Place · fortified hill town · India
Adoni / Adavani
/aːˈdoːni/
Also known as Adoni, Yadoni, Adavani
Adoni is a historic Rayalaseema city dominated by its vast hill fort, which developed under Vijayanagara and later Deccan Sultanate rule. Its landscape combines Hindu temples, mosques and fortified architecture. Today, Adoni is an important commercial and agricultural centre of Kurnool district, known for its cotton trade, markets and distinctive Deccan cultural heritage.
- Date
- 1200–None
- Periods
- Regional Flourishing, Islamic Age and Bhakti Traditions, Early Modern Age, British Colonial Age, Republic and Living Practice
- Function
- Other / mixed
- Patron dynasty
- Vijayanagara · Bijapur Sultanate · Asaf Jahi
- Condition
- Ruin
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 15.632, 77.273
Worth knowing
Adoni’s fortifications extend across a chain of rocky granite hills. It is thought to have been founded by Chandra Sen in 1200 BC and later came into the medieval kingdom of Vijayanagara. Inscriptions record temple construction during the reign of Krishnadevaraya. After the fall of Vijayanagara, Adoni became an important Bijapur possession. Siddi Masud Khan, its governor, built the Kaman Bhavi and commissioned the large Jamiya Masjid in 1672.
The present fort is a layered complex rather than a single-period monument. Vijayanagara, Deccan Sultanate and later Islamic architectural elements reflect successive political occupations of the city.
Connections (4)
- Imperial administration ofHampi / Vijayanagara
Adoni became an important Vijayanagara military stronghold in the 15th century, with surviving inscriptions recording temple construction during Krishnadevaraya’s reign. Its fortifications illustrate the empire’s northern Deccan frontier.
- Imperial administration ofBijapur (Vijayapura)
After Vijayanagara’s decline, Adoni passed to the Bijapur Sultanate and developed a substantial Islamic architectural layer, including the Jamiya Masjid and structures commissioned by Siddi Masud Khan.
- PatronageKrishnadevaraya
Adoni’s inscriptions record temple construction during the reