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Hoysalas

Dynasty of Dorasamudra (Halebid) in the Mysore country, at first vassals of the Western Chalukyas and independent from the time of Vishnuvardhana in the 12th century. Ballala II took Nolambavadi; his inscriptions are at Parigi (1178) and Hemavati (1205–06) in the Anantapur district, and he claimed Gooty. His successors fought the Seunas, the Pandyas and the Telugu Chodas for the Chola country, and in the later 13th century held the Rayachoti country. Ballala III lost Dorasamudra to Malik Kafur in 1311 but still ruled parts of Anantapur to 1340; a Kakatiya general defeated him at Kanchi. He was killed fighting the Sultan of Madurai in 1342.

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Each bar is a ruling power in its region; time runs left to right. Dashed = approximate dates. Select a bar for details.

1100115012001250130013501400Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powers (624–1163 CE)Kakatiyas (1163–1323 CE)KakatiyasNayakas, Reddis & Bahmanis (1323–1518 CE)Nayakas, Reddis & BahmanisVijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis (1336–1687 CE)TelanganaChalukyas of MudigondaDelhi Sultanate (Tughluqs)Bahmani SultanateWestern Chalukyas of KalyaniMusunuri NayakasKakatiyasRecherla Velamas (Padmanayakas)Telugu Chodas of KanduruKakatiyasCoastal AndhraEastern Gangas of KalingaCholas of TanjoreKakatiyasReddis of KondaveeduHaihayas of Kona and PalnaduKotas of DharanikotaVijayanagara EmpireTelugu Chodas of Pottapi and NelloreMusunuri NayakasVelanati ChodasPandyasCholas of TanjoreRayalaseemaCholas of TanjorePandyasVijayanagara EmpireWestern Chalukyas of KalyaniKakatiyasTelugu Chodas of Pottapi and NelloreHoysalas1100115012001250130013501400
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Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powers 624–1163 CE

Telangana
Chalukyas of Mudigonda (c. 890–1218 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 973–1163 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1052–1162 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Kanduru (c. 1060–1160 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Cholas of Tanjore (c. 999–1135 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Kotas of Dharanikota (c. 1100–1276 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1106–1316 CE) · Velanati Chodas (c. 1118–1209 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 1118–1126 CE)
Rayalaseema
Cholas of Tanjore (c. 985–1268 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 1000–1190 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1120–1268 CE)

Kakatiyas 1163–1323 CE

Telangana
Chalukyas of Mudigonda (c. 890–1218 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1163–1323 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1185–1323 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Kotas of Dharanikota (c. 1100–1276 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1106–1316 CE) · Velanati Chodas (c. 1118–1209 CE) · Pandyas (c. 1260–1264 CE) · Cholas of Tanjore (c. 1135–1264 CE)
Rayalaseema
Cholas of Tanjore (c. 985–1268 CE) · Pandyas (1285–1293 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 1000–1190 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1250–1323 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1120–1268 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE)

Nayakas, Reddis & Bahmanis 1323–1518 CE

Telangana
Delhi Sultanate (Tughluqs) (c. 1323–1336 CE) · Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1347–1518 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1336–1368 CE) · Recherla Velamas (Padmanayakas) (c. 1361–1475 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1325–1424 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Reddis of Rajahmundry (c. 1386–1448 CE) · Delhi Sultanate (Tughluqs) (c. 1323–1326 CE) · Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1350–1579 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1325–1346 CE)
Rayalaseema
Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1336–1646 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1346–1386 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE)

Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis 1336–1687 CE

Telangana
Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1347–1518 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1336–1368 CE) · Recherla Velamas (Padmanayakas) (c. 1361–1475 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1325–1424 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Reddis of Rajahmundry (c. 1386–1448 CE) · Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1350–1579 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1325–1346 CE)
Rayalaseema
Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1336–1646 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1346–1386 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE)
Kingdoms and empires Sultanates Uncertain or debated dates Held another region first This page

Reigns

Each bar is one ruler’s reign; time runs left to right. c. = approximate date.

1150117512001225125012751300132513501375Ballala II (Hoysala) · 1173–1220 CE · 47 yrsBallala II (Hoysala)1173–1220 CE · 47 yrsNarasimha II · 1220–1235 CE · 15 yrsNarasimha II1220–1235 CE · 15 yrsSomesvara · 1233–1254 CE · 21 yrsSomesvara1233–1254 CE · 21 yrsNarasimha III · 1254–1291 CE · 37 yrsNarasimha III1254–1291 CE · 37 yrsBallala III (Hoysala) · 1291–1342 CE · 51 yrsBallala III (Hoysala)1291–1342 CE · 51 yrsBallala IV (Virupaksha) · 1342–1343 CE · 1 yrBallala IV (Virupaksha)1342–1343 CE · 1 yr
  1. Ballala II (Hoysala)1173–1220 CE · 47 yrs
  2. Narasimha II1220–1235 CE · 15 yrs
  3. Somesvara1233–1254 CE · 21 yrs
  4. Narasimha III1254–1291 CE · 37 yrs
  5. Ballala III (Hoysala)1291–1342 CE · 51 yrs
  6. Ballala IV (Virupaksha)1342–1343 CE · 1 yr
Reign

Reign years from B. Lewis Rice's table of the Hoysala kings (1909), from Ballala II on; Rice dates Somesvara's accession to 1233 and Narasimha II's reign to 1220–1235, so the two overlap. Rice gives the southern kingdom of Ramanatha (1254–1295) separately; it is not charted. W. Francis (1905) gave Ballala II's reign as 1191 to about 1212. Ballala IV was crowned in August 1343 (Sewell and Aiyangar).

