The essentials
Vijayanagara lies in a natural basin formed by the river Tungabhadra, which flows in a north-easterly direction. The landscape is full of granite hills, and many streams flow down from them to the river. Because the region is one of the driest in the peninsula, storing and channelling water was essential.
Embankments were built along streams to make reservoirs of different sizes. The Kamalapuram tank, built in the early fifteenth century, watered fields nearby and was connected by a channel to the royal centre. The Hiriya canal drew water from a dam across the Tungabhadra and irrigated the cultivated valley separating the sacred centre from the urban core; it was probably built by the Sangama kings.
Key points
- Fortifications: the Persian ambassador Abdur Razzaq, sent by the ruler of Persia to Calicut in the fifteenth century, was impressed by seven lines of forts enclosing the city and its fields and forests.
- The walls enclosed agricultural land as well, so the city could survive a long siege.
- Walls were built of stone dressed into wedge shapes, without mortar; gateways had arches and domes, an architectural feature seen as Indo-Islamic.
- Roads generally avoided the rocky terrain and ran through valleys; important roads linked temple gateways and were lined with bazaars.
- Archaeologists found Chinese porcelain in the north-eastern area of the urban core, suggesting wealthy traders lived there.
- Travellers also describe the houses of ordinary people, though few of these survive.
Exam tips
Remember why the fields were placed inside the walls, and connect the Tungabhadra, the Kamalapuram tank and the Hiriya canal with their functions.