Vijayanagara military

Niccolò de' Conti reported a figure of 245,000 men during the reign of Krishnadevaraya but Fernao Nuniz claimed it to be around 200,000, consisting of 170,000 foot soldiers, 30,000 cavalry and 550 war elephants.

Deva Raya II, to counter the superior Bahmani cavalry, is believed to have enrolled 2000 Muslim cavalrymen to teach the art of archery to his Hindu soldiers and officers.

[1] The military leadership of the Hindu confederacy which Ballala III had so ably wielded devolved apparently on the Vijayanagara kings after his death.

According to Nuniz, the Amaranayaka army strength stood at 600,000 during the rule of Achyuta Deva Raya; Rayawacha itemised the forces supplied as being 200,000 foot soldiers, 24,000 cavalry, 1,200 war elephants.

[citation needed] The Vijayanagara army consisted primarily of infantry, cavalry and war elephants, armed with bows and arrows, swords and lances as its principal weapons.

According to Ferishta, the foot soldiers applied oil to their bodies but did not wear armour or helmets, whereas Portuguese travellers, such as Pace and Barros, described protective clothing made of animal skin and that they carried shields.

They also built a navy, sited on the west coast, which was headed by the governor of Hanover Timmoju in the time of Krishna Deva Raya and which, according to Heeras Rayala, assisted the Portuguese in their occupation of Goa.

Emperor Krishna Deva Raya recruited soldiers from Kannada and Telugus of the frontier, Mysoreans and Malabarese from the west and centre, mixed with the Tamils from the remoter districts to the south.

According to books written in that time, the samu garidi (dance performance of knives and fire) and training gyms were both present throughout the country.