Of Boars and Tortoises - A Vijayanagar timeline

This is a timeline that is going to focus on a navally inclined Vijayanagar, that tries to increase its wealth and power by controlling trade, which was mostly in the hands of the Arabs, and Persians


IOTL. However, all the ingredients to make Vijayanagar successful at sea were already in the empire. For starters, the Indians had a robust shipbuilding industry from at least the Chola time, (who had made the Bay of Bengal a Chola lake). For another, the Tamil and Keralite kingdoms of the south always had people with naval skills, as had the Gujaratis, who were traders and sailors par excellence. I am starting considerably early to give the Vijayanagar a chance to build up before the Europeans start arriving, and also to give Vijayanagar an incentive to contest control of the sea with the others. Therefore, my start of the timeline is in the 1350s, when the Vijayanagar kingdom had just been formed and the Bahmani kingdom (or rather, the proto-Bahmani kingdom) was struggling for independence against Delhi. Their success initially against the Vijayanagar empire and particularly against the Musunuri Nayaks of Andhra was what provided them the impetus to gain independence from Delhi. Otherwise, it is doubtful if the kingdom would have ever become viable on its own.

This timeline was inspired by Flocculencio, whose ‘Vijayanagar Ascendant’ has explored the timeline superbly, but from a different direction. However, there are a few things that are considerably different from his viewpoint.​

IOTL, the 1355-1359 war between the Bahmani kingdom and the Musunuri Nayak coalition (Musunuri Nayaks of Warangal, Vijayanagar, the Recherla Nayaks of Bhuvanagiri and the Reddies of Addanki) was a watershed. The Bahmani kingdom suffered disastrous defeats initially, losing Bidar and Kaulas to Vinayaka Deva (the son of Kaapaya Nayaka, the Musunuri ruler of Warangal) and Sagar to Vijayanagar. Its stronghold of Bijapur had been besieged by the Vijayanagar troops. However, in 1356, the death of Harihara I of Vijayanagar led to a brief succession war between Bukka Raya I and his opponents, during which the Vijayanagar troops withdrew from the coalition to help put Bukka Raya I on the throne. The exit of Vijayanagar encouraged the Recherla Velama Nayaks of Bhuvanagiri like Singama to hedge their bets (they helped both sides in the hope that they would win, whichever side came up). The Bahmani kingdom took full advantage of this respite gained, drew the inexperienced Vinayaka Deva into a trap, where he was killed and his army routed. By the time Bukka Raya I returned to the war with his army, it was too late for the allies. Here, I am making the assumption that Harihara I lives for a few more years, the war is prosecuted with full vigour with the Velama chiefs of Bhuvanagiri keeping faith since the allies are winning and the Bahamani kingdom loses its southern possessions early in its life.

Also, I am putting original history occurrence in brackets and mentioning clearly how and what I am changing. Any and all criticism is welcome. Please let me know if you think I am going too far anywhere, and too much in favour of anyone.

Vijayanagar Timeline
1356-58 - War with Bahmani Sultanate, in conjunction with the Musunuri Nayaks and the Reddies of Addanki. The victorious Vijayanagar seize Goa, Belgaum, Bijapur, Sagar and Kolhapur. The Musunuri Nayaks seize Bidar and Gulburga. Bahmani kingdom retreats towards Daulatabad, and Ahmednagar.

1360 - Harihara I dies.

Strategic situation: Vijayanagar is one of the several kingdoms in the peninsula. They are on good terms with the Musunuri kingdom of Andhra and the Reddy kingdom of Addanki. The Bahmani kingdom to the north is still a threat, but the defeats have reduced its power. The Delhi sultanate is still very powerful and very interested in recovering the lost territories of the south. However, they need to put their own house in order and Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s ruination of the country has made put a curb on their ambitions for the moment, and still preoccupied in dealing with the plethora of revolts that occurred in the aftermath of the mad Tughlaq king’s death. In the south, there is the Madurai sultanate, but it is weak and trying to hold its lands together. However, its economy is quite strong, and given time, it could become a very powerful opponent of Vijayanagar.

Vijayanagar’s army is only moderate and mostly based on infantry. There are few horses in the kingdom suitable for a cavalry and it cannot afford to hire mercenaries. A strong attack from the north will mean that Vijayanagar, incapable of facing the enemy in the field, will be forced to fight back from its strong forts in the Tungabhadra region and farther south. Its power is roughly on par with the power of the Musunuri Andhra kingdom and slightly more than the weakened Bahmani kingdom.

Vijayanagar’s economy is based on small farmers, often working for powerful landlords. Famines are common. Some forest produce augments the economy of the farmers and the gatherers.


The country’s industrial production is based on individual or very small groups of artisans producing cotton fabrics for most part. Some steel and a miniscule quantity of silk are also produced.


Vijayanagar’s traders are almost all small traders, and there are very few traders who can trade with different countries. Mercantile economy is very insignificant.

1361 - Bukka Raya I, the brother of Harihara I, is crowned king of Vijayanagar, after a short period of infighting.

1362-65 - Vijayanagar begins grabbing the territory of the Hoysalas. Hoysala empire, having suffered a huge defeat at the hands of Madurai sultanate, two decades earlier had disintegrated, more or less, with independent chiefs coming up everywhere. Hoysala territory is easily taken over by the Vijayanagar empire, as Vijayanagar simply steps into the power vacuum since the Hoysalas are gone and the chiefs of the central Cauvery area and Salem are scared of the Madurai sultanate and are glad of Vijayanagar’s help. An added advantage of this policy is that Madurai sultanate is cut off from the other Muslim kingdoms of the north and is having trouble just holding its territory. Vijayanagar cements its hold on Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore and Dharmapuri areas.​
This brings in several advantages. From just the one port in Goa, Vijayanagar manages to get hold of another important port, Mangalore. This port, the natural outlet of the Mysore region is an important addition. Further, the economy of the country significantly improves. The middle Cauvery region is an important rice growing area. Silk is also produced in the Mysore-Bangalore areas, but it is often coarse and substandard, and not of the Chinese quality. Steel (Wootz steel) is also produced in smaller quantities in the Mysore-Salem region.


