Kakatiya dynasty | ||||||||||||||||||
Empire (Subordinate to Western Chalukyas until 1163) |
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Capital | Orugallu (Warangal) | |||||||||||||||||
Languages | Telugu | |||||||||||||||||
Religion | Hinduism | |||||||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | |||||||||||||||||
History | ||||||||||||||||||
• | Earliest rulers | c. 900 | ||||||||||||||||
• | Established | 1163 | ||||||||||||||||
• | Disestablished | 1323 | ||||||||||||||||
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The Kakatiya dynasty was a South Indian dynasty whose capital was Orugallu, now known as Warangal. It was eventually conquered by the Delhi Sultanate.
The demise of Kakatiya dynasty resulted in confusion and anarchy under alien rulers for sometime. Three new fledgling kingdoms arose out of the ruins of the Kakatiya empire namely the Reddy kingdom, Padma Nayaka Velama kingdom and the great Vijayanagara Empire.
Historic sources relating to the Kakatiya dynasty are sparse. Of those that are available, the most prevalent are ancient inscriptions that mainly document matters relating to religion, such as donations to Hindu temples. They are particularly abundant for the period 1175–1324 CE, which is the period when the dynasty most flourished and are a reflection of that. The probability is that many inscriptions have been lost due to buildings falling into disuse and also the ravages of subsequent rulers, most notably the Muslim Mughal Empire in the Telangana region. Inscriptions are still being discovered today but governmental agencies tend to concentrate on recording those that are already known rather than searching for new examples.
Studies of the inscriptions and coinage by the historian Dineshchandra Sircar reveal that there was no contemporary standard spelling of the family name. Variants include Kakatiya, Kakatiyya, Kakita, Kakati and Kakatya. The family name was often prefixed to the name of the monarch, giving constructs such as Kakatiya-Prataparudra. Some of the monarchs also had alternate names; for example, Venkata and Venkataraya may have been alternate names of Prataparuda I, with the former appearing on a coin in the form Venkata-Kakatiya.
The Kakatiya rulers traced their ancestry to legendary chief or ruler called Durjaya. Many other ruling dynasties of Andhra also claimed descent from Durjaya. Nothing further is known about this chief.
The early rulers were feudatoris of Western Chalukyas. Prataparudra I established a sovereign dynasty in 1163 CE. The regnal dates of the early rulers are unknown. In order, they were