The south before Vijayanagara: Kakatiyas, Hoysalas, Yadavas and Pandyas
Deccan and southern kingdoms built star-shaped temples, great tanks and forts, and the bhakti movement of Basavanna and Ramanuja spread.
How it was ruled
The Kakatiyas ruled from Warangal (Queen Rudrama Devi was one of India's few women rulers), the Hoysalas from Dwarasamudra (Halebidu), the Yadavas from Devagiri, and the later Pandyas from Madurai.
How people lived
Basavanna taught a faith without caste in Kannada vachanas; Ramanuja taught Vishishtadvaita; temples were centres of town life.
What people did
Farming with huge tanks (the Kakatiyas built hundreds), temple building, and diamond mining in the Golconda region.
What people ate
Rice, millets, pulses, tamarind and spices; the Kakatiya region grew rice with tank irrigation.
Trade
The Pandya port of Kayal was visited by Marco Polo around 1292; horses were imported by sea.
Region by region
- Telangana: Warangal fort and the Ramappa temple (1213, a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
- Karnataka: The Hoysala temples of Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
- Maharashtra: Devagiri (Daulatabad), the Yadava capital.
- Tamil Nadu: The later Pandya kingdom at Madurai.
Key events
- 12th century: Basavanna and the Lingayat movement
- 1262–1289: Rudrama Devi rules the Kakatiya kingdom
- 1310–1323: Delhi Sultanate armies capture Devagiri, Warangal and Madurai
Legacy
Hoysala and Kakatiya temples, the vachana literature of Kannada, and the tanks still used in Telangana.