1366 - Analysing the weaknesses of the Indian armies, Bukka Raya and his Council of Ministers find three major problems. The first, of course, is the disparity between the revenue and resources of the Delhi sultanate and the southern kingdoms. The second was the superiority of the Delhi cavalry. South Indian cavalry was never large/trained enough to beat the Turkish and Afghan horsemen. This means that the Delhi sultanate has considerably greater mobility. The final reason was the infighting among the southern kingdoms and even within kingdoms, that had as enthusiastically fought each other as they had fought the Delhi sultanate. The lack of cooperation between the southern kingdoms had certainly helped the Delhi sultanate. Further, the freedom enjoyed by vassals inside kingdoms had also contributed to the demise of the state, since the vassals often deserted at critical junctures to fulfil their own political ambitions. Analysing the reasons, the ministers realise that they need to improve the revenues of the state and obtain better cooperation between south Indian kingdoms.


1367 - Bukka Raya makes an important change in the control of the armies. All armies would be completely controlled by the emperor, and the army would be commanded by imperial commanders directly appointed by the emperor. The nobles were expressly forbidden from arming or hiring soldiers. Either raising or hiring soldiers would be construed as acts of treason, under the new edict. Those who controlled their own territories were to pay a fixed amount in war tax, but all raising and arming of soldiers was the explicit domain of the king and his officials, who were appointed for specific terms. All soldiers swore an oath of loyalty to the king when taking up their arms. Their pay also came from the king, not from the vassals.

Bukka Raya also made some important reforms for agriculture. For agriculture, taxes were fixed at one fourth of the produce. Industry and trade were taxed differently, but the taxes came to roughly that amount. He also appointed judges to arbitrate disputes impartially. The judges had the right to try anyone accused in the region. This radically cut down on the abuses perpetrated by the nobles. He appoints imperial tax collectors to assess precisely the value of the produce and set taxes accordingly.

1368-70 - Many nobles, mainly in the Cauvery region, which had the old nobility from the Hoysala times, revolt against this change in policy. Bukka Raya, who had anticipated precisely this reaction, marches with his army against the rebellious chieftains, and brings them to heel. The nobles are crushed in a three year campaign, thanks to the speed of Bukka Raya’s reaction. This strengthens the imperial army and its administration.

1368 - Death of Musunuri Kaapaneedu. His son, Vinayaka Deva, ascends the throne. Vijayanagar and the Musunuri Kingdom of Andhra sign a treaty of mutual protection and alliance.

1370 - Another war with Bahmani kingdom, in alliance with the Musunuri Nayaks, ends in a desultory draw since the allied supply and communication lines are stretched and the Bahmani kingdom is in entrenched strongly in the fortresses in the Ahmednagar and Daulatabad areas. The logistics wing of the army is found to be extremely weak and defective.

1371 - A formal intelligence wing is developed. It is authorised to investigate everyone. One of the advantages is that the demise of the bulk of the Hoysala and Kakatiya empires has left a void where Vijayanagar can develop a new ruling class that is loyal to it.

1371 - Kampa Raya, the crown prince, leads an expedition against the Shambuva Raya of Kanchi. Shambuva Raya is routed and his kingdom annexed to the Vijayanagar empire. (IOTL, they put another local man as the ruler of Kanchi.) The Vijayanagar empire now gets access to the Madras area.

1374 - Kampa Raya leads an expedition against the Madurai Sultanate. Madurai sultanate is routed and Thiruchirapally and Thanjavoor occupied. Vijayanagar begins reorganising its infantry based on pikes and longbows.
(There is a curious phenomenon here that is never properly explained anywhere. IOTL, Kampa Raya led a campaign against the Madurai Sultanate, destroyed it, and brought the Madurai sultanate territory - which comprised of southern and central Tamil Nadu of today - under either direct imperial administration or put it under friendly vassals. One of the primary sources of this campaign makes an interesting remark, which basically says that Kampa Raya chose a marshy piece of land for his battle with the Madurai sultanate. He put his spearmen in front in a solid line and the reckless Madurai sultanate horsemen charged against the spear wielding infantry on unfavourable ground, where the horsemen suffered heavy casualties and fled the field. The surprising thing is that no one else has mentioned much about this, and Vijayanagar never had a top class infantry to write home about.​


Vijayanagar would, in fact, despair of the efficiency of its infantry and begin recruiting ‘Turk’ (read Muslim) mercenary horsemen, starting in the early fifteenth century to aid in their campaigns against the horse based Bahmani armies. In any case, Kampa Raya died of illness shortly after the conquest of Madurai and one of his brothers became the king of Vijayanagar. Here is where I am making my other changes. The first change is that Kampa Raya, realising the efficiency of the infantry, began organising the infantry in more disciplined formations, a mixture of pikes and longbows. Longbows were, in fact, a mainstay of the Vijayanagar infantry (and any other Indian infantry), and they were quite effective. Their main problem was that they were very vulnerable to cavalry charges and Indian longbows did not have the penetrative power or the firing rate of the English (or rather, Welsh) longbows. If the pikes become effective and organised in Vijayanagar and longbows, able to operate under the protection of the pikes, become a bit more effective, the kingdom will begin with a very well trained and disciplined infantry and a very different army from that has been seen in India for quite some time. Further, I am making the assumption that it is Kampa Raya who comes to the throne after the death of Bukka Raya I in 1377 and he gets a fairly long reign to organise his army as he wishes.)

1375 - Madurai Sultanate routed again, Madurai occupied. The Vijayanagar army occupies everything until Kanyakumari. Tuticorin becomes another important port.

The economy benefits magnificently. For one thing, the Cauvery delta is a rich rice producing area and its cultivators are a great source of tax, not to mention the increased man power for the army. Further, the old Chola ship building centres in the regions south of the Cauvery fall into Vijayanagar hands. They now hold both the shipbuilding centres in Goa and further south in Tamil country.

1376 - The new capital of Vijayanagar is founded on the southern banks of the Tungabhadra and the royal family moves to the new city from the old capital of Anegondi on the northern bank of the Tungabhadra.

