Vijayapura

History of Vijayapura

The Chalukya dynasty of Kalyani laid foundations to the historic Vijayapura city during the tenth and eleventh centuries. The city was called Vijayapura, which meant "City of Victory". Later, the city came under the influence of Muslim kings.

Allaudin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi, ruled it at the end of the 13th century, and then the Bahmani kings of Bidar began to rule it in 1347.

In 1481, Mohammed III of the Bahmani dynasty appointed Yusuf Adil Khan, the son of Sultan Mahmud II of Turkey, as the Governor of Vijayapura. After his father's death, he fled his country to escape his possible massacre in the battle for succession to the throne. He was purchased as a slave by Mahmud Gawan, the prime minister of the Bahmani Sultanate of Deccan. With the decline of the Bahmani power at Bidar, Yusuf Adil Khan declared his independence in 1489. He became the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty, which survived as a kingdom until its annexation by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1686.

Vijayapura experienced a great burst of architectural activity under the Adil Shahi dynasty. The Adil Shahis encouraged the construction of monuments to such an extent that Vijayapura has over 50 mosques, more than 20 tombs and several palaces. It was also observed that Adil Shahis employed a large number of Indian artisans. Before this, Muslim rulers of the Deccan deployed Persian artisans and architects. Now, proposals have been made to list the monuments of Vijayapura under the World Heritage tag.