Western Chalukya Empire

Western Chalukya Empire Kalyani Chalukya
975–1184[1]
Greatest extent of the Western Chalukya Empire, 1121 AD[2]
Status	Empire (Subordinate to Rashtrakuta until 973)
Capital	Manyakheta Basavakalyan
Common languages	Kannada Sanskrit
Religion	Hinduism Jainism
Government	Monarchy
King
• 957–997	Tailapa II
• 1184–1189	Someshvara IV
History
• Earliest records	957
• Established	975
• Disestablished	1184[1]
Preceded by Succeeded by Rashtrakuta dynasty Hoysala Kingdom Kakatiya dynasty Seuna (Yadava) dynasty

The Western Chalukya Empire (/tʃəˈluːkjə/ chə-LOO-kyə) ruled most of the western Deccan Plateau in South India between the 10th and 12th centuries AD. This Kannada-speaking dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital of Kalyani in present-day Basavakalyan, Bidar district,Karnataka, and the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the sixth-century Chalukya dynasty of Badami. It is known as the Western Chalukyas to distinguish it from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi. Before the rise of the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta Empire of Manyakheta controlled most of the Deccan Plateau and central India for over two centuries. In 973, seeing confusion in the Rashtrakuta Empire after an invasion of their capital by the ruler of the Paramara dynasty of Malwa, Tailapa II (a feudatory of the Rashtrakuta dynasty ruling from Bijapur) defeated his overlords and made Manyakheta his capital. The dynasty quickly gained power and grew into an empire under Someshvara I, who moved the capital to Kalyani.

For over a century, the Western Chalukyas and the Chola dynasty of Thanjavur fought to control the fertile region of Vengi. During these conflicts, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (distant cousins of the Western Chalukyas but related to the Cholas by marriage) took sides with the Cholas. During the rule of Vikramaditya VI in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, the Western Chalukyas ruled most of the Deccan between the Narmada River in the north and the Kaveri River in the south.^[3][4][5][6] As a prince during the rule of Someshvara I, he led successful military campaigns as far east as present-day Bihar and Bengal.^[7][8][9] The other major ruling families of the Deccan, the Hoysala Empire, the Seuna dynasty, the Kakatiya dynasty and the Kalachuris of Kalyani, were subordinate to the Western Chalukyas and gained independence when Chalukya power waned during the second half of the 12th century.

The Western Chalukya architecture is known today as a transitional style, an architectural link between the early Chalukya dynasty and the later Hoysala Empire. Most of its monuments are in the districts bordering the Tungabhadra River in central Karnataka. Notable examples are the Kasivisvesvara Temple in Lakkundi, the Mallikarjuna Temple in Kuruvatti, the Kalleshvara Temple in Bagali and the Mahadeva Temple in Itagi. This was an important period in the artistic development of South India, especially in literature, since the Western Chalukya kings encouraged writers in Kannada and Sanskrit.