Battle of Talikota

Rama Raya, after his installation of a patrimonial state and emerging as the ruler, adopted a political strategy of benefiting from the internecine warfare among the multiple successors of the Bahmani Sultanate, and it worked well for about twenty years of his reign. However, after a series of aggressive efforts to maintain hold over Kalyan and diplomatic dealings with the Sultanates laden with insulting gestures, the four Muslim Sultanates – Hussain Nizam Shah I and Ali Adil Shah I of Ahmadnagar and Bijapur to the west, Ali Barid Shah I of Bidar in the center, and Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah Wali of Golkonda to the east – united in the wake of shrewd marital diplomacy and convened to attack Aliya Rama Raya, in late January 1565. ==Battle==

Sources There exist multiple contemporary chronicles (literary as well as historical) documenting the war: • Burhan-i Maasir by Sayyid Ali Bin Abdullah Tabataba, the court historian of Ahmadnagar Sultanate. • Gulshan-i Ibrahimi by Ferishta, the court historian of Bijapur Sultanate. • Taḏkerat al-molūk by Rafi-ud-Din Shirazi, another court historian of Bijapur Sultanate. • Décadas da Ásia by official Portuguese record-keeper Diogo do Couto. • Letters by Goa governor Dom Antão de Noronha. • Fath-Nama-i Nizam Shah by Hasan Shauqi, a Dakhni poet. • Tarif-i Husayn Shah by Aftabi, a poet at Ahmadnagar court. The details of the battle and immediate aftermath are often distinctly contrarian and even accounting for biases, reconstruction is difficult, if not impossible. Description The exact venue of clash has been variously mentioned as Talikota, Rakkasagi-Tangadigi and Bannihatti, all on the banks of river Krishna. There exists debate as to the precise dates. Span-lengths vary from hours to days; descriptions of battle formations and maneuvers vary too. Outcome Rama Raya was eventually beheaded either by Sultan Nizam Hussain himself or by someone else acting on his behest despite Adil Shah, who had friendly relations with Raya, intending against. In the resultant confusion and havoc, Raya's brother Tirumala deserted with the entire army; he did try to regroup in Vijaynagara but failed and moved to the outskirts. His other brother Venkatadri was blinded and likely, killed in action. == Aftermath ==

ordnance in the world, was utilized by the Deccan Sultanates during the Battle of Talikota. It was provided by Ali Adil Shah I (Bijapur Sultanate) The Sultanates' armies went on to plunder Vijayanagara, unopposed. Contemporary historians and archaeologists warn against conflating the state with the town as little evidence exists about any damage inflicted beyond the Royal Center; they further emphasize about the politically strategic nature of destruction and arson, since sites associated with sovereignty, royal power, and authority were subject to more wanton means. The Bijapur Sultanate reaped maximum gains but their alliance did not last long. Tirumala went on to establish the Aravidu dynasty, which held sway over fragments of the erstwhile empire and even operated out of Vijayanagara for two years, before shifting to Pengonda. == Legacy ==

Analysis of defeat Vijayanagara side was winning the war, state Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund in a survey of Indian history, until two Muslim generals of the Vijayanagara army switched sides. Many scholars however reject this account of treachery as a post-battle speculation by Venetian merchant Cesare de Federici in Viaggi, which would be taken up by a section of nationalist historians in their quest to identify traitors upon whom the responsibility of any and all Hindu defeats can be entrusted; a gulf of difference in military prowess—primarily stemming from a failure to incorporate gunpowder technology—is instead noted as the primary factor. ==See also==