The Hoysalas were kings of the Mysore country, with their capital at Dorasamudra, now Halebid.1 From the late 12th century they ruled parts of the Anantapur and Kadapa (then Cuddapah) country.23 They were neighbours and rivals of the Kakatiyas, the Seunas of Devagiri and the Pandyas.45 Their last great king, Ballala III, held part of Anantapur until 1340.6

Origin and capital

The Hoysalas claimed to be Yadavas, of the family of Krishna.7 Their founder was said to be Sala.7 B. Lewis Rice (1909) told the story behind the name.7 An ascetic, attacked by a tiger, cried poy Sala (“strike, Sala!”), and Sala killed the beast.7 Their crest shows Sala stabbing the tiger.7

At first the Hoysalas served the Western Chalukyas, but under Vishnuvardhana they became independent.1 Their capital was Dorasamudra, in Sanskrit Dvarasamudra, “now Halebid in Belur taluq”.1 Their inscriptions, Rice wrote, are found from Thanjavur (then Tanjore) in the south to Sholapur in the north.7

Ballala II and the Anantapur country

Ballala II was crowned at Dorasamudra on 22 July 1173.8 He won his great victory over the Seuna army at Soratur, near Gadag.9 His northern frontier moved up to the Bhima river.9 He was then styled “emperor of the South”.9

Ballala II reached into the Telugu country.210

  • The Bellary gazetteer of 1904 wrote that he took Nolambavadi, and that inscriptions of his are found at Hemavati in Anantapur.2
  • At Parigi, in the Hindupur taluk, a record of Saka 1100 (1178; Saka is an Indian way of counting years) shows him ruling at Dorasamudra with his queen.11 It records a bell given to the temple of Bhimesvara.11 Sewell and Aiyangar (1932) cited this record to show him supreme in the Anantapur district.12
  • At Hemavati, an inscription of his dated 1205–06 records a gift to the Nolambesvara temple.10
  • In an inscription at Harihar, he claims to have taken Gooty.10 A little later an officer of the Seuna king Singhana is said to have taken the same place.10

The struggle for the Chola country

Ballala’s son Narasimha II was crowned in 1220.13 He styled himself “establisher of the Chola kingdom”.13 The Pallava chief Kopperunjinga had taken the Chola king prisoner.14 Narasimha sent an army, freed him and gave him back his crown.1415

His son Somesvara came to the throne in 1233.14 He lived for years at Kannanur, near Srirangam, in the Chola country.16 S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar (1921) wrote that Somesvara’s rule reached north to the Krishna, perhaps a little beyond.17 The Telugu Choda chief Tikka of Nellore claimed to have defeated him, according to the Cuddapah gazetteer.18 The Pandya king Jatavarman Sundara Pandya fought Somesvara, who seems to have died in this war.1920

On Somesvara’s death in 1254 the kingdom was divided.16 Narasimha III took the old Kannada kingdom with Dorasamudra.16 His half-brother Ramanatha took the Tamil districts in the south.16 The Cuddapah gazetteer noted an inscription of Narasimha at Devagudipalle, in the Rayachoti taluk.18 By then, it wrote, the Vaidumbas who once held that country had been “dispersed”.18 It counted the Rayachoti taluk among Hoysala lands in the later 13th century.3

Ballala III, Delhi and the Kakatiyas

Ballala III was crowned on 31 January 1292 and united the kingdom again.21 In 1311 the Delhi general Malik Kafur reached Dorasamudra.22 Rice wrote that the king was defeated and taken prisoner, and the city sacked.21 His son, taken as a hostage, came home in 1313.21 By 1316 the capital had been rebuilt.21

Ballala III still ruled part of the Anantapur district.2324

  • Sewell and Aiyangar listed his records there in 1317, 1323 and 1340.23246
  • At Kodigepalle, in the Hindupur taluk, a record of Saka 1250 (1328) shows his minister ruling at Penugonda.25 V. Rangacharya (1919) took it to show that Penukonda was then in Hoysala territory.25

Ballala also turned on the Tamil country.26 P. V. Parabrahma Sastry (1978) wrote that he took Kanchi, but held it only a short time.26 In his account, the Kakatiya commander Peda Rudra defeated Ballala and his allies and occupied Kanchi.26 Parabrahma Sastry also wrote that Prataparudra refused to help the small kingdom of Kampili against Ballala.27

A second Delhi army, sent by Muhammad Tughluq, destroyed Dorasamudra.21 Ballala moved his court to Tiruvannamalai.21 On 8 September 1342 he was killed fighting the Sultan of Madurai.28 His son Ballala IV still wore the crown in 1343, but Hoysala power had ended.29

The rising of 1344

The Cuddapah gazetteer told of a Hindu league formed in 1344.3 It joined the son of Prataparudra of Warangal, a Vijayanagara chief and “the Hoysala king from Mysore”.3 Together they drove the Delhi forces out of Warangal.3 Sewell and Aiyangar noted that Ferishta says Kakatiya Krishna persuaded the Hoysala king to join this league.30 See the Delhi Sultanate.

Where the sources disagree

  • Ballala II’s reign. 1173–1220 (Rice), or 1191 to about 1212 (the Anantapur gazetteer of 1905).810
  • When Hoysala rule in Anantapur ended. The gazetteers said that after Malik Kafur’s raids of about 1310–12 the Hoysalas were “practically extinguished”.2 Sewell and Aiyangar listed inscriptions of Ballala III in the Anantapur district as late as 1340.6
  • Where Ballala III died. Rice read the place as “Beribi”.29 Sewell and Aiyangar, following Aiyangar’s reading of the stone, placed it at Kannanur near Tiruchirappalli (then Trichinopoly).28
  • Which king joined in 1344. Sewell and Aiyangar read Ferishta’s king as Ballala IV.30 The Cuddapah gazetteer simply called him the Hoysala king.3

Footnotes

  1. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 96 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Bellary (1904), p. 31 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. Brackenbury, Cuddapah (1915), p. 35 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (1921), p. 68 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  5. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (1921), p. 69 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  6. Sewell and Aiyangar, Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 186 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. B. Lewis Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 95 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  8. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 102 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  9. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 103 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Anantapur (1905), p. 16 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  11. Rangacharya, Topographical List I (1919), p. 16, Anantapur No. 97 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  12. Robert Sewell and S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 120 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  13. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 104 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  14. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 105 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  15. Gazetteer of the Nellore District, brought up to 1938 (1942), p. 44 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  16. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 106 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  17. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (1921), p. 67 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  18. C. F. Brackenbury, Madras District Gazetteers: Cuddapah (1915), p. 32 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  19. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (1921), p. 50 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  20. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (1921), p. 51 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  21. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 107 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  22. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (1921), pp. 93–94 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  23. Sewell and Aiyangar, Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 180 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  24. Sewell and Aiyangar, Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 182 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  25. V. Rangacharya, A Topographical List of the Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency, Vol. I (1919), p. 12, Anantapur No. 70 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  26. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 133. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  27. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 135. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  28. Sewell and Aiyangar, Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 188 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  29. Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (1909), p. 108 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  30. Sewell and Aiyangar, Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 189 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

Photos

People

Ballala II (Hoysala)

1173–1220 CE

Hoysala king, crowned at Dorasamudra on 22 July 1173, who defeated the Seuna army at Soratur, took the Pandya fortress of Uchchangi and pushed his frontier to the Bhima river. He took Nolambavadi: his records in the Anantapur country are at Parigi (Saka 1100, 1178) and Hemavati (1205–06), and an inscription at Harihar claims that he took Gooty. B. Lewis Rice dates his reign 1173–1220.

Ballala III (Hoysala)

1292–1342 CE

The last great Hoysala king, crowned on 31 January 1292, who united the two halves of the kingdom. Malik Kafur took his capital Dorasamudra in 1311; the city was rebuilt by 1316 and destroyed again by a Tughluq army, after which he lived at Tiruvannamalai. His inscriptions in the Anantapur district run from 1317 to 1340, and in 1328 his minister ruled at Penukonda. A Kakatiya general defeated him at Kanchi. He was killed fighting the Sultan of Madurai on 8 September 1342.

References

Sources (9)
  1. B. Lewis Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions (opens in a new tab), Archibald Constable, London, 1909, pp. 95–97, 102–108. [Public domain]
  2. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Anantapur (opens in a new tab), Government of Madras (Addison & Co.), 1905, pp. 16, 180. [Public domain]
  3. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Bellary (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1904, pp. 31. [Public domain]
  4. V. Rangacharya, A Topographical List of the Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency (collected till 1915), with Notes and References, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1919, pp. 12, 16, 22. [Public domain]
  5. C. F. Brackenbury, Madras District Gazetteers: Cuddapah, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1915, pp. 32, 35. [Public domain]
  6. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (opens in a new tab), Oxford University Press (Humphrey Milford), London, 1921, pp. 50–51, 67–69, 93–94. [Public domain]
  7. W. E. Johns, Gazetteer of the Nellore District, brought up to 1938, Vol. A (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1942, pp. 44. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  8. Robert Sewell (ed. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar), The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (Collected till 1923) and Outlines of Political History (opens in a new tab), University of Madras, 1932, pp. 120, 180, 182, 186, 188–189. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  9. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal, Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1978, pp. 133, 135. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

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