They established their capital at Kalyana, now renamed officially after Indian independence in 1947, as Basavakalyana in Bidar district.

[10][11] Bijjala was a Jain but is said to have patronized and favored spread of Virashaivism - a new religious belief started by Basaveshwara.

[1] In the 16th century, Vijayanagar Emperor Rama Raya (1484–1565) traced his ancestry with the past Chalukyan Kingdom (974–1190) and also with this dynasty's capital, Kalyana.

Raya held the fort symbolically only as a mark of his past association with his ancestors of Western Kalyana dynasty who had fought against the Cholas of Tamil Nadu.

In 1561, Hussain of Ahmadnagar again made an attempt to capture the fort but was trounced by Raya and his ally Adil Shah I.

But in the bargain, Raya, because of his plunderous approach to the lands that he conquered after wars, antagonised the Sultans of Bijapur as well as Ahmednagar.

This resulted in the ultimate downfall of his Vijayanagara Empire in the Battle of Tallikota, in 1565, in which all the Muslim kingdoms of the Deccan namely, Bidar, Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golconda had joined hands to defeat the Raya.

[9] Someshwara, poet Bilhana of Kashmir and Vigyaneshwara were in the court of Vikramaditya II at Kalyana.

In the 12th century Basaveshwara who was the Prime Minister during the reign of King Bijjala was responsible for starting a cultural revolution from here to remove the social evils of untouchability and end gender discrimination.

The fort constructed by Chalukya kings has a large number of Jain images on the walls.

The museum located, just adjoining the fort, has a number of Jain idols, which belong to the 10th and 11th centuries.

The fort was made defensively complex with guard rooms and barbicans, which was a novelty at that time.

At the entrance to the fort, there is solid arch with balconies on the flanks accessed by series of steps on either side.

[4] Also seen within the fort precincts are: an empty pond with pillar of a fountain at the centre; a platform used during Muharram prayers; two deep wells on the northeast and western sides with inclined ramps for the oxen or horses to draw water; secret narrow passages to underground chambers for emergency escape during enemy attacks; the Talim Khana, a chamber used as a gymnasium; a cannon popularly called the 'Khadak Bijli Thopu’ (literal meaning: "sharp lightning cannon") on the second bastion; and a long cannon placed on a circular battlement on the southern wall.