanagar Empire in 1336.
Veera Ballala III was killed in one of the battles against the Delhi Sultan in 1343. He was succeded by Harihara Raya I who founded the Sangama Dynasty of the Vijayanagar empire. The following picture shows the dynasties in the 12th century in India.
