Vijayanagara

What is Vijayanagara?

Vijayanagara was a South Indian empire founded in 1336, centred on its capital at Hampi on the Tungabhadra river and sacked in 1565. Its temple architecture is marked by tall gopura gateways, pillared halls and monolithic piers carved with rearing yali. Its gold coinage, known to European traders as the pagoda, circulated far beyond the empire’s own borders.