Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Study guides

Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis

c. 1336–1687 CE

This guide organises pages on this site; every fact is on the linked pages with its sources.

In brief

After the fall of Warangal, two kinds of state divided most of the Telugu country. Vijayanagara ruled Rayalaseema from its capital on the Tungabhadra and fought for the coast, while the Bahmani province of Telingana became the Qutb Shahi sultanate of Golconda in the early 16th century. After the allied sultans defeated Vijayanagara near Talikota in 1565, Golconda pushed south across the Krishna and founded Hyderabad. The period ends with the Mughal conquest of Golconda in 1687.

Read the full era page: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis →

Key dates

Each date links to the page it comes from. "About" and "or" are kept where the page gives them.

WhenWhat happened
about 1335Robert Sewell's date for the founding of the city of Vijayanagara on the Tungabhadra. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
25 March 1354An inscription at the north gate says the minister Anantarasa built the fort of Penukonda under Bukka I's son Virupanna. Penukonda fort and Gagan Mahal
1509Krishnadeva Raya becomes king, and the empire reaches its height in his reign of 1509–1530. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
from 1513Krishnadeva Raya takes Udayagiri in Nellore from the Gajapati king of Orissa. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
23 June 1515Saluva Timma, Krishnadeva Raya's prime minister, captures Kondavidu, in Luders's date from the Mangalagiri pillar. Mangalagiri and Kaza pillar inscriptions (1515–1518)
about 1512 to 1534Sultan Quli of Golconda fights Vijayanagara for Kondavidu and the forts south of the Krishna, in Sewell's reckoning. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
1538An inscription dates the Virabhadra temple at Lepakshi to this year and names the banker Virupanna as its builder. Virabhadra temple, Lepakshi
September 1543Sultan Quli dies. His tomb is the earliest of the Qutb Shahi tombs near Golconda. Qutb Shahi Tombs
27 July 1550Ibrahim Qutb Shah, who had lived for years at Vijayanagara, is crowned at Golconda, in the chronicle's date. Ibrahim Qutb Shah
23 January 1565The allied sultans defeat Rama Raya's army near Talikota. Rama Raya is beheaded, and the capital is destroyed over the next five months. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
1571–72Golconda's general Rafat Khan takes Rajahmundry and pushes north along the coast. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
1579Golconda takes Kondavidu and the forts south of the Krishna. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
around 1589–91Muhammad Quli moves the court from Golconda to his new city of Bhagnagar, later Hyderabad. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
1591The Imperial Gazetteer's date for the Charminar, built by Muhammad Quli as the centrepiece of his new city. Charminar
1635Abdullah Qutb Shah accepts a farman from the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, has the Friday sermon read in his name and strikes coins for him. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
1646Golconda takes Chandragiri, where Tirumala's son Ranga had moved the Vijayanagara court, according to the Anantapur gazetteer. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
1655–56Called in by the minister Mir Jumla, Prince Aurangzeb sacks Hyderabad and besieges Golconda. Peace is agreed through a payment and a marriage. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis
1687After a siege of more than eight months, Aurangzeb takes Golconda through a gate opened from inside. The last king, Abul Hasan, is sent to Daulatabad. Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis

Main points

From the era page: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis

  • After the fall of Warangal, two kinds of state divided most of the Telugu country. Vijayanagara ruled Rayalaseema and fought for the coast. In the north and east, the Bahmani province of Telingana became the sultanate of Golconda in the early 16th century.
  • Vijayanagara reached its height under Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1530). He took Udayagiri, Kondavidu and the country up to Rajahmundry from the Gajapati king of Orissa.
  • The allied sultans defeated Vijayanagara near Talikota on 23 January 1565. After that Golconda pushed south across the Krishna. In 1579 it took Kondavidu and the forts south of the Krishna.
  • Muhammad Quli moved the court to his new city of Bhagnagar, later Hyderabad, around 1589–91. In 1687 Aurangzeb besieged Golconda for more than eight months. The fort fell through a gate opened from inside.

From other pages of the period

  • The war ended in a marriage. Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that the Gajapati gave the king a daughter and accepted the Krishna as the boundary. Vijayanagara Empire
  • Krishnadeva Raya wrote the Telugu poem Amuktamalyada. Tradition counts eight poets of his court as the Ashtadiggajas, though Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao thought three of them did not write in his reign. Vijayanagara Empire
  • Molla was a Telugu woman poet of the potter caste. She wrote a Ramayana in Telugu verse, known after her as the Molla Ramayanamu. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao placed her in the reign of Krishnadeva Raya, 1509–30. Molla
  • Its great hall rests on sixty-six carved pillars. Life-size paintings of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Puranas cover its roof. A colossal stone bull about fifteen feet high lies some two hundred yards to the east. Virabhadra temple, Lepakshi
  • Sultan Quli took the forts of Telingana and the coast. After defeating the Telugu chief Sitapati and the Gajapati army, he agreed a treaty making the Godavari the boundary with Orissa. Qutb Shahis
  • Persians held the high offices, but Telugu Naigwaris garrisoned the forts and Brahmins kept the accounts. Under Abul Hasan the Brahmin brothers Madanna and Akkanna held the highest offices of all. Qutb Shahis
  • Ibrahim Qutb Shah (1550–1580) rebuilt the walls in stone and mortar. The Imperial Gazetteer describes a wall more than three miles round, with 87 bastions and a moat. Bilgrami names eight gates. Golconda Fort
  • The Charminar ('four minarets') stands where the main streets of old Hyderabad cross. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah built it as the centrepiece of his new city. The Imperial Gazetteer dates it to 1591, and Bilgrami to AH 999–1000 (1590–91). Charminar
  • Two Telugu poems were dedicated to his court, one of them, Addanki Gangadhara's Tapatisamvaranopakhyanamu, to Ibrahim himself. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao called them the only Telugu kavyas dedicated to a Muslim ruler. Ibrahim Qutb Shah
  • The Musa Burj is a great three-storey bastion of Golconda Fort. Its inscription is one of the few Qutb Shahi records set up in two languages, Persian and Telugu. It tells, from the Golconda side, how the fort held out against the Mughal army in 1656. Musa Burj inscription, Golconda fort (1666–67)

