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Firuz Shah's Invasion of Vijayanagar

During the time of his father Harihara II, Bukka II led the battle for Vijayanagar from the front. Bukka's advance was in December 1398. The Vijayanagara army had crossed the river basin and proceeded towards Raipur and Mugdal through the vast plains in anticipation of the Rain-free weather. At that time both forts were under the control of Bahmani. Upon hearing the news of the advance of the Vijayanagara army, Sultan Firoz Shah soon set out. On the way, a Hindu Landlord was ruthlessly killed by Sultan along with 8,000 Hindus living in his village. The reason behind this was that they were not subjugated to the Bahmani kingdom. Bukka and his army camped on the banks of the Krishna River near the disputed land. Bukka's army was waiting for the Mohammedan army to arrive at any moment. Arriving at other side of the river, the Sultan consulted with their general about how to wage war. But they could not give the sultan any significant advice. Following this, Khasi Siraj, one among the generals of the army, told the upset Sultan a ploy. If the sultan allows, he can cross the river with a few soldiers and go to Bukka's camp and kill him or his son. Following this, with the permission of the Sultan, Siraj and about a dozen of the best Bahmani soldiers crossed the river in the guise of beggars and reached Bukka's Camp.
 After that, they entered the house of dancers and dressed as a woman. Siraj and his entourage came to the king's tent in the guise of dancers and instrumentalists while the whole people in Bukka’s tent were intoxicated. They conveniently hid their daggers and swords. Bukka and his son continued to enjoy alcohol enjoying the dancers' performance. Meanwhile, Siraj and his group started their performances in disguise. They also performed some dance moves with knives during the performance. Bukka and his son did not feel any suspicion while enjoying the dance. With the level of alcohol increasing, the two were almost dizzy. At this time Siraj stabbed the king's son in the chest. Siraj's accomplices hacked and stabbed all the others to death. The lights in the camp were set out. The rest tried to run away in panic. Meanwhile, Bukka, who had somehow escaped, set out for Vijayanagar with his son's body. The army's ten-mile-long camp was in total disarray. Some were shouting that the Sultan had crossed the river and killed the king's son. Around this time, Firuz Shah arrived with 5,000 troops and launched a surprise attack on Bukka’s army. The vast majorities of the people in the camp were killed by the Sultan's army and he persuaded Bukka to the capital. Hindus whom he saw on his way to Vijayanagar were slaughtered by Firuz Shah. Meanwhile, the Sultan ordered his brother Ahmad to invade the southern part of Vijayanagar, where he led an army and captured many people, including Brahmins, and then looted the city, killing many and returning with loot. Following this, the relatives of the captives came to see King Harihara II and asked him to help them and do whatever was necessary to free the captives. He then negotiated with the Sultan through messengers and settled the matter by paying one million ounces (4 million pound). As part of the settlement process, there is an agreement that a certain amount of gold and cash will be paid from Vijayanagar every year to Bahmani as compensation. After the death of the old Harihara II on October 5, 1399, his son Bukka II became king. Bukka II, who had been paying compensation for two years, later stopped it. The sultan did not take any action regarding this, even though he knew the money was not coming from Vijayanagar. He was waiting for a good opportunity. After Bukka II, his brother Devaraya I took over the kingdom on November 5, 1406.
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