Vijayanagara (transl. 'City of Victory') is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India. Vijayanagara was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included sites in the Vijayanagara district, the Ballari district, and others around these districts. A part of Vijayanagara ruins known as the Group of Monuments at Hampi has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hampi, an ancient human settlement mentioned in Hindu texts, houses pre-Vijayanagara temples and monuments. In the early 14th century, the dominant Kakatiyas, Seuna Yadavas, Hoysalas, and the short-lived Kampili kingdom, who inhabited the Deccan region, were invaded and plundered by armies of Khalji and later Tughlaq dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate.