Home Region: Southern India (South Asia)

Vijayanagara Empire

1336 CE 1646 CE

D G SC WF R

EQ 2020 in_vijayanagara_emp / InVijay

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

1206 CE 1526 CE Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate) [absorption]

Succeeding Entity:

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General Description

The Vijayanagara Empire ruled over southern India: specifically, it comprised an area roughly equivalent to the modern-day Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. ^[1] This polity could be said to have been founded with the establishment of the fortified city of Vijayanagara itself in 1340, and it fragmented into many smaller polities roughly three hundred years later, due to both civil wars and incursions from Islamic polities to the North. ^[2] Under Vijayanagara rule, architecture flourished (many temples were built or rebuilt, and the first permanent non-religious buildings, including royal palaces, were constructed), trade and agriculture boomed, new towns were founded, and new notions of legal rights emerged. ^[3]
Population and political organization
As with most preceding South Indian polities, the Vijayanagara ruler sat at the top of both administrative and military hierarchies. ^[4] He was assisted at court by several ministers, and in the provinces by governors. ^[5]
Assuming that the entire population of the Indian subcontinent at this time equalled 150 million, it seems reasonable to estimate that the population of the Vijayanagara empire was about 25 million. ^[6] Burton Stein estimates that the city of Vijayanagara at its height in the 16th century had over 100,000 inhabitants, ^[7] while Carla Sinopoli believes the population could have been over 250,000. ^[8]

[1]: (Kamath 1980, 329) Suryanath Kamath. 1980. A Concise History of Karnataka: From Pre-historic Times to the Present. Bangalore: Archana Prakashana.

[2]: (Stein 1990, 2, 13) Burton Stein. 1990. The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[3]: (Stein 1990, xii, 2) Burton Stein. 1990. The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[4]: (Majumdar, Raychaudhuri and Datta 1974, 373) R. C. Majumdar, H. C. Raychaudhuri, Kalikinkar Datta. 1974. An Advanced History of India. Delhi: Macmillan India.

[5]: (Majumdar, Raychaudhuri and Datta 1974, 373-74) R. C. Majumdar, H. C. Raychaudhuri, Kalikinkar Datta. 1974. An Advanced History of India. Delhi: Macmillan India.

[6]: (Stein 1990, 44) Burton Stein. 1990. The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[7]: (Stein 1990, 75) Burton Stein. 1990. The New Cambridge History of India: Vijayanagara. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[8]: (Sinopoli 2000, 370) Carla Sinopoli. 2000. ’From the Lion Throne: Political and Social Dynamics of the Vijayanagara Empire’. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 43 (3): 364-98.

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

3 Capital

Temporal Bounds

1 Peak Years

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

2 Suprapolity Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Relationship to preceding Entity

1 Polity Succession

3 Degree of Centralization

Language

2 Linguistic Family

4 Language

Religion

1 Religion Genus

2 Religion Family

1 Alternate Religion

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

2 Population of the Largest Settlement

1 Polity Territory

1 Polity Population

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Religious Level

1 Military Level

1 Administrative Level

Professions

1 Professional Soldier

1 Professional Priesthood

1 Professional Military Officer

Bureaucracy Characteristics

1 Specialized Government Building

1 Merit Promotion

1 Full Time Bureaucrat

1 Examination System

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Judge

1 Formal Legal Code

1 Court

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Irrigation System

1 Food Storage Site

1 Drinking Water Supply System

1 Entertainment Building

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Port

1 Canal

1 Bridge

Special-purpose Sites

1 Mines or Quarry

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

1 Nonwritten Record

1 Non Phonetic Writing

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Philosophy

1 Lists Tables and Classification

1 History

1 Fiction

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Token

1 Precious Metal

1 Paper Currency

1 Indigenous Coin

1 Foreign Coin

1 Article

Information / Postal System

1 Postal Station

1 General Postal Service

1 Courier

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

1 Wooden Palisade

1 Stone Walls Non Mortared

1 Stone Walls Mortared

1 Settlements in a Defensive Position

1 Modern Fortification

1 Moat

1 Fortified Camp

1 Earth Rampart

1 Ditch

1 Complex Fortification

Military use of Metals

1 Steel

1 Iron

1 Copper

1 Bronze

Projectiles

1 Tension Siege Engine

1 Sling Siege Engine

1 Sling

1 Self Bow

1 Javelin

1 Handheld Firearm

1 Gunpowder Siege Artillery

1 Crossbow

1 Composite Bow

1 Atlatl

Handheld weapons

1 War Club

1 Sword

1 Spear

1 Polearm

1 Dagger

1 Battle Axe

Animals used in warfare

1 Horse

1 Elephant

1 Donkey

1 Dog

1 Camel

Armor

1 Wood Bark Etc

1 Shield

1 Scaled Armor

1 Plate Armor

1 Limb Protection

1 Leather Cloth

1 Laminar Armor

1 Helmet

1 Chainmail

1 Breastplate

Naval technology

1 Specialized Military Vessel

1 Small Vessels Canoes Etc

1 Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.

Power Transitions Coding in Progress.

Instability Events Coding in Progress.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range	Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp) was in:
(1337 CE 1646 CE)	Deccan

Home NGA: Deccan

General Variables

Identity and Location Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	43 P	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Original Name	Vijayanagara Empire	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Capital	Vijayanagara	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Capital	Penukonda	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Capital	Chandraigiri	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Temporal Bounds Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Peak Years	[1505 CE ➜ 1542 CE]
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Duration	[1336 CE ➜ 1646 CE]
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Political and Cultural Relations Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Suprapolity Relations	sl_jaffa_k vassalage to in_vijayanagara_emp	1385 CE 1500 CE
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Suprapolity Relations	none	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Succeeding Entity	Mughal Empire	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Relationship to Preceding Entity	cultural assimilation	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Preceding Entity 1206 CE 1526 CE	Delhi Sultanate (in_delhi_sultanate) [absorption]
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Degree of Centralization	loose	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Degree of Centralization	confederated state	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Degree of Centralization	nominal	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Language Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Indo-European	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Linguistic Family	Dravidian	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Language	Telugu	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Language	Tamil	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Language	Kannada	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Language	Sanskrit	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Religion Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religion Genus	Hinduism	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Religion Family	Saivist Traditions	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Religion Family	Vaisnava Traditions	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Alternate Religion	Uncoded Undecided	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Population of the Largest Settlement	100,000 people	1337 CE 1499 CE
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Population of the Largest Settlement	[150,000 to 250,000] people	1500 CE 1646 CE
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Polity Territory	[350,000 to 370,000] km²	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Polity Population	25,000,000 people	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Hierarchical Complexity Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	[3 to 4]	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Religious Level	[0 to 2]	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Military Level	[5 to 6]	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Administrative Level	[4 to 5]	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Professions Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Soldier	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Professional Priesthood	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Professional Military Officer	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Bureaucracy Characteristics Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Government Building	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Merit Promotion	Uncoded Undecided	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Full Time Bureaucrat	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Examination System	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Law Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Absent Inferred	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Judge	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Formal Legal Code	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Court	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Specialized Buildings: polity owned Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Irrigation System	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Food Storage Site	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Drinking Water Supply System	Present Inferred	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Entertainment Building	Uncoded Undecided	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Transport Infrastructure Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Port	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Canal	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Bridge	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Special-purpose Sites Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Mines or Quarry	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Information / Writing System Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Script	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Nonwritten Record	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Non Phonetic Writing	Absent	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Information / Kinds of Written Documents Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Sacred Text	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Religious Literature	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Practical Literature	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Philosophy	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Lists Tables and Classification	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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History	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Fiction	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Calendar	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Information / Money Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Token	Uncoded Undecided	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Precious Metal	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Paper Currency	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Indigenous Coin	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Foreign Coin	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Article	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Information / Postal System Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Postal Station	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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General Postal Service	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Courier	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Information / Measurement System Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wooden Palisade	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Stone Walls Non Mortared	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Stone Walls Mortared	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Settlements in a Defensive Position	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Modern Fortification	Absent	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moat	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Fortified Camp	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Earth Rampart	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Ditch	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Complex Fortification	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Military use of Metals Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Steel	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Iron	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Copper	Present Inferred	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Bronze	Present Inferred	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Projectiles Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Tension Siege Engine	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Sling Siege Engine	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Sling	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Self Bow	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Javelin	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Handheld Firearm	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Gunpowder Siege Artillery	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Crossbow	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Composite Bow	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Atlatl	Absent	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Handheld weapons Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
War Club	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Sword	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Spear	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Polearm	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Dagger	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Battle Axe	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Animals used in warfare Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Horse	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Elephant	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Donkey	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Dog	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Camel	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Armor Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Wood Bark Etc	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Shield	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Scaled Armor	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Plate Armor	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Limb Protection	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Leather Cloth	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Laminar Armor	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Helmet	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Chainmail	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Breastplate	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Naval technology Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Specialized Military Vessel	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Small Vessels Canoes Etc	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service	Unknown Suspected	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Moralizing Enforcement is Broad	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Concern is Primary	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Agentic	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in This Life	Absent Inferred	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Supernatural Punishment And Reward	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Targeted	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement in Afterlife	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement of Rulers	Present	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Moralizing Enforcement is Certain	Absent Inferred	1336 CE 1646 CE
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Human Sacrifice Vijayanagara Empire (in_vijayanagara_emp)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More