Sangama Dynasty

Harihara I and his brother Bukka I, were the founders of Sangma dynasty. The dynasty named after their father whose name was “Sangama”.

Harihara I was crowned king of the new kingdom of Hampi (Hastinavati) in 1336. Harihara and his brother brought under their control almost the whole of the territory that had formerly belonged to the Hoysala kingdom, built a number of forts for the defense of the new kingdom and laid the foundation of a good civil administration.

Bukka I, who became king in 1356, sent a mission to China in 1374. After his death, he was succeeded by his son, Harihara II.

Harihara II was a great fighter and conqueror and extended his authority over Canara, Mysore, Trichinopoly, Kanchi and Chingleput regions.

During his reign of Harihara II, his son, Bukka II made an attempt to capture by Tungabhadra rivers and forming the bone of contention between the Vijayanagar emperor and the Bahamani kingdom. He was defeated by Firoz Shah Bahamani. Though a worshipper of Shiva, Harihara II was tolerant towards other religions. He was succeeded by his son, Deva Raya I.

Deva Raya I, son of Harihari II, had to fight a series of wars with the Bahamani kingdom.

Veera Viyaya Bukka Raya was the next king, who reigned for a few months.

Then came Deva Raya II who reorganized the administration and placed his army on a sound footing. He appointed an officer to look after the overseas commerce. During his reign Vijayanagar was visited by two foreign travelers, Niccolo de Conti, an Italian, and Abdur Razzaq, a Persian, who have left graphic descriptions of the city and the empire. The empire now included the whole of southern India and touched the shores of Ceylon.

The successors of Deva Raya II were weak. There were rebellions and foreign invasions. The Bahamani Sultan and the ruler of Orissa threatened the eastern provinces. The invaders were, however, successfully repelled by Narasinha, a powerful chieftain of Chandragiri (Chittoordistrict). This chief deposed Virupaksha II, the last ruler of the Sangama dynasty, and seized the throne in about 1486.