1377 - Death of Bukka Raya I and the accession of Kampa Raya I to the throne of Vijayanagar.


Strategic situation: The situation has considerably improved for Vijayanagar. While the northern situation is the same, the southern situation has improved enormously. With the elimination of the Madurai sultanate, it has gained access to the Kanchi plains, the Cauvery delta and farther south. Roughly, it covers the territory once occupied by the Hoysala and the Pandya kingdoms. Its economy has greatly benefited by the acquisition of these rich lands. More importantly, its military prestige is at a high pitch for the successful war against the despised Madurai sultanate. Further, the Madurai sultanate perished with the bulk of the nobles (and many nobles were executed by the victorious Vijayanagar), so creation of a new ruling class loyal to Vijayanagar is made much easier than if a powerful old nobility were to be hanging on. But most importantly, Vijayanagar has gained access to the old Chola ship building areas and artisans skilled in building ships. This is going to become vital in the coming years.


The situation in the north India is virtually unchanged. The Delhi sultanate is still in damage control mode, but more and more areas are slipping out of its grasp and there are revolts everywhere.


In the south, the Bahmani kingdom is struggling to come to terms with the new power situation, importing what horses and arms it can from Persia and central Asia through the small port of Vengurla. It is eyeing Bombay and the northern Maharashtra area hungrily, but the area is still under Delhi sultanate influence, so the sultan is a little wary, since Firuz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi is still a formidable force, and it is not wise to annoy him.


The Andhra kingdom is slightly smaller than Vijayanagar, but thanks to the fast growth of Vijayanagar, the relations between the two are becoming a touch strained. However, at least on paper, they are still allies.​


There are a number of small kingdoms - the Recherla Nayaks of Bhuvanagiri, the Reddies of Addanki, and the kings of Malabar who are nominally independent.​
 
Go go go!!! This is the second Vijaynagara wank, I hope it's as good as the last one.....

Heh - until now, except for the change in the Bahmani war of 1355 that I mentioned, I have left the rest the same. Vijayanagar did indeed destroy the Madurai Sultanate in the 1370s. IOTL, they put mostly their vassals that far south. ITTL, they are going to incorporate it into Imperial territory, since they are more centralised.

Thanks for the encouragement,
Regards,
Maidros
 
Huzzah! I'll be following this with interest. As you say, a different POD from mine- naval rather than land based and mediaeval rather than renaissance.
 
vijayanagar_1377.jpg

The map at the death of Bukka Raya. The Delhi sultanate still rules the roost, as you can see. The Bahmani kingdom seems large, but they lost the most fertile land in the Gulbarga-Bidar area. Vijayanagar is growing more powerful.

vijayanagar_1377.jpg
 
Huzzah! I'll be following this with interest. As you say, a different POD from mine- naval rather than land based and mediaeval rather than renaissance.

Heh - I hope you continue your timeline - it was fantastic. And your suggestion about the Syrian Christians - well, that will come into play once Vijayanagar starts developing its trade power.
 
First update

1378 - Another desultory war with Bahmanis results in no change in status quo. The fact of the matter is that Ahmadnagar and Daulatabad are quite strong fortresses that cannot be easily taken by the empire’s troops, unless they come up with extraordinary measures. Vijayanagar (and Andhra) army is quite weak and incapable of sustaining and winning long sieges. Disease, hunger and a weak economy preclude long sieges, so it is obvious that Vijayanagar will have to greatly revamp its military if it is to engage in successful offence, or even successful defence against a stronger adversary than the Bahmani sultanate. The Bahmani sultanate is quite hampered by the fact that, with the loss of Goa, they cannot easily import horses from the Arabs. The only port they have available is Vengurla, and it is quite small. The fact that they are rebels and on bad terms with Delhi means that they cannot depend on Gujarat ports either.

1380 - Kampa Raya I is horrified at seeing that only foreigners are controlling all his trade and that his countrymen have precious little share in the trading of his own country’s goods. Around this time, almost all trade in India was controlled by the Arabs and Persians. The locals weavers, smiths and artisans sold their goods at a fraction of the price the Arabs got from their customers. He also realises that Vijayanagar goods (particularly the textiles, spices, perfumes, jewellery and steel) are sought by a lot of others around the world, so Vijayanagar has a rather large customer base. Further, secure in the knowledge that they were the only source of the horses so necessary for the south Indian armies, it was customary for Arabs to overcharge their customers in the peninsula for the magnificent horses. Therefore, Vijayanagar was keen on looking for alternate sources of horses. The final reason for Vijayanagar to involve itself in trading was food security. Famines were a common occurrence in peninsular India given the vagaries of the monsoonal rains, and the rain fed nature of the south Indian rivers. The peasants sometimes barely had enough food for themselves and death by hunger was always possible. The king was aware of the dire consequences of famine for a kingdom. If he had other sources of food, the king could easily alleviate the distress by procuring food from other countries.

Therefore, he decides that the best way to increase the revenues of his state would be to have a strong trading class that will reside in his empire and funnel him the revenue he needs to pay for the army so vital for protecting his kingdom.


Vijayanagar starts developing its own merchant class by giving them incentives to trade with outside world. Four ports, Goa, Madras, Tuticorin and Mangalore are earmarked for the new Vijayanagar merchants (and it was mostly nobles and the king’s businessmen who invested in the ports and trade), who will provide Vijayanagar with the trading class that will trade with Africa, South east Asia and West Asia. Further, Kampa Raya issues an edict giving preferences to his own subjects in trade in these four ports and ordering that the goods of his country be routed to the external world through these four ports.


At this stage, Kampa Raya realises the need to create a navy to protect these merchants and their trade routes. Further, Kampa Raya realises that the navy could solve the mobility problem of the infantry, particularly along the forested coasts where movement was really hard for both men and/or horses. Moreover, many of Vijayanagar’s rivals in India were also dependent on the Arabs for their horses. By creating a strong navy, Vijayanagar would decide who got horses, when and at what prices.


