HARIHARA I (1336-56 AD)
He made Anagundi his capital. He annexed the Hoysala state in 1346 AD, when the Muslim ruler of Madurai defeated and killed the Hoysala ruler Vir Ballal III. Harihara laid the foundations of “Vidyanagar’. Bukka I renamed it ‘Vijayanagara’.
BUKKAI (1356-79 AD)
He made Gutti his capital. The war with the Bahmanis started in 1367 AD, during the reign of Bukka I, when he attacked the fortress of Mudkal in the disputed Tungabhadra doab and slaughtered the entire garrison, except one man. The Bahmani Sultan then crossed the Tungabhadra, defeated Bukka I and after a long war concluded a treaty, which restored the old positions. The empire saw expansion under Bukka I. In 1374 AD, he sent an embassy to the Emperor of China. His son Kumara Kampan successfully led an expedition against Madurai and annexed it. This is mentioned in the Madura Vijayam written by Ganga Devi (Kampan’s wife).
HARIHARA II (1379-1404 AD)
Bukka I was succeeded by his son Harihara II. He was the first ruler to assume legal titles of Raja Parmeshwara, Maharajadhiraja. He embarked upon a policy of expansion towards the Eastern sea coast, led the Vijayanagara empire into fresh conflicts.
It was responsible for alliance of the Bahmani kingdom with Warangal, which lasted for about 50 years and was a major factor in the inability of the Vijayanagara empire to overrun the Tungabhadra doab or to stem the Bahmani offensive in the area. His two sons Virupaksa 1 and Bukka II appear to have ruled one after other for two years.
DEVA RAYA I (1406-22 AD)
He assumed the title Maharajadhiraja. The reign of Deva Raya I began with a renewed fight for the Tungabhadra doab. He was defeated by the Bahmani ruler, Firoz Shah and had to pay a huge compensation. He also agreed to marry his daughter to the Sultan. Deva Raya I undertook a number of schemes for the welfare of the people. In 1410 AD, he got constructed a dam across the Tungabhadra, with canals leading to the city. He was also a great patron of scholars. Nicolo De Conti, an Italian (Venetian), visited the Vijayanagara empire under Deva Raya L. Conti describes the city of Vijayanagara as having a circumference of 96 km and having employed 90000 potential soldiers and also mentions the festivals like Deepawali, Navaratri etc. Deva Raya I was succeeded by Vijaya Bukka who ruled for three months.
DEVA RAYA II (1422-46 AD)
Deva Raya II was called Immadi Devaraya and also Proudha Devaraya or the Great Devaraya by his subjects. He was the greatest ruler of the Sangam dynasty.
In order to strengthen his army, he introduced more Muslims and asked all his Hindu soldiers and officers to learn the art of archery from them.
With his new army, he crossed the Tungabhadra river and tried to recover Mudkal, Bankapur etc which were to the South of the Krishna river and had been lost to the Bahmani Sultans earlier.
Three hard battles were fought, but in the end, the two sides had to agree to the existing frontiers. Some quarter Varahas (gold coins of Vijayanagara) of Deva Raya II describe him as Gajabetakara (the elephant hunter). Deva Raya II was a great patron of literature and an accomplished scholar in Sanskrit. He is credited with the authorship of two Sanskrit works Mahanataka Sudhanidhi and a commentary on the Brahmasutras of Badarayana. The king had a leaning for Vira Saivism, yet he showed. tolerance in religious views.
He appointed people belonging to different religions as his minister. The Persian ambassador Abdur Razzaq visited his court. He constructed a mosque in Vijayanagara and ordered that a copy of Quran be placed before his throne. Vira Narasimha was succeeded by Krishnadeva Raya.
DECLINE OF SANGAMA DYNASTY
There were confusions in the Vijayanagara empire after the death of Deva Raya II. There were a series of civil wars among the various contenders to the throne. Many feudatories assumed independence in the process. Finally, the throne was succeeded by Saluva Narasimha, the ruler of Chandragiri and a powerful feudatory of the Sangama’s.
Thus, the Sangam dynasty came to an end and the Saluva dynasty was established. Saluva Narasimha restored law and order in the empire. The decline of the Sangam dynasty correlate with the decline of the Bahmani kingdom and its disintegration into five Bahmani successor states. The Krishna river was the dividing line between the Vijayanagara and the Bahmani kingdoms.