Hoysala Empire

Map of The Hoysala Empire

The Hoysala Empire (Kannada: ಹೊಯ್ಸಳ) was an Indian empire. It controlled part of southern India from 1000 to 1346 A.D. Belur, Karnataka was the empire's capital. The Hoysala Empire is remembered today mostly because of its architecture. The hundreds of temples found across Karnataka are good examples of temples that were in the cities of Belur, Halebid and Somnathpura. The Hoysala kings were affected by Jainism and Hinduism. King Vishnuvardhana and the kings after him believed in Vaishnavism.

In the beginning, the Hoysalas were a small part of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. However, they began to grow until they made their own empire in Karnataka. The Hoysala period is known as one of the best times in the history of Karnataka, next only to the Vijayanagara Empire. Some famous Hoysala kings were Vishnuvardhana, Veera Ballala II and Veera Ballala III. Kannada was the main language of the Hoysala kings. The Hoysalas helped to increase Kannada and Sanskrit writing.

Kings

Hoysala Empire Media

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