The Kampili Kingdom was a short-lived Hindu kingdom of early 14th-century in the Deccan region. [1] [2] The kingdom existed near Ballari and Tungabhadra river in northeastern parts of the present-day Karnataka state, India. [2] It ended after a defeat by the armies of Delhi Sultanate, and a jauhar (ritual mass suicide) in 1327/28 CE when it faced a certain defeat. [3] [4] The Kampili kingdom in some historical accounts is called the Basnaga kingdom, and as what inspired and ultimately led to the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire. [5]
The founder of the kingdom was a Hoysala commander, Singeya Nayaka-III (1280–1300 AD), who declared independence after the Muslim forces of the Delhi Sultanate defeated and captured the territories of the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri in 1294 CE. Nayaka-III was succeeded by his son Kampilideva in 1300, who remained in dispute with the territorial claims of Delhi Sultanate. The Kampili kingdom fell to the invasion in 1327/28 CE from the north by the forces of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the Sultan of Delhi. [1] The army led by Malik Zada sent the news of its victory over Kampili kingdom to Muhammad bin Tughluq in Delhi by sending a straw-stuffed severed head of the dead Hindu king. [3] The Vijayanagara Empire emerged in 1336 CE from the remains of the kingdom, which ruled Southern India for over 200 years. [1] [5]