Conflict Between Vijayanagar and Bahamanis

There were constant conflicts between the Vijayanagar and the Bahamani kingdoms over the control of Raichur doab which was the land between rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra. This area was fertile and rich in mineral resources.

The famous diamond mines of Golconda were located in the eastern part of the doab region. The geography of both the kingdoms was such that expansion was possible only across Tungabhadra in the Deccan. It appears that the battles between the two were not conclusive and the status quo was maintained.

Sometimes, Bahamani had an advantage and sometimes, Vijayanagar had an advantage. For instance, in 1504, the Bahamani managed to reconquer the Raichur doab. However, with the ascent of Krishna Deva Raya, the Bahamanis lost Raichur, Mudkal, Nalgonda and other inland towns. An important result of these wars was that both the powers were so involved amongst themselves that they never realised the increasing power of the Portuguese on the coast of South India. Besides, continuous warfare exhausted the resources of both the states and weakened them.

The other areas of conflict were the Marathwada region and the deltaic region of Krishna-Godavari. Both regions had fertile areas and important ports that controlled trade to the foreign countries. For instance, the fertile area in the Marathwada region was the Konkan belt that also had the port of Goa which was an important region for trade and export and import especially import of horses from Iraq and Iran.

Often, the battles between the Vijayanagar and the Bahamani states are perceived as Hindu-Muslim conflicts. The above reasons show that the struggle was not due to any religious differences. Territorial and economic motives were the main causes for the war.

Despite hostilities between the two states, there were times when they also co-operated with each other. Krishnadevaraya, for example, supported some claimants to power in the Sultanates and took pride in the title “establisher of the Yavana kingdom”. Similarly, the Sultan of Bijapur intervened to resolve succession disputes in Vijayanagra following the death of Krishnadevaraya. There were also sharing and exchange of ideas, especially in the field of art, literature and architecture.