Village in Karnataka,
India's southernmost state, some sixty miles northwest of Mysore.
Halebid, like its sister city Belur, is famed for its
magnificent collection of Hoysala temples, which dominated western Karnataka
from the eleventh to thirteenth century C.E.
The beautiful Hoysaleshvar Temple, dedicated to Shiva in his
incarnation as Lord of the Hoysalas, is the most prominent structure at
Halebid.
The temples at both Belur and Halebid were made of a special
form of stone known as chlorite schist, steatite, or soapstone, which is soft
when first mined but hardens with exposure to air.
The stone's early malleability makes it easier to cut,
resulting in the rich detail seen in Hoysala temples.
Hoysala temples are distinguished by two architectural
features: a central hall connecting three star-shaped sanctuaries, and temple
towers (shikharas) made up of well-defined horizontal tiers rather than the
continuous upward sweep typical of northern Indian Nagara architecture.
Hampi is a deserted city in central Karnataka, some 170
miles northwest of Bangalore, the state capital.
Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagar empire (1336–1565 C.E.), which ruled much of the Indian peninsula south of the Narmada River during its apex in the early sixteenth century.
The empire's prosperity was derived mostly from its
dominance of the spice and cotton trades, both of which were immensely
important commodities at the period, and the city of Hampi was constructed on a
scale to reflect this.
After the battle of Talikota in 1565, when the last
Vijayanagar ruler, Rama Raja, was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultans
from the Deccan, the kingdom came to an end abruptly.
Invading sultans devastated the city, which has been
desolate ever since.
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