Bednur

Bednur, also called Nagara, became the capital of the Keladi Nayakas in the wooded Malnad hills. From here their kingdom reached across the mountain passes toward the Kanara coast as well as inland. Its rulers had first served Vijayanagara, but established an independent power as that empire weakened. The city’s wealth and position made it a coveted prize for neighbouring rulers.

The Nayakas moved their seat from Ikkeri to Bednur in the seventeenth century. Sivappa Nayaka gave refuge to Sriranga, the last Vijayanagara king, after the fall of Chandragiri. In 1763 Haidar Ali of Mysore invaded and deposed the last Keladi ruler. He renamed the captured city Haidarnagar and considered making it his own capital, planning a palace and arsenal and a dockyard on the coast.