Kampana's invasion of Madurai
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changes Madurai Sultanate ceased to exist.
| Kampana's invasion of Madurai | |||||||||
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| Part of Battles involving the Vijayanagara Empire | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Vijayanagara Empire | Madurai Sultanate | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Kumara Kampana Somappa Dandanayaka Gopana Suva Mangu | Qurbat Hasan † | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
  Madurai Battle field Location | |||||||||
Kumara Kampana, son of Bukka I of the Vijayanagara Empire, commanded a series of military campaigns that disestablished Muslim rule in southern India, annexing Madurai around 1370. His conquests restored social order, revived religious practices, and extended the Vijayanagara's dominion to the Southern Ocean. Kampana's conquests, such as the reconstruction of the Ranganatha temple and the liberation of Ma'bar, are enshrined in the Sanskrit epic Madhura Vijayam by his wife, Ganga Devi.[1]
Ibn Battuta, the Moorish traveler, was in Madurai in 1342 and documented the nascent history of the Madurai Sultanate. Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, the founder of the Sultanate, died in 1339 after four years of reign. He was succeeded by Ala-ud-din Udaiji, who reigned for approximately a year before being assassinated. Udaiji's son-in-law, Qutb-ud-din, seized power for a short period but was assassinated after merely forty days. The throne was then occupied by Ghiyas-ud-din Dhamaghani (r. 1341–1343), during whose reign Ibn Battuta was in Madurai.[2]
In Ghiyas-ud-din's reign, the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III invaded, defeating the Sultanate forces in the battle of Kannanur and besieging Kobban fort for six months. Ghiyas-ud-din, however, made a surprise counterattack, capturing and killing Veera Ballala III in 1342. Ibn Battuta, who saw these happenings, remarked on the Sultan's tyrannical rule. An epidemic swept Madurai at this time, ultimately killing the Sultan. His nephew, Nasir-ud-din, succeeded to power in 1343–1344, just before Ibn Battuta departed the area.[3]
The later history of the Sultanate is poorly documented, and the interval of a break in coinage between 1343 and 1356 points to instability. Historian Afif states that during Sultan Feroz Shah's rule at Delhi, a firman dispatched to Ma'bar found the place rulerless. According to reports, the local people chose Qurbat Hasan Kangu as the king, but he was ineffective. Meanwhile, the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336 marked the beginning of resistance to Muslim rule in the Deccan and southern India, ultimately resulting in the downfall of the Madurai Sultanate.[4]
Background
During Bukka's rule, a typical milestone was the fall of the Madurai Sultanate at the hands of his son, Kumara Kampana.[1] After making peace after the siege of Vijayanagara, Bukka followed his plans to conquer South India, motivated by a series of compelling reasons. The region, earlier under the Hoysala Kingdom, had fallen into anarchy due to internecine wars among native chiefs, threatening life and property. Also, the Madurai Sultanate was a thorn in the flesh of Hindu culture, and desecrated temples and destroyed religious centers called for a savior. Bukka wanted to fulfill Ballala's incomplete task of reconquest and restoration.[5]
According to Bukka's orders, Kampana, the viceroy of the southern provinces, launched a series of military campaigns to establish Vijayanagara's dominance. With the help of great generals like Gopana and Suva Mangu (who is said to be Mangappa Dandanatha, an ancestor of Saluva Narasinga),[5] he conquered the Sambuvarayas of North and South Arcot first, making them loyal to the greater cause.[1][6]
Kampana then marched further into Tondamandala, which was controlled by Sambava Raya, or Champa Raya.[6] He set up Virinchipuram as his headquarters and then besieged and occupied Sambava Raya's fortress after he won a duel.[5] Following this victory, Kampana marched on Kanchi, where he granted magnificent benefactions to local temples and left a garrison to offer public security. He then marched further south to invade the Madurai Sultanate.[5]
Conquest of Madurai
Kumara Kampana, grandson of Bukka I, the second Vijayanagara king, orchestrated a sequence of victorious campaigns that resulted in the gradual erosion of Muslim dominance across southern India.[1] His occupation of Rajagambhira Rajya, the kingdom of the Sambuvarayas, around 1362 was the beginning of his southward military campaigns.[7] Following this victory, Kampana marched further south and restored the image of God Ranganatha to his temple at Srirangam, which had been taken away for safety during the Muslim invasions.[8]
The peak of Kampana's military campaigns was his conquest of Madurai, where he defeated the Sultan decisively, effectively ending almost five decades of Muslim rule in the area.[7] This military campaign not only expanded Vijayanagara's dominance across southern India but also brought peace, restored religious practices, and refurbished cultural institutions, thereby leaving an indelible mark in the region's historical record.[5]
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The Sanskrit epic Madhura Vijayam, written by his wife Ganga Devi, recounts that Kampana was inspired by a divine vision in Kanchipuram. In this vision, the god who represented the Pandya land lamented the fate of the land under Muslim rule and gave him a sword that symbolized Pandyan rule. This event, which occurred between 1365 and 1370, marked the freedom of Ma'bar from Muslim rule.[1]
[[File:A_sunrise_over_Vaigai_River_in_Madurai_Tamil_Nadu_India.jpg|alt=|thumb|250px|thumb|
After the fall of Madurai, Kampana continued his march south to Ramnad and Rameswaram, where he restored temples and ensured their proper worship. By 1371, his military conquests had extended to the southern ocean.[5] In spite of a failed appeal for help from the defeated Muslims to Delhi, Kampana consolidated the Vijayanagara hegemony over the region.[8]