Also, Kampa Raya, a practical man with few illusions, realises that it is only a matter of time before a strong emperor appears in the north and decides to invade the south, or even the Andhra kingdom turns on him. Therefore, he sets about reorganising his army.

For one thing, he realises that the army of the empire will have to be based on the infantry, since it is the only resource he possesses. The infantry will have to do bulk of the fighting and for that, organisation and equipment are extremely important. However, well aware of the power of the horse, he understands that he will need a cavalry, whether it is hired or raised from within the country. It is the superior mobility of the enemy that gives him a formidable advantage. However, horses will be expensive and difficult to raise and maintain in the country, and therefore, he will use them only for those purposes of screening, scouting and skirmishing which cannot be done by the infantry. Elephants have a role - a super heavy cavalry - that they can play effectively if used properly and given a chance.


The obvious question was how to organise the infantry and what to do about the cavalry. For the first, he decides that the pike and longbow organisation that served him so well against the Madurai Sultanate should form the backbone of the army. The pikes would leave gaps for the archers who would rush forward, fire and fall back behind the protection of the pikes again, who would form a wall after the archers fell back. The archers could continue to fire over the shoulders of the pikemen after the enemy infantry/cavalry engaged the pikemen. The bulk of the Vijayanagar infantry is drawn from the common peasants and forest tribes, who are inured to hardship and can be disciplined into a strong force.

After a considerable amount of experimentation, it is found that a pike to longbow ratio of three to two works quite comfortably (the early pikemen were not so disciplined and capable and this ratio was needed to keep the line firm against charging horsemen). The army is divided into platoons, companies, regiments and division. There are ten soldiers in a platoon, ten platoons in a company, ten companies in a regiment and ten regiments in a division. The king and his council decide to raise three divisions of soldiers (whom they can afford to pay). The cavalry is organised similarly, but the platoon consists of five horsemen, instead of the ten in the infantry. Vijayanagar raises four regiments (mostly consisting of nobles and aristocrats, who were the only able horsemen in the country) in the cavalry, who were reasonably armed and armoured. Nevertheless, from the organisation, it was clear that Kampa Raya had hitched his bets on his infantry.

Further, Kampa Raya understood the consequences of the lack of a strong cavalry. It would greatly cut down the ability of armies to communicate across distances, even with a powerful navy. Therefore, to protect the border, he emphasised on a set of strong fortifications.


1382 - Vijayanagar naval architects, having examined both Arab and Chinese craft that came to India to trade, decide in favour of the Chinese designs, which with their water tight compartments and iron nails to hold together the planks, instead of the rope bindings used by the Arabs, are clearly more robust. Besides, from the days of the Cholas, the Chinese designs in ship building are well known and therefore, well understood. However, at this stage, the Vijayanagar ships followed the design of the older Song ships, and not the newer design of the treasure ships.

1383 - Vijayanagar’s overtures for trading preferences in Calicut are rejected. Cochin, however, agrees to give some privileges for Vijayanagar traders.

1384 - A naval fleet of twelve large ships, and sixteen small ships is commissioned at Tuticorin (an old Chola shipbuilding centre). The ships carry about two thousand troops and are well armed. The admiral of the fleet is asked to go around south east Asia and obtain trading privileges throughout the region.

1384 - Vijayanagar fleet lands in the kingdom of Jaffna and manage to get trading rights there. They are, however, unsuccessful in getting trading rights at Kotte farther south, where Arab influence is extremely high.

1384 - The Vijayanagar fleet arrives in Temasek (technically, Singapore, but also included the southern tip of Malaya, roughly today’s Johor province) and makes friendly overtures to the ruler of Temasek, Samagi, presenting him with rich gifts of gold, silk and ivory, requesting permission to trade in his country. The Hindu-Buddhist Malay kingdom cheerfully agrees to the proposal, happy to grant permission to the Vijayanagar empire to trade there.


Further, there is considerable tension between the Malayan nobles and the Arab (and Indian Muslim) nobles, since they are engaged in a power struggle. The Hindu Malays manage to persuade the king to grant trading privileges.

1385 - Vinayaka Deva dies and there is considerable infighting between his two sons, Sankrama and Vikrama. The Reddies of Addanki side with Sankrama, while the Recherla Nayaks of Bhuvanagiri support Vikrama. Open war breaks out between the two.


1385 - The Vijayanagar fleet then sails to Aceh, and Samudra Pasai, but their proposal to trade is rejected as the Arabs have a firm control over the ruling circles of these two countries. The Vijayanagar delegation is summarily expelled.

1386 - The Vijayanagar fleet sails further south to Palembang, and Jambi, which happen to be in the kingdom of Majapahit. The Vijayanagar delegation is escorted to Wilawatikta (Majapahit capital), where the delegation, seeing the grandeur of the kingdom, present many precious gifts as earnest tokens of the Vijayanagar empire’s desire for friendly relations with the kingdom. Initially proud and disdainful of Vijayanagar, however, the king Rajasangara, finally consents to a trading relationship between the two states and allows Vijayanagar traders to trade in his kingdom. The fleet returns to Vijayanagar having obtained concessions at Temasek and Majapahit, and bringing information about the city states of Malay peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Temasek, Java, and Andaman. They also tell the king about the trade potential of these islands.


1387 - The king warmly congratulates the fleet and begins vigorous preparations to trade with Temasek and Majapahit. Their requirements are rather similar - great interest in Vijayanagar steel (for high quality weapons, mostly), jewellery and fabrics, and some interest in silk (but not much because Vijayanagar silk is rather crude compared to the finer silk of China). In return, Vijayanagar merchants can import cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. They also tell the king that Java has a small surplus of horses, which it may be possible to import.

