Reference
A History of South India
The classic survey of the south, from prehistory to the fall of Vijayanagara.
Hoysala Empire
Empire
Level 2
c. 1026 – 1343
Karnataka dynasty famed for the temples of Belur and Halebidu.
- Capital
- Dorasamudra (Halebidu)
- Region
- South
- Duration
- 317 years
- Main period
- Chola & Major Southern Kingdoms
Approximate extent.
At a glance
Move along the chart to read any year; click a ruler or event to open the map there.
10261100120013001343
Rulers
- Vishnuvardhana Kingc. 1108 – c. 1152Chennakeshava temple, Belur.
- Veera Ballala II King1173 – 1220
- Veera Ballala III King1292 – 1343Last Hoysala, killed at Madurai.
Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.
Personalities
📚 Recommended reading on the Hoysala Empire
Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
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📄 Research papers
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
Political Processes and Structure of Polity in Early Medieval India: Problems of Perspective
Proposes 'integration' — the spread of state society into new regions — as the key to early medieval India.
Paper🏛 Library access
The Cosmopolitan Vernacular
How Kannada, Telugu and other regional languages became languages of kingship alongside Sanskrit.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
Forms of Production and Forces of Change in Ancient Tamil Society
Pastoral, farming and coastal economies of the Sangam age and how they changed.
Paper🏛 Library access
🇮🇳 Indian scholarship
The temple and the state in medieval South India
The temple as landholder, bank and seat of royal legitimacy under the Cholas and after.
Contemporaries
Powers that coexisted with the Hoysala Empire for a significant part of its history. The bar shows when, within its own span.
Chahamanas (Chauhans) of Shakambhari ★
West · c. 650 CE – c. 1194
Overlap: 168 years
Pala Empire ★
East · c. 750 CE – c. 1161
Overlap: 135 years
Chola Empire ★
South · c. 848 CE – 1279
Overlap: 253 years
Ghaznavid Empire ★
Northwest · c. 977 CE – c. 1186
Overlap: 160 years
Polonnaruwa Kingdom ★
Sri Lanka · c. 1070 – 1232
Overlap: 162 years
Sultanate of the Maldives ★
Islands · c. 1153 – 1968
Overlap: 190 years
Malla Dynasty of Nepal ★
Himalaya · 1201 – 1769
Overlap: 142 years
Delhi Sultanate ★
North · 1206 – 1526
Overlap: 137 years
Ahom Kingdom ★
Northeast · 1228 – 1826
Overlap: 115 years
Kamarupa
Northeast · c. 350 CE – c. 1140
Overlap: 114 years
Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi
Deccan · c. 624 CE – c. 1075
Overlap: 49 years
Kalachuris of Tripuri
Central · c. 675 CE – 1212
Overlap: 186 years
Guhilas of Medapata
West · c. 728 CE – 1303
Overlap: 277 years
Tomaras of Delhi
North · c. 736 CE – c. 1152
Overlap: 126 years
Thakuri Kingdom of Nepal
Himalaya · c. 750 CE – 1200
Overlap: 174 years
Chera Perumals of Makotai
South · c. 800 CE – c. 1124
Overlap: 98 years
Paramara Dynasty
Central · c. 800 CE – 1305
Overlap: 279 years
Chandela Dynasty
Central · c. 831 CE – 1315
Overlap: 289 years
Chaulukyas (Solankis) of Gujarat
West · c. 940 CE – 1244
Overlap: 218 years
Western Chalukyas of Kalyani
Deccan · c. 973 CE – c. 1189
Overlap: 163 years
Lohara Dynasty of Kashmir
North · c. 1003 – c. 1171
Overlap: 145 years
Soomra Dynasty
Northwest · c. 1026 – 1351
Overlap: 317 years
Sena Dynasty
East · c. 1070 – 1230
Overlap: 160 years
Eastern Ganga Dynasty
East · c. 1078 – 1434
Overlap: 265 years
Gahadavala Dynasty
Gangetic Plain · c. 1089 – c. 1197
Overlap: 108 years
Khasa Malla Kingdom
Himalaya · c. 1100 – c. 1400
Overlap: 243 years
Zamorins of Calicut
South · c. 1124 – 1766
Overlap: 219 years
Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur)
West · c. 1128 – 1949
Overlap: 215 years
Kakatiya Dynasty
Deccan · c. 1163 – 1323
Overlap: 160 years
Ghurid Empire
Northwest · c. 1175 – 1206
Overlap: 31 years
Seuna (Yadava) Dynasty
Deccan · c. 1187 – 1317
Overlap: 130 years
Pandya Empire (Second Empire)
South · c. 1190 – 1345
Overlap: 153 years
Jaffna Kingdom
Sri Lanka · c. 1215 – 1619
Overlap: 128 years
Marwar (Rathore)
West · c. 1226 – 1949
Overlap: 117 years