It was founded by Tirumala II, the brother of Rama Raya, who ruled in the name of Sadasiva Raya. On his failure to repopulate Vijayanagara, he shifted the capital to Penugonda. During his rule, the Nayaks became independent. Tirumala then divided his empire into three practically linguistic sections and placed them under his sons. Ranga III was the last ruler of Vijayanagara.
COLLAPSE OF VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE
After Krishnadeva Raya, there was a period of confusion, following which Achyuta Raya ascended the throne and ruled upto 1542 AD. Sadasiva Raya followed Achyuta Raya and ruled upto 1570 AD. Rama Raya, the Prime Minister under Sadasiva Raya interfered in the affairs of the five Deccan states. This led to an alliance between the four Deccan states viz Bijapur, Bidar, Golconda and Ahmednagar.
This states attacked Vijayanagara empire in the Battle of Talikota (Battle of Rakshasi Tangadi) on 23rd January, 1565. Rama Raya was defeated by Hussain Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar and the city of Hampi was collapsed. The fifth deccan state Barar did not form part of the alliance against Vijayanagara. This battle is generally considered to mark the end of the great age of Vijayanagara though, the kingdom lingered on for almost one hundred years under the Aravidu dynasty.