Background
Mallikarjuna Raya succeeded his father Deva Raya II, who had brought prosperity throughout the Vijayanagara empire as well as a golden age for the Sangama Dynasty.
Mallikarjuna Raya succeeded his father Deva Raya II, who had brought prosperity throughout the Vijayanagara empire as well as a golden age for the Sangama Dynasty.
However, Mallikarjuna Raya was unlike his father, and was generally a weak and corrupt ruler. The Gajapatis conquered Rajamahendri in 1454 and Udayagiri and Chandragiri in 1463. The Bahamani kingdoms took over much of the Vijayanagara Empire by 1450 and grew closer to the capital.
At the same time the Portuguese arrived in southern India, seizing many of the ports on the western coast that the Vijayanagara Empire had once controlled.