1387 - The Vijayanagar navy begins to train its own soldiers for action at sea. These marines are mostly swordsmen and longbowmen for close action - the swordsmen to board the ships and the longbowmen for support fire. The navy also begins to learn the techniques of grappling enemy ships and boarding them. Naval siege weaponry - naphtha throwers, ballistae and giant catapults are also installed on the Vijayanagar fleets. Further, Vijayanagar fleets, built with on a flatter keel, are more easy to manoeuvre, and being larger and sturdier, are more capable of taking punishment and also carry more men. Their principal downsides are the requirement of a larger crew to handle the ships, their price and large size, which can be a problem in narrow inlets and straits. But coming into contact with the enemy is actually favourable to Vijayanagar, since their well disciplined marines can take care of the enemy crew and any soldiers. Vijayanagar would prefer to engage the enemy in the open seas, where they can use their ships to advantage.


Over the next two decades, the Vijayanagar naval acolytes, with the help of merchant crews and steersmen, learn the tricks of using the power of the wind for their benefit. They also learn the important winds. The king announces rewards to those who can build better ships. Also, Vijayanagar’s access to excellent timber courtesy the forests east of Goa and those west of Tuticorin make things better for them and result in better ships.


1387 - Another fleet of similar composition as the one created three years ago is commissioned at Goa. This fleet is also sent to south east Asia to obtain trading rights in the countries beyond Temasek.


1387 - War with the Bahmanis. Prosecuted only half heartedly by all combatants. No important result.

1388 - Vijayanagar invades Hinawr (Honavar) a small coastal kingdom and annexes the state. Another port obtained by the Vijayanagar kingdom and Vijayanagar influence is strengthened along the western coast.​
Vikrama dies and Sankrama ascends the throne. The only result of this battle between the brothers is that the Recherla Nayaks have grabbed Golkonda (Hyderabad) and the Reddies of Addanki have grabbed Udayagiri and Vinukonda.

1388 - The Vijayanagar delegation arrives in the kingdom of Ayutthaya. They king evinces considerable interest in trading with Vijayanagar, and grants Vijayanagar permission to build trading stations on his lands, outside city walls. Vijayanagar fleet them sails to the Angkor kingdom, which is barely surviving in the region. They persuade the king of Angkor with gifts of weapons to grant them trading rights in the kingdom.

1388 - The Vijayanagar fleet reaches the Champa kingdom. Here again, it takes considerable persuasion as the chiefs of Champa are a divided lot and spend a lot of time squabbling. However, the Vijayanagar delegation manages to obtain trading concessions in the ports of Panduranga, Kauthara and Vijaya.

1389 - They sail to Dai Viet ports under the Tran dynasty of Vietnam. There they meet with a cold welcome. The Dai Viet kings send them away without any promise, telling the Vijayanagar empire that they would consider this proposal and let them know. In truth, by this time, the Dai Viet were terrified of giving any offence to the Ming Chinese by their courting foreign influences. They were waiting to see what reception the Vijayanagar emissaries would get in Ming China before they made up their minds.

1389 - The Vijayanagar embassy proceeds to China and present the king of China precious gifts like pearls, diamonds and gold. After agreeing to the Chinese conditions (the tributary system), they are permitted some meagre trading rights. Vijayanagar embassy is disappointed with the harsh conditions of trade, but departs the region.

1389 - In late 1389, the fleet debates whether to proceed further. The admiral of the day, Vishwanatham, pointing out that their reward would be greater in the empire if they managed to get concessions from more kingdoms, persuades that they should visit the courts of Korea, Japan and Ryukyu (of which they had heard in the Ming court) and see if they could obtain trading concessions.


1390 - The Vijayanagar naval architects replace the iron nails with Wootz steel ones. Besides improving the strength of the ship, these are also a bit less prone to rusting.

1390 - The Vijayanagar fleet sails to Korea, and finds that the kingdom is in total chaos, with revolts going on everywhere, and no one to really listen to their pleas. They wait several weeks, but are disappointed that there is nothing for them to do. Seeing the situation, they depart for Japan.

The Vijayanagar fleet encounter a small band of Wokou off the coast of Tsushima, and the mettle of the Vijayanagar fleet is tested as the ships of the Wokou attack the Vijayanagar fleet. In close quarters combat, the Wokou are defeated, and losing three ships, they flee under the cover of darkness. Vijayanagar win their first naval victory. After considerable persuasion, and many valuable gifts, the Vijayanagar get permission to trade in one ports - Nagasaki.

1390 - Finally, the Vijayanagar fleet arrives in Ryukyu - it is mostly a transit point and another trader using it as the transit point is of no problem for them. Vijayanagar are welcomed. Having accomplished all this, the Vijayanagar fleet returns home.

1391-93 - Musunuri Nayaks of Warangal and their Vijayanagar allies start another war with the Bahmanis. The invasion proceeds along well known paths, and the Bahmani kingdom is able to defend itself quite capably against the Hindu allies. The ability of the Bahmani kingdom to defend itself seriously dents the prestige of the Andhra kingdom and leads to a revolt by several disgruntled nobles and an attack against Vinayaka Deva by the Velamas of Bhuvanagiri. Vinayaka Deva survives and manages to defend his lands, but the southern regions of Andhra are showing signs of breaking away from the Andhra kingdom. Vijayanagar had committed only one division and that division had operated under the direction of Warangal generals, so the fallout is less severe for Vijayanagar. However, there is considerable heartburn in the Andhra kingdom that Vijayanagar is less than interested in eliminating this remaining Bahmani kingdom.

1392 - Vijayanagar begins trading intensely with the eastern countries. Another trade exploration mission, sent east manages to obtain concessions from the kings of Arakan, Pegu and the Awa kingdoms. Bengal, however, refuses permission to Vijayanagar’s merchants.

1392 - Kampa Raya, seeing the need for longbow archers, popularises the sport in the kingdom, introducing many prizes for good archery. Bows also become stronger, with a greater draw weight.

1393 - Another trade delegation is sent farther east and manages to obtain concessions from the island kingdoms of the east. They manage to obtain concessions from the kingdoms of Cebu, Butuan and Brunei.

