This move prompted Vijayanagar's Bukka Raya I to forge an alliance with Musunuri Nayakas, the then rulers of Warangal, Kanhayya, and local bankers, resulting in the destruction of Bahmani coins and the escalation of tensions leading to outright war.

As the war progressed, Bahmani victories over Vijayanagar forces at Mudgal and Kauthal resulted in heavy casualties among the civilian population.

Ultimately, both parties signed a treaty aimed at preventing civilian massacres in future conflicts, marking a pivotal moment in the military history of fourteenth-century Deccan India.

After the fall of the Hoysala dynasty in South India following the death of Veera Ballala III, who was defeated by the Madurai Sultanate in the Battle of Kannanur, the state was succeeded by some of his officers.

Their two younger brothers held minor posts, while Bukka's son Kampana served as the doorkeeper of the Hoysala king.

[10] The stretch of land between the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers became a point of contention among various dynasties, including the Western Chalukyas and Cholas, as well as the Yadavas and Hoysalas, who previously ruled over the territories later claimed by the Bahmanis and Vijayanagar.

During their inception, each state acquired only certain parts of the Raichur Doab, yet as the political successors of their predecessors, both aspired to control the entire region.

[1] Kanhayya was forced to pay a ransom of one lakh gold Huns and surrender twenty-five war elephants to the Bahmanis.

However, Firuz Shah differed greatly from his predecessor, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, and preferred peaceful pursuits over military endeavours.

Entrusting the administration to his minister Malik Saifuddin Ghori, he journeyed to Kaulas and dispatched Azam-i Humayun with the armies of Bidar and Mahur to Golconda.

[13] Finally in 1364, Kanhayya surrendered to Shah and paid thirteen crores of gold Huns, also ceding Golconda to the Bahmanis.

Consequently, he dispatched ambassadors to Delhi, seeking assistance from Firuz Shah and offering to reclaim their territories in the Deccan.

To initiate the conflict, he sent a letter to Vijayanagar, demanding payment for three hundred musicians who had travelled from Delhi to Bahmani, likely to participate in the wedding of his son, Mujahid Shah.

[1] Shah's inebriation at the time led to the drafting of the letter, and incensed by this act, Bukka Raya retaliated by punishing the messengers with equal indignity.

Bukka Raya ordered the killing of everyone there, including men, women and children, sparing only one person to escape and narrate the story to the Bahmani Sultan.

[1][2] Disturbed by the report, the Sultan proclaimed his son, Mujahid, as the heir to the throne and granted his minister, Malik Saifuddin Ghori, full authority over the country and treasury.

[1][10] Aware of the looming threat, Bukka took preemptive action by sending all his treasuries to Vijayanagar, while he himself awaited the Sultan's arrival.

[2] Upon realizing the disadvantage and upon seeing the Sultan, Bukka offered no resistance and fled with some selected troops towards the fortress of Adoni, leaving everything behind.

[2] Meanwhile, Muhammad Shah spent the rainy season at Mudgal and then moved southwards with a large army, crossing the Tungabhadra and entering Vijayanagar territory.

The two armies engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and the elephant of Khan Muhammed, named Sher-i Shikar, advanced towards their commander-in-chief, Mallinatha, severely wounding him.

Bukka Raya attempted to utilize guerrilla warfare tactics while effectively defending his capital with full force.

Bukka emerged from Vijayanagar to engage in battle, but suffered another heavy defeat, losing his remaining ten thousand soldiers.

[2] Muhammad Shah, realizing that his victory alone couldn't resolve matters, began to ravage Vijayanagar and plunder its riches.

He initiated a massacre of civilians, resulting in the deaths of almost 400,000 to half a million people, including ten thousand Brahmins.

Upon hearing this, Sultan Muhammed Shah smiled and replied that he desired nothing more than the payment of the Delhi musicians' salary from the Bahmani treasury, as stipulated in the draft he had sent.

Shah was deeply moved by this appeal and ordered that in any future campaign undertaken on behalf of the Bahmanis, only actual combatants should be killed, and no prisoner of war should ever be harmed.

[1] A treaty was then signed, stipulating that both parties would refrain from killing prisoners or civilians in the future, although it was violated several times.

[3] After a thirty-year period of peace, Harihara II initiated another war with the Bahmanis during the reign of Tajuddin Firuz Shah in 1398.