A group of college students from Bengaluru visits a village in the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab. Among huge boulders they see the ruins of Vijayanagara: broken gateways, long stone walls and halls with carved pillars. Local elders tell them tales of a great city that was sacked in a battle and later deserted. Their teacher explains that scholars rebuilt the history of this empire by putting together such local tales with ruins, inscriptions and written records. She adds that a British officer working for the English East India Company was the first to survey the site and draw its map.
In which year was the empire founded?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → 1336
The empire was founded in 1336, in the fourteenth century; 1565 is the year the city was sacked.
NCERT (2026-27): “An Imperial Capital Vijayanagara . fourteenth to sixteenth century) “According to tradition and epigraphic evidence two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, founded the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336. This empire included within its fluctuating frontiers peoples who spoke different languages and followed different religious traditions.” |