1393 - With the eastern trade potential tapped, Vijayanagar starts encouraging its weavers and smiths to make use of Vijayanagar ports and merchants to transport their goods, by encouraging the new sailor and trader classes with more incentives. Roads leading from industrial centres like Bangalore, Mysore, Vijayanagar, Bijapur, Kanchi, Thanjavur and Salem to the ports of Mangalore, Goa, Madras, Tuticorin and Cochin are regularly patrolled by a force raised for that purpose. Coordination with the Raja of Cochin is greatly increased to put down robbers and thieves, preying on the poor. The king also creates a new department whose work is the construction and regular maintenance of roads connecting the capital, the industrial centres and the ports. Shelters are also created along the roads so that merchants could use the roads throughout the year.

The consequence of this policy is that within a few years, Vijayanagar is competing strongly with the Arabs. Indian textiles, principally cotton fabrics, from Vijayanagar compete with the textiles carried by Arabs from Gujarat, Bengal, Sindh and the Hindustan plains. With their production centres closer, and their ships larger, Vijayanagar starts posing a significant challenge to the Arab trade. Further, Vijayanagar also starts exporting spices, and some sugar to China and Japan. Finally, Vijayanagar has managed to get a large share of the trade in steel. With the important steel making centres of the south in the hands of the Vijayanagar, it is only Sri Lankan steel that is making its way into the hands of the Arabs. Alarmed (and inflamed) by this new development, and with a strong desire to force the Vijayanagar empire to change its policies in favour of the Arabs, Arabs start charging more and more for the horses they bring in to Vijayanagar, forcing the empire to start importing the smaller horses from Burma and Java for their cavalry. Kampa Raya is furious at this blatant abuse of the Arab monopoly and decides to bring them to heel.


1393 - Kampa Raya, knowing the importance of selling goods of good quality, introduces quality standards for most goods that are being sold. Further, he works with the silk producers to improve the quality of the silk being produced.


1394 - Vijayanagar secretly signs a treaty of cooperation and friendship with the Raja of Cochin, a strong opponent of king of Calicut, a kingdom under heavy Arab influence, guaranteeing the Cochin Raja’s territory. Further, Vijayanagar promises to come to the aid of Cochin should it be attacked.


1394 - Some more quiet diplomacy persuades the Nayak of Coorg to join Vijayanagar empire as a vassal. As an agreement, he agrees to merge his army into the Imperial army, while retaining only five hundred troops as his household troops. In return, Vijayanagar grants him all the tax money that would be obtained from shipbuilding activities in Mangalore that would use the teak in his territory. A son of Coorg Nayak marries a daughter of Kampa Raya.

1395 - Encouraged by the Vijayanagar treaty, the Raja of Cochin starts offering provocations to the Calicut kingdom, a kingdom more powerful than his own. When Calicut invades Cochin, a Vijayanagar division jumps into the fray, marching west from Salem, where it had been billeted.​
The navy of Calicut is quite large (nearly eighty ships) and it moves to block the Cochin harbour, while its land forces march towards Cochin. In the meantime, a Vijayanagar navy of roughly the same size moves from Mangalore to take on the blockading fleet. A sharp clash occurs, wherein the Vijayanagar navy’s grappling hooks and sturdier ships decide the issue in a matter of a few hours. Most of the Calicut fleet is sent to the bottom of the Arabian sea or captured and the few remaining ones limp back home. In the meantime, Vijayanagar troops march towards Calicut itself.

Panicking at the defeat of his navy and learning of a Vijayanagar army marching towards his capital, the Raja of Calicut orders his soldiers to rush back to protect it, but Vijayanagar troops ambush it and completely rout it. They then besiege Calicut.


The Samudhri Raja of Calicut surrenders unconditionally to the Vijayanagar empire. His army and navy are disbanded, but he is forgiven, and allowed to keep his throne as a protectorate and even keep the same advisers and policies as before, to the relief of the Arabs. A small part of his kingdom was given to Cochin, and a fine was imposed on him for going to war against the kingdom of Cochin, but none of them were disastrous for Calicut. The truth behind the emperor’s generosity was that Kampa Raya knew that the Vijayanagar navy was not yet ready to take on the Arab fleet yet, if one sailed in towards his kingdom to support the Arab traders in Calicut. The army and the navy required more time to mature.

1395 - Seeing the needs of the navy and the merchant ships, light houses are built at Goa, Mangalore, Cochin, Tuticorin and Madras. Also, the development of the navy, brings into being several associated instrument making, timber procurement and iron working industries in the ship building centres.

1396 - A true patron of learning, Kampa Raya establishes two religion-university complexes, one at Vijayanagar and another at Mysore. They are meant to debate and understand the dictates of Hindu religion, but also allow the study of Buddhist and Jain religions.

1397 - Vijayanagar begins a war against Travancore Raja. Vijayanagar is supported by the Raja of Cochin in this endeavour. War drags for about an year, but at the end, the Travancore Raja has been vassalised. The result of all these wars in the Malabar is that king of Cochin has become a very important person at the Vijayanagar court. He is a close confidante of the king.

However, it was also very important is showing the limitations of the army. The army has a superb infantry, but its cavalry and siege arms are very weak. Kampa Raya realises the problem, but is not yet in a position to fix it.​
1397 - Having begun trading in the earnest in the east, Kampa Raya sends a naval expedition to obtain trading privileges from the city states of east Africa. Except for Sofala and Barawa, none of the others are interested in Vijayanagar (or are persuaded by the Arabs not to grant any trading rights to Vijayanagar).

1398 - Vijayanagar sends an embassy to the court of the Mamelukes for trading privileges in Egypt, but is thrown out and returns empty handed as merchants from Egypt do not wish to lose their monopoly over the trade routes from the west to India. Further, many are annoyed that Vijayanagar has been competing against them for the trade in south east Asia and has been diverting south Indian products into its own ports and for the benefit of its own merchants. Rasulid Yemen and Oman also refuse permission to the Vijayanagar to trade with them. Vijayanagar is annoyed with the Arab monopoly of the trade going westwards.


1398 - Timur-i-Lang sacks Delhi. The power of the Delhi sultanate is utterly shattered. There are revolts everywhere in former Delhi sultanate territory. The sultanate authority vanishes in all outlying provinces.

1398 - Learning of the defeat of the Delhi sultanate, the vultures come in and dive for the kill. Malwa, Gujarat, Jaunpur, and Mithila all declare independence, and there is no one to counter them.

