The Vijayanagara Empire ( , ), referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese

Portuguese India

The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...

, was an empire based in South India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

n in the Deccan Plateau

Deccan Plateau

The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of...

 region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I

Harihara I

Harihara I , also called Hakka ಹಕ್ಕ and Vira Harihara I, was the founder of the Vijayanagara empire. He was Bhavana Sangama’s eldest son, belonged to the Kuruba clan and was founder of the Sangama dynasty, the first among the four dynasties that ruled Vijayanagara...

 and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava

Yadava

The Yadavas were an ancient Indian people who believed themselves to be descended from Yadu, a mythical king. The community was probably formed of four clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Satvatas, who all worshipped Lord Krishna. They are listed in ancient Indian literature as the...

 lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers against Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. It lasted until 1646 although its power declined after a major military defeat in 1565 by the Deccan sultanates

Deccan sultanates

The Deccan sultanates were five Muslim-ruled late medieval kingdoms—Bijapur, Golkonda, Ahmadnagar, Bidar, and Berar—of south-central India. The Deccan sultanates were located on the Deccan Plateau, between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. These kingdoms became independent during the breakup...

.