Nayakas

After the fall of the great Vijayanagara empire established during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya in the deccan plateau of Southern India, military leaders took advantages of the resultant chaos and established kingdoms of their own. Collectively knows as Nayakas (military leaders), the important of them were Nayakas of Tanjore, Nayakas of Chitradurga, and Nayakas of Keladi.

In the history of the Nayakas of the Vijayanagar kingdom, in South India, the period from 1326 to 1675 is particularly important. The Nayaka system was dominant from the fifteenth to the early seventeenth century. The Nayakas were key state administrators, functionaries, and revenue collectors and as such were liable to be transferred. Although they played a very important administrative role, there are no detailed studies on them except those on some big families.