Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c9.s6.2

c9.s6.2

Any vast empire will have a large number of important problems to solve among which foreign policy is one ; and that is generally of a complicated nature. The Vijayanagar empire was no exception to this. It had to pursue a vigorous and vigilant foreign policy calculated to strengthen its position. Hemmed in by the Muhammadans on the north, by the Gajapatis on the north-east, by the refractory feudatory vassals studded over the frontiers of the empire and by the Portuguese on the coastal regions on the west and east, the Vijayanagar kings had a difficult problem. Of course religious fanaticism and racial prejudice to some extent influenced their relations with the Muhammadans ; but it must be said that the Vijayanagar kings did not fall below the standards set up by the kings of ancient India in their foreign policy.