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With Krishnadeva Raya ascending the throne, Vijayanagara found in him a very capable ruler, a man of versatile abilities. Within a short span of time he succeeded in extending his dominion over a larger part of South India. Now his main ambition was to recover the fort of Raichur from the Sultan of Bijapur, Ismail Adil Shah. Consequently, in 1520, Raya marched off with a huge army to doab. Historical records tell us that the Vijayanagara army proceeded under the command of eleven generals. There was a large number of infantrymen, archers, gunners, horse warriors, elephants, etc. under every general. The well equipped Vijayanagara army encamped at Malliabad, near Raichur. Krishnadeva Raya planned to lay siege to Raichur. Raichur was fortified by three concrete walls, one within the other. These walls were further strengthened by dumping of huge quantity of earth at their back. The fort had already been well provided and there were 8000 soldiers, 400 horse warriors and 20 elephants to defend it. The artillery of Raichur was also very powerful consisting of 200 big and other small guns. These cannons which were mounted on the ramparts of the fort in striking position were powerful enough to make short work of the enemy forces. The fort was vulnerable to an attack from the eastern side only since the circular rocks rendered the other side of the fort completely safe. It was against these heavy odds that Krishnadeva Raya ordered his troops to attack the fort and break into the city. However, they found it extremely hard to come to the trench round the city. As soon as they approached the trench, the cannons would start bombardment, the catapults made a constant discharge of stones while the deadly shooting of arrows from the ramparts of the fort made them loose their nerves. Still they faced it. One day in the morning, Krishnadeva Raya ordered a division of his army to make a direct assault on the enemy. The attack was made in such a sharp and vigorous manner that the Bijapur soldiers were forced to seek shelter in the trenches. However, the deadly firing by the Bijapuri forces made the Vijayanagara forces to beat a hasty retreat. It appeared that the Bijapur army would soon overwhelm the Vijayanagara forces. Raya was extremely furious. He ordered another division of his army to push ahead by slaying the fleeing soldiers. Which forced the fleeing men to face the enemy forces. By this time the army of Adil Shah had also broken up. This sudden offensive came as a last straw and the Bijapur armies were completely routed. The strategically located fort of Raichur once more came into the possession of Vijayanagara, but its strength shattered in the process. By the end of the 16th century, the Bahmani Kingdom had split up into five independent kingdoms - Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Golkonda, Berar and Bedar. And in the famous battle of Talikota (1565), a grand coalition of these Muslim Kingdoms fought against Vijayanagara and brought about its complete destruction. The end of this section |
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