Vijayanagara - How Deva Raya II Forged India’s Deadliest Horse Archers
The cavalry revolution of the Vijayanagara Empire reached its peak under Deva Raya II. After repeated wars against the Bahmani Sultanate, he realized that the Sultanate armies had a major advantage: fast-moving mounted archers trained in Turkic and Persian cavalry warfare. Traditional South Indian warfare depended heavily on infantry and elephants, but these forces struggled against highly mobile horse archers who could attack while constantly moving across the battlefield.
To solve this, Deva Raya II began one of the most important military reforms in medieval Indian history. He recruited experienced Turkic, Persian, and Muslim cavalrymen directly into Vijayanagara service. Historical accounts describe how expert mounted archers from West and Central Asian traditions were brought into the empire specifically to train Vijayanagara soldiers in horseback warfare. These men taught techniques such as shooting arrows accurately while riding at high speed, coordinated cavalry formations, rapid flanking attacks, and battlefield mobility that South Indian armies previously lacked.
The empire also invested massively in importing warhorses. Strong cavalry horses could not easily be bred in much of South India because of the climate, so Vijayanagara depended on Arabian and Persian horse traders arriving through ports along the western coast such as Goa, Bhatkal, and Honnavar. Horses arriving from Arabia, Persia, and Central Asia were considered elite military assets and were often worth enormous amounts of wealth. Controlling the horse trade became strategically critical for the empire.
Rather than simply hiring foreign cavalry, Deva Raya II ensured that local Hindu warriors learned these methods themselves. Vijayanagara soldiers trained under these foreign horse archers and gradually developed a powerful indigenous cavalry tradition. Persian chroniclers and foreign travelers noted that Muslim cavalry officers and Turkic archers were given respected positions inside the empire because their military knowledge was so valuable. Deva Raya II even allowed mosques and separate quarters for Muslim troops inside the capital so they would remain loyal and continue training imperial forces.
Over time, this transformed Vijayanagara into one of the greatest cavalry powers in India. Their mounted archers became known for terrifying battlefield speed, coordinated arrow volleys, and aggressive charges across the Deccan plains. Later rulers such as Krishnadevaraya inherited this military system and expanded it further, helping Vijayanagara dominate much of southern India during its golden age.