The Last* Hindu Empire

How did a wealthy, cosmopolitan empire go from thriving to collapsing in a matter of days? This episode explores the many histories of the fall of the last Hindu Empire in South India. 

VISUALS

• The Hampi bazaar that blew Niki’s mind
• A painting depicting the very moment that Rama Raya is beheaded!
• A map of the Vijayanagara and Deccan Sultanate territories

GLOSSARY

Deccan

The Deccan plateau is one of the most fertile regions in South Asia and has produced many major empires including the Pallavas, Chalukyas, and, later, the Nizam of Hyderabad. 

Sultanate

An Islamic state or kingdom governed by a sultan, i.e., a king

Paan 

A treat made out of areca nut and betel leaf

ANNOTATED TRANSCRIPT

Visit www.kahaani.io/hampi to get an annotated transcript with citations and timestamps. 

TEACHER’S GUIDE

Visit www.kahaani.io/misrepresented for free curriculum to help you use this podcast in your classroom.

DIG DEEPER

This episode goes all into the micro. Read these sources to get a better understanding of the macro forces behind the fall of Hampi and the Vijayanagara Empire:

• Manu Pillai’s new book False Allies has a juicy chapter called Rebel Sultans that is a very quick, but very excellent read
• Richard Eaton’s India in the Persianate Age provides a thorough exploration of the social and political history of the Deccan
• Kathleen D Morrison and Mark T Lycett’s paper The Fall of Vijayanagara Reconsidered does exactly what you’d expect from its title.

MUSIC CREDITS

• Arun Ramamurthy | Conception
• Drum ani Bass | King of Good Times
• Sanjay Subrahmanyan | Carnatic Vocalizing
• pelle | Lizard Lunch
• Jayanthi Kumaresh | Carnatic Raga
• Subh Saran | Slip
• Dolorblind | QQ

SPECIAL THANKS

Thank you to Pradeep Aggarwal and Sarbajit Mitra for script review.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

MISREPRESENTED is produced by Kahaani, a media organization that tells stories to widen the historical narrative. 

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