Hoysala Empire

The Hoysala Kingdom was a South Indian dynasty that ruled most of what is now Karnataka, with parts of Tamil Nadu and western Telangana, between the eleventh and the fourteenth centuries. Its origins lie in the Malnad hill country of Karnataka, and the dynasty first served as feudatories of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyana. It rose to power under Vishnuvardhana, whose victory over the Cholas at the Battle of Talakad consolidated its authority, and then, using the struggle between the Western Chalukyas and the Kalachuris of Kalyani, the Hoysalas expanded into most of Karnataka and lands in north-western Tamil Nadu and western Andhra. The capital was at first Belur and was later moved to Halebidu. The age is one of the great chapters of South Indian art: more than a hundred temples survive, showing what one historian called an amazing display of sculptural exuberance, among them the Chennakeshava temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara temple at Halebidu and the Chennakesava temple at Somanathapura, inscribed together as a world heritage site in 2023. The rulers were patrons of the arts, and literature flourished in Kannada and Sanskrit, with Jain and Brahmin poets among its authors.