Key terms

rajya రాజ్యం
province
sima సీమ
district
gowdas గౌడలు
village headmen
poligar పాలెగాడు
local chief
kamil కామిల్
standard
prabandha ప్రబంధం
long narrative poem
kavya కావ్యం
literary poem
ashtadiggajas అష్టదిగ్గజాలు
eight great poets
sankirtana సంకీర్తన
devotional songs
sultanate సుల్తానత్
a Muslim monarchy whose ruler holds the title of sultan
khutba ఖుత్బా
the Friday sermon, which names the ruler
farman ఫర్మానా
royal order
Mir Jumla మీర్ జుమ్లా
chief minister
peshwa పేష్వా
chief minister
hun హూన్
gold coin
pagoda వరహా
gold coin
taziya తాజియా
the model of the tomb of Imam Husain carried in Shia mourning processions at Muharram
ashurkhana ఆషూర్‌ఖానా
hall for the Muharram ceremonies
sarcophagus సమాధి పెట్టె
stone coffin
caravanserai సరాయి
travellers' inn
chintz చీట్లు
printed cotton cloth
factory ఫ్యాక్టరీ
trading post
subah సుబా
province; also division

People, places, monuments and inscriptions to know

Dynasties

People

Places

Monuments

Inscriptions

Maps and the timeline

Swipe sideways to see the whole chart; tap a bar for details.

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

1300135014001450150015501600165017001750Kakatiyas (1163–1323 CE)Nayakas, Reddis & Bahmanis (1323–1518 CE)Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis (1336–1687 CE)Mughals, Asaf Jahis & the British (1687–1948 CE)TelanganaKakatiyasMusunuri NayakasAdil Shahis of BijapurBahmani SultanateVijayanagara EmpireMughal EmpireRecherla Velamas (Padmanayakas)Qutb Shahis of GolcondaShitab Khan (Sitapati) of WarangalCoastal AndhraEastern Gangas of KalingaGajapatis of OrissaMughal EmpireHaihayas of Kona and PalnaduQutb Shahis of GolcondaVijayanagara EmpireAsaf Jahi Nizams of HyderabadReddis of KondaveeduAsaf Jahi Nizams of HyderabadMusunuri NayakasKakatiyasPandyasRayalaseemaPandyasVijayanagara EmpireNawabs of KurnoolReddis of KondaveeduAdil Shahis of BijapurHoysalasQutb Shahis of GolcondaKakatiyasMughal EmpireBanganapalle StateAsaf Jahi Nizams of HyderabadMarathasMysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan1300135014001450150015501600165017001750
Show as a list

Kakatiyas 1163–1323 CE

Telangana
Kakatiyas (c. 1163–1323 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 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) · Cholas of Tanjore (c. 1135–1264 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1185–1323 CE) · Pandyas (c. 1260–1264 CE)
Rayalaseema
Cholas of Tanjore (c. 985–1268 CE) · Pandyas (1285–1293 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1120–1268 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1250–1323 CE)

Nayakas, Reddis & Bahmanis 1323–1518 CE

Telangana
Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1336–1368 CE) · Gajapatis of Orissa (c. 1459–1461 CE) · Adil Shahis of Bijapur (c. 1489–1686 CE) · Delhi Sultanate (Tughluqs) (c. 1323–1336 CE) · Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1347–1518 CE) · Recherla Velamas (Padmanayakas) (c. 1361–1475 CE) · Shitab Khan (Sitapati) of Warangal (c. 1504–1516 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Gajapatis of Orissa (c. 1446–1571 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Reddis of Rajahmundry (c. 1386–1448 CE) · Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1471–1489 CE) · Delhi Sultanate (Tughluqs) (c. 1323–1326 CE) · Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1350–1579 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1325–1424 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
Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1336–1368 CE) · Gajapatis of Orissa (c. 1459–1461 CE) · Adil Shahis of Bijapur (c. 1489–1686 CE) · Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1347–1518 CE) · Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1563–1565 CE) · Recherla Velamas (Padmanayakas) (c. 1361–1475 CE) · Qutb Shahis of Golconda (c. 1518–1687 CE) · Shitab Khan (Sitapati) of Warangal (c. 1504–1516 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Gajapatis of Orissa (c. 1446–1571 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Reddis of Rajahmundry (c. 1386–1448 CE) · Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1471–1489 CE) · Qutb Shahis of Golconda (c. 1524–1687 CE) · Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1350–1579 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1325–1424 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1325–1346 CE)
Rayalaseema
Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1336–1646 CE) · Marathas (c. 1677–1687 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1346–1386 CE) · Adil Shahis of Bijapur (c. 1568–1686 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE) · Qutb Shahis of Golconda (c. 1579–1687 CE) · Mughal Empire (c. 1686–1724 CE)

