The rayas and the nayakas

The empire was not run by the king alone. A great deal of power was held by military chiefs who controlled forts and commanded armed supporters. These chiefs, known as nayakas, usually spoke Telugu or Kannada. They often moved from one area to another, accompanied by peasants looking for fertile land to settle on.

Many nayakas submitted to the authority of the Vijayanagara kings, but they also frequently rebelled and had to be subdued by military action.

The amara-nayaka system

This was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate.

The amara-nayakas were military commanders given territories to govern by the raya (the king). Their duties and privileges included:

• Tax collection: They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons, and traders in their area.
• Revenue use: They retained part of the revenue for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants.
• Military role: These contingents provided the Vijayanagara kings with an effective fighting force, which they used to bring the entire southern peninsula under their control.
• Public works: Some of the revenue was also used for the maintenance of temples and irrigation works.
• Tribute and loyalty: The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty.
• Royal control: Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another. …