346 THE INDIAN EMPIRE [CHAP.
Narasimha, the minister, usurped the throne, about I490.
Before this took place the Muhammadans had captured Goa
and the Konkan from Vijayanagar, as well as the territories of
Rajahmundry and Kondapalli from the king of Orissa, who
had seized them on the downfall of Warangal. Sultan Muham-
mad Shah is even alleged to have penetrated northwards as far
as Purl, and southwards to Kahchi. While at Kondapalli in
I48I he put to death his aged and blameless minister Mahmud
GawAn, an act of ferocity so abhorrent to his nobles that they
revolted, and the Bahmani dynasty came to an end. On its
ruins arose five separate kingdoms, created by the most power-
ful chiefs of the Deccan, and it was with them henceforward
that the Rayas of Vijayanagar had to deal. These were the Adil
Shahis of Bijapur, the BarTd Shahis of Bidar, the Imad Shahis
of Berar, the Nizam Shahis of Ahmadnagar, and the Kutb Shahis
of Golconda. Adil Shah proclaimed his independence in 1489,
and soon afterwards fresh war broke out with Vijayanagar in
consequence of Raya Narasimha having seized the Raichir
Dolb, which had once more passed into Muhammadan hands,
In the campaign of 1493 the Hindus were driven out of the
Doab. The Portuguese made their appearance on the coast
under Vasco da Gama in I498, and before long established
themselves at Goa and other places.
In i509 the greatest of the Vijayanagar Rayas, Krishna-
deva, succeeded to the throne. He was kindly disposed towards
the Portuguese, desiring to secure for himself through them,
to the exclusion of his enemies, the supply of horses from
Persia and Arabia, brought thence in Portuguese ships. In
I513 Krishnadeva, having completed all his preparations,
which were on an enormous scale, set out on a career of con-
quest. His first care, after crushing a rebellion in Mysore, was
to strengthen himself by the reduction of many places towards
the east coast, which had been seized, some by the king of
Orissa, some by the Golconda Sultan. In this he seems to
have been completely successful. He certainly was so as
regards the fortresses captured from Orissa; and, in spite of
differences in the accounts given by Muhammadan historians,
the balance of evidence is in his favour as regards his fights
with Golconda. In 1520 Krishnadeva organized a grand
attack on the forces of the Adil Shah, advancing into the
Raichfr Doab with an army, which, according to the Portu-
guese chronicler Nuniz, who seems to have been an eyewitness,
aggregated over 700,000 fighting men. He defeated the Adil
Shah in a pitched battle, and seized Raichtr.
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