Mughals, Asaf Jahis & the British 1687–1948 CE

Telangana
Asaf Jahi Nizams of Hyderabad (1724–1948 CE) · Mughal Empire (1687–1724 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Mughal Empire (1687–1724 CE) · French East India Company (1750–1759 CE) · Nawabs of the Carnatic (Arcot) (c. 1710–1801 CE) · Asaf Jahi Nizams of Hyderabad (1724–1753 CE) · East India Company (1759–1858 CE)
Rayalaseema
Nawabs of Kurnool (c. 1690–1839 CE) · Nawabs of the Carnatic (Arcot) (c. 1710–1801 CE) · Nawabs of Cuddapah (c. 1714–1779 CE) · Mughal Empire (c. 1686–1724 CE) · Morari Rao Ghorpade of Gooty (c. 1741–1776 CE) · Banganapalle State (c. 1724–1948 CE) · Asaf Jahi Nizams of Hyderabad (c. 1724–1800 CE) · Marathas (c. 1743–1774 CE) · Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan (c. 1762–1799 CE)
Kingdoms and empires Sultanates Colonial powers Uncertain or debated dates Held another region first

Where historians disagree

These questions are still open. Each line links to the section of the page that gives both sides with their sources. They are useful for essay answers.

  • The battle of 1565 is usually named after Talikota, but Sewell noted it was fought far to the south, and he dated it to 23 January in 1900 and 25 January in 1932. Vijayanagara Empire
  • Nuniz says Udayagiri was besieged for a year and a half, Krishnaswami Aiyangar dated the siege to 1512–13, and Nilakanta Sastri had it begin in 1513. Krishnadeva Raya
  • The founding of Hyderabad is dated 1589–90 by the Golconda chronicle, 1589 by the Imperial Gazetteer, 1590–91 by Bilgrami and 1591 by Rocco. Qutb Shahis
  • Ferishta made Bhagmati a public singer and Khafi Khan the king's wife, while others derived the name Hyderabad from Haidar. Qutb Shahis
  • Kancherla Gopanna (Ramadas) is made Madanna's nephew under Abul Hasan by the Kistna manual and Sarkar, but an official of the Nizam about 1725 by the Godavari gazetteer. Qutb Shahis
  • Khafi Khan and Sarkar describe Abul Hasan as calm and courteously treated when Golconda fell, but Manucci says he was humiliated and beaten. Mughals in the Telugu country

Practise

For teachers

Lesson outline

  1. Period 1: Vijayanagara and Krishnadeva Raya (40 minutes)

    Read the opening and the first section of the era page (15 minutes). Then read the page on Krishnadeva Raya. List his east-coast conquests in order, and talk about the poets of his court.

    Read: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis → Krishnadeva Raya → Allasani Peddana

  2. Period 2: Talikota and the rise of Golconda (40 minutes)

    Read "Golconda's conquests" and "Talikota and after" on the era page. Then read the Qutb Shahi dynasty page and ask how Golconda used the victory of 1565.

    Read: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis → Qutb Shahis → Ibrahim Qutb Shah

  3. Period 3: Hyderabad, the Golconda court and the Mughals (45 minutes)

    Read "The Golconda kingdom", "Telugu at the Golconda court" and "The Mughals" on the era page. Look at the Charminar page, then read about Madanna and the last king. End with the bilingual inscription activity below.

    Read: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis → Charminar → Madanna → Abul Hasan Tana Shah

Activities

Discussion questions

Every question can be answered from the page linked after it.

  1. Which places did Krishnadeva Raya take from the Gajapati king, and how did the war end? (Answer on: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis)
  2. Who were the poets of Krishnadeva Raya's court, and what did the king himself write? (Answer on: Vijayanagara Empire)
  3. What happened at the battle of 1565, and what did Golconda gain after it? (Answer on: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis)
  4. Why did Muhammad Quli move his court from Golconda, according to the chronicle? (Answer on: Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah)
  5. What features of the Golconda kingdom did Moreland note from Dutch and English reports? (Answer on: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis)
  6. Name three Telugu or Hindu officers of the Golconda kingdom and say what each did. (Answer on: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis)
  7. Why is the Lepakshi temple famous, and why does the page doubt the story of its builder? (Answer on: Virabhadra temple, Lepakshi)
  8. How did Golconda fall to Aurangzeb in 1687? (Answer on: Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis)

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