1399 - Vijayanagar, and Bahamani kingdom both make a beeline for the ports of Bombay, Surat, and Broach. The Gujarat kingdom also claims them. However, given the speed and power of the Vijayanagar navy, it is Vijayanagar that reaches them first. The Vijayanagar navy occupies all three ports whose petty chiefs are easily chased out, with the help of the local Hindu population, which had long languished under the Delhi sultanate. The Bahmani kingdom, which had claimed all three ports, seeing them occupied by Vijayanagar, promptly declares war against Vijayanagar and settles for a siege of the three cities, since it had no navy and the land side was well protected by walls.

1399 - Vijayanagar troops attack the Bahmani kingdom from the south and south-west. The Bahmani kingdom mobilises, and attacks the Vijayanagar armies on the Bhima, but is defeated and pushed back. Vijayanagar troops chase the enemy and lock them inside the fortress of Osmanabad, which they then proceed to besiege. The cavalry, in the meantime, begins to raid the neighbouring countryside, with the soldiers reaching as far as Jalna, Parbhani and Solapur.

Seeing so much of his military capital locked up inside the fortress of Osmanabad, and the rest of his domain open for pillage, the Bahmani sultan recalls the besieging forces from the north, and they march out to relieve the important fortress of Osmanabad.


With the Bahmani forces gone, the naval commander of Vijayanagar makes a brave decision. He leaves a small garrison in all three ports and sails to Vengurla. The Bahmani sultan was not unaware of the Vijayanagar capability, so he had left a reasonable garrison in the port town, but on the seaward side, it was weakly protected, and not easily defensible, since it had a rather long and indefensible coast. Vijayanagar marines landed using the cover of darkness and after a hard and bitter fight in the confines of the city, chased the garrison back to the citadel, where it was besieged. The garrison held out there for twelve days, but its supply of food ran out, and it was forced to surrender, giving Vijayanagar control over the the last port of the Bahmani kingdom.

1400 - The relieving army had sent a message to the captain of the besieged army in Osmanabad to attack the rear of the Vijayanagar troops, while they attacked from the front. The Vijayanagar army was quite aware of the possibility. Therefore, they left a small force to stop the besieged from joining the relieving force, and tried a night attack on the relieving army. The effective intelligence of the Bahmani army precluded the surprise that Vijayanagar had been counting on, but it also meant that this battle (or at least a large part of it), fought out of the earshot of the besieged fortress, meant that Vijayanagar had only to fight the relieving Bahmani army and not the combined forces. The besieged army learnt of the Vijayanagar plan only a good time after the Vijayanagar troops had left, and even after they sallied out, they were forced to fight the rearguard in a small area, which gave advantage to the Vijayanagar troops.

After roughly four hours of fighting (the darkness precluded good archery for Vijayanagar and the confined space around the camp precluded the effective use of cavalry by the Bahmani), the Bahmani army was forced to retreat northwards with considerable losses. With their cavalry screening their rear, they hurried back and arrived just in time to protect the collapse of their rearguard. The Vijayanagar troops managed to drive back the besieged army back to Osmanabad. Both the Bahmani and the Vijayanagar armies had taken considerable damage in the bargain. Vijayanagar uses its larger war chest to raise another division of troops for the defence of Konkan, which it now more or less dominates. It sends this division to reinforce the besieging troops at Osmanabad.

1400 - In the meantime, Gujarat, having consolidated its hold on the Kathiwar peninsula, now takes Ahmedabad, Baroda and Khambat.

1400 - Bahmanis make a last heroic effort to relieve the trapped soldiers in Osmanabad, but its army is stopped and pushed back once more. The trapped soldiers of Osmanabad, having exhausted their food, and with hunger stalking the town, surrender.

Seeing the collapse of a large part of his army and the fall of Osmanabad, the disheartened Bahmani sultan makes an overture of peace. He is forced to reconcile to the loss of the entire Konkan coast, apart from recognising Vijayanagar conquests of Bombay, Broach and Surat. With the conquest of Surat, Vijayanagar gets hold of more ports, apart from access to the huge jewellery hub of Bombay, Surat and Broach. Further, Bombay is made into a naval base. The major problem for the Bahmanis now is that they are almost completely cut off from the horses of Persia and Arabia.

1400 - Vijayanagar’s trading contacts have blossomed in the fifteen years. In particular, Vijayanagar’s ability to put down pirates in the straits of Malacca earns accolades from both Majapahit and Temasek.​
Further, Vijayanagar, seeing the strength of the Ming empire and its bureaucracy, begins to copy the system. In all imperial lands (and Vijayanagar did have a number of vassals, particularly on the Malabar coast and the Mysore and Coorg regions), and particularly ports and cities, the imperial tax collectors and harbour masters are appointed by the king for definite tenures. Taxes are clearly assessed and harbour duties are rationalised. The changes in administration bring much greater revenues to the kingdom.


Secondly, Kampa Raya imposes clear standards for the army and the soldiers recruited in Imperial territory. They are placed under Imperial commanders who are promoted from within the ranks of the soldiers based on command ability. All soldiers are expected to be of the class, and qualify against the enforced standards. This greatly improves the efficiency of the army. Kampa Raya still has not got round to paying the cavalry the requisite attention he requires.


Finally, Kampa Raya raises a Royal guard, numbering half a division, whose main function is to defend the king and the capital. They are the pick of the soldiers and are the king’s personal enforcers, trained to do things that regular soldiers cannot accomplish. They are under the personal command of the king.

1401 - Vijayanagar’s new navy is in action again. Intervening in the war between the Northern kingdom of Jaffna and the southern kingdom of Kotte, Vijayanagar routs the southern kingdom’s army near Anuradhapura. The port of Kotte taken by the Vijayanagar kingdom, while the Northern kingdom of Jaffna takes the remainder of the Kotte territory and becomes an ally. Jaffna also agrees to allow Vijayanagar to lease the port of Trincomalee in return for a large annual rent.

1402 - Vijayanagar’s weaknesses in pathfinding are debated. Astronomy is now to be studied at the universities in Vijayanagar and Mysore, so that astronomical developments can be used in sailing. Observatories are built at the two universities.

1403 - Vijayanagar invades and defeats the weak ruler of Daman and occupies the port. Further, access to the hardy hillmen of the Western ghats gives Vijayanagar an excellent infantry recruiting region.

1403 - Gujarat is in a turbulent period at this point of time. Tatar Khan, after imprisoning his father, had recruited an army to attack Delhi and begun marching with it. However, he was poisoned by his uncle, Shams Khan, who took control of a part of the army, ravaged Gujarat and fled with the loot.



Tatar Khan’s huge taxes and the subsequent loot of the entire area by Shams Khan led to a large scale rebellion. The merchant classes invite Vijayanagar to invade the kingdom and take over the state, promising assistance if they were delivered from this misrule.

1404 - Invasion of Gujarat by the Vijayanagar. When Vijayanagar attacked Gujarat, the latter was in deep financial trouble and had virtually no army worth the name. To make matters worse, the Delhi rulers stood aside, leaving the latest ruler, Zafar Khan, to fend for himself. To top all the woes, the looting carried out by Shams Khan had turned the subjects hostile and the Hindus of Gujarat actively assisted the enemy. The Vijayanagar navy seized Khambat, while Baroda and Godhra defected to Vijayanagar, as their governors, fed up with the Muzaffarid ruler, simply surrendered their cities to the marching Vijayanagar troops. Vijayanagar marched further north, and engaged the remnants of the Gujarat army near Ahmedabad. Vijayanagar won a resounding victory and the sultan fled to Malwa. The march across the Kathiwar peninsula turned into a victory parade and most towns simply went over to the new rulers, with no resistance worth the name, except for a short skirmish at Junagadh, where a few staunch adherents of Zafar Khan put up some opposition. However, they were crushed and the battle ended in a few months with the occupation of Diu by the Vijayanagar navy. For diplomatic reasons, the Vijayanagar rulers handed over parts of northern Gujarat to the Mewar rulers.

The Gujarat merchant community that had helped Vijayanagar is greatly rewarded by the Vijayanagar empire, that grants them privileges in trade. Further, the existing merchant class that had been operating in the south is happy to cooperate with the Gujarati trader community in exploiting opportunities.


1405 - The ruler of Temasek, Parameshwara, is invited by the people of Melaka (Malacca) to take over their city, which is misruled by a remnant noble of the Sri Vijaya kingdom. Vijayanagar provides him with twenty ships and two thousand men for this enterprise. The attack on Melaka is successful and the king, Parameshwara is grateful to his Vijayanagar benefactors. Vijayanagar’s influence increases in the Temasek kingdom. The Arabs and the Tamil Muslim community is displeased at their decreasing influence.

1406 - Vijayanagar, to boost the recent bonhomie between Vijayanagar and the kingdom of Temasek, proposes that a Vijayanagar princess be married to the sexagenerian king of Temasek. The king of Temasek had, however, been engaged to marry a prince of Samudra Pasai (on Sumatra) and this proposal was not to the liking of either the Arabs and the Tamil Muslims, or the kingdom of Pasai. Therefore, there was a lot of nip-and-tuck battle about which princess would marry the king, with the Arabs and the Tamil-Muslims trying to influence the king on one side, and the Hindu-Malays working for a closer relationship with Vijayanagar on the other.

1406 - The king reorganises the administration in Gujarat and makes it an imperial province. To offset any problems with the vassals (Baroda, Patan and Mehsana), he rewards them handsomely with the remaining wealth of the Gujarat treasury.

Further, for the defence of Gujarat, Kampa Raya orders raising another division in Gujarat. He divides the Imperial territory into five regions - Madurai, Mysore, Vijayanagar, Konkan-Tulunad and Gujarat. He also decrees that each of the five regions is to be governed by a royal governor, which must supply a division apiece to the king. However, only the king has command over the armies. The royal governors perform mainly a civil function. The military recruits any free man in these regions, provided he can perform to the standards. The army recruitment procedures are purely in the hands of the army. The governor’s only function is to make sure that the civil obligations are performed and the men are available for the army. He is also to make sure that the army does not over-recruit.​
Another naval base is established at Diu.

1407 - After much debate and dissension, the Hindu-Malay nobles, bolstered by Vijayanagar’s gold, succeed in convincing the king Parameswara to marry the Vijayanagar princess.


1407 - Death of Kampa Raya. Since the king had no children, his nephew Deva Raya I was crowned the king of Vijayanagar.


Strategic Situation: Vijayanagar, thanks to chaos after the fall of the Delhi sultanate has benefited greatly and has all but taken over the west coast. Except for the sole port of Calicut in the south and the ports of Sindh in the extreme northwest, the Arabs are now almost entirely eliminated from the Arabian sea coast of India. Further, with the acquisition of the rich cotton growing lands of Gujarat and the jewellery working centres of Surat and Bharuch, Vijayanagar will have an all but unbreakable hold on Indian cotton textiles, jewellery, and steel markets. The acquisition of the cotton rich Gujarat greatly helps the local weavers and merchants.


The Delhi sultanate is all but dead, and the provinces have declared their independence. Malwa kingdom is just appearing as an independent entity. They are consolidating themselves in the region. Jaunpur, another power is consolidating itself in the central Gangetic valley. Bahmani kingdom and Khandesh are watching Vijayanagar warily, since its power is growing too great. Even the Andhra kingdom is not too pleased with the rapid growth of the Vijayanagar empire.


Internally, Vijayanagar is safe and sound, and trade is booming. The wars they have fought have been ‘tea time wars’, all of which have concluded without draining the treasury or manpower greatly. They have simply profited from the death of the Delhi sultanate, moving into the power vacuum, removing the weak rulers and replacing them with their own authority.

[Author's Note - Vijayanagar is reaching the limit of its ability to expand. Apart from minimal conquest (in terms of territory), Vijayanagar, with this composition of forces cannot do much more. They are going to be heavily dependent on their navy, and that cuts down their ability to control territory actually.]
 
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