Raichur

Raichur lies between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, in the doab, the land between two rivers, that took its name from the town. Its great stone fort, ringed by a double wall, dominates the surrounding black-soil country of cotton and millet. A long inscription records that the fort was built in 1294 under the Kakatiyas, and later rulers strengthened its walls and gates until it became one of the principal strongholds between the two rivers.

The Bahmani sultans and the kings of Vijayanagara fought repeatedly for Raichur. The greatest battle came in 1520, when Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara besieged the fort, then held by Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur. The sultan marched to relieve it but was defeated, and the fortress fell. Cannon and matchlocks were used by both sides, and Portuguese soldiers fought in the Vijayanagara ranks. Raichur then returned to Bijapur and later passed to the Mughals and the Nizam, but its walls remained a measure of power over the doab.