Regions now known as Karnataka were under the Hoysala Empire for almost four centuries, starting from the 10th century. The Hoysala rulers belonged to Malenadu, an elevated region in the Western Ghats. The Western Chalukya Empire and Kalachuris of Kalyani were constantly at war with each other. The Hoysalas made the best out of this situation by annexing the areas of present-day Karnataka and the fertile areas north of the Kaveri delta in present-day Tamil Nadu. By the 13th century, most of Karnataka, small parts of Tamil Nadu, and parts of western Andhra Pradesh and Telangana came under Hoysala rule.
Vishnuvardhana was one of the prominent Hoysala kings. It was Vishnuvardhana who extended the Hoysala territory by fighting against the Cholas, Pandyas and other kingdoms. He also shifted his capital from Velapura to Dvarasamudra in Karnataka. The Hoysala territories were taken over by Vijayanagara after Alauddin Khalji’s general Malik Kafur destroyed Dvarasamudra.
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