In the given question, a statement of Assertion is followed by a statement of Reason. Mark the correct answer.

Assertion: The amara-nayaka played an important role in the Vijayanagara empire.

Reason: They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons, and traders, and also maintained a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants for the king.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

The correct answer is Option 1 - Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

Assertion: The amara-nayaka played an important role in the Vijayanagara empire.

Reason: They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons, and traders, and also maintained a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants for the king.

The Reason supports the Assertion by explaining some of the key responsibilities of amara-nayakas, such as tax collection and maintaining a military contingent (horses and elephants). These were indeed crucial functions that contributed to their importance and influence within the empire. Therefore, both the Assertion and Reason are individually correct and the Reason explains the Assertion logically

The Amara Nayakas:

The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate. The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the raya. They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders in the area. They retained part of the revenue for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants. These contingents provided the Vijayanagara kings with an effective fighting force with which they brought the entire southern peninsula under their control. Some of the revenue was also used for the maintenance of temples and irrigation works. The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty. Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another. However, during the course of the seventeenth century, many of these nayakas established independent kingdoms. This hastened the collapse of the central imperial structure.