Chapter three focuses on south India from the mid-fourteenth through mid-fifteenth centuries with an emphasis on Vijayanagara. We consider the rise and fall of this powerful kingdom including its military nature and its cultural orientation. While the rulers of Vijayanagara cast themselves as exemplary Hindu kings, they also embraced Islamicate cultural expression in their courtly dress and their palace buildings. The robust economy of Vijayanagara allowed for successful territorial expansion facilitated by active and successful trading. Contemporary with Vijayanagara was the Muslim ruled Bahmani kingdom situated to the northwest. The prime minister Mahmud Gawan’s ability to control its two dominant factions, nobles from Iran on one hand and Indian Muslims on the other, is among the topics explored.
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