Vijayanagara Empire

State · 1344–1571 CE · at its largest around 1450 CE

A South Indian empire founded by the brothers Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty, with its capital at Vijayanagara (Hampi). Its defeat at the Battle of Talikota in 1565 led to the sack of the capital.

On its lands while it lasted

Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646 CE): South Indian empire founded by Harihara I and Bukka Raya I in 1336, a major patron of Hindu culture and temple architecture.
Madhava of Sangamagrama (c. 1340 CE – 1425 CE): Founder of the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics who discovered infinite series for trigonometric functions and pi.
Vijayanagara (c. 1344–1571 CE): Capital of Vijayanagara Empire (1344–1571).
Vellore (c. 1344 CE): Capital of Vijayanagara Empire (1344–1571).
Bahmani Sultanate (1347–1527 CE): First independent Muslim kingdom of the Deccan, founded at Gulbarga in 1347 and later split into the five Deccan sultanates.
Kalaburagi (c. 1352 CE): Capital of Bahmani Sultanate (1352–1491).
Bidar (c. 1425 CE): Capital of Bahmani Sultanate (1425–1491), Bidar Sultanate (1527–1618).
Afanasy Nikitin’s journey beyond three seas (c. 1466–1475 CE): The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin travelled down the Volga, through Persia and by sea from Hormuz to India, where he spent about three years in the Bahmani Sultanate. He died near Smolensk on the way home; his travel notes survive.
Krishnadevaraya (1471 CE – 1529 CE): Emperor under whom the Vijayanagara Empire reached its height, also a patron of Telugu, Kannada and Sanskrit literature.
Vijayapura (c. 1492 CE): Capital of Bijapur Sultanate (1492–1686).
Vijaypura District (c. 1492 CE): Capital of Bijapur Sultanate (1492–1686).
Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India (1497–1499 CE): Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon around the Cape of Good Hope and up the East African coast to Malindi, then crossed the Arabian Sea to Calicut in 1498, opening the first direct sea route from Europe to India.
Portuguese conquest of Goa (1510 CE): Afonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from the Bijapur Sultanate; it became the capital of Portuguese India until 1961.
Thanjavur (c. 1534 CE): Capital of Nayaks of Thanjavur (1534–1673), Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom (1677–1799).
Battle of Talikota (1565 CE): An alliance of Deccan sultanates defeated Vijayanagara, after which its capital was sacked and abandoned.