Vijayapura

Vijayapura, Karnataka, India: tomb of Gol Gumbaz

Vijayapura, Karnataka, India

Vijayapura, also called Bijapur, city, northern Karnataka state, southern India. It is situated in the northern part of the Karnataka Plateau, about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the Don River (a tributary of the Krishna River).

Vijayapura, Karnataka, India: tomb

Vijayapura (“City of Victory”) was a major site of Islamic architecture from the early Muslim period in India. It was an important community under the Yadava dynasty for more than a century until 1294, when it became a provincial capital of the Bahmanī sultanate. In 1489—with the advent of Yūsuf ʿĀdil Shah, the first ʿĀdil Shāhī sultan—its dominions grew to include Goa, where a navy was maintained. Although it was defeated in 1686 by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the ʿĀdil Shāhī dynasty left a legacy of outstanding Islamic buildings, aesthetically the most satisfactory of the Deccan styles, including the domed tomb of Gol Gumbaz and the mausoleum of Ibrahim Rawza.

The contemporary city has major road and rail facilities and an expanding tourist economy. Industries include cotton ginning, oilseed milling, and the related manufacture of soap, chemicals, and dyes. Bijapur’s colleges of commerce, science, and arts are affiliated with Karnatak University in Hubballi-Dharwad. Pop. (2001) 228,175; (2011) 327,427.