History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c12.11

c12.11

To the west and south-west of Telingana was situated the kingdom of the Hoysalas with its capital at Dwarsamudra (modern Halbeid).⁴ Since the decline of the Chola empire the Hoysalas from the north and the Pandyas from the extreme south continuously fought diplomatic as well as military battles at the expense of the Cholas. In a record⁵ of the time of Nara Simha II (1224-1234) the Hoysala empire is said to have extended upto Nangili on the east, Kongu (Salem and Coimbator) on the south, Alvakheda (south Canara) on the west, and Heddore (Krishna) on the north. The Hoysalas continued to carry on conquests and Vikrampura, the southern capital of Someśvara, son of Nara Simha, has been identified with the modern Kannanur, near Trichnopoly.⁶ The glory of the kingdom was eclipsed when after Someśvara the two claimants of the throne, Nara Simha III and Vira Ramnath separated, the former ruling the ancestral dominions with capital at Dwarsamudra and the latter the southern portion of the empire. It seems, however, that Nara Simha either ousted or outlived Vira Ramnath. In 1292 Nara Simha was succeeded by Ballāla III (Ballal Deo of the Muhammadan historians) and he reunited the whole of the Hoysala empire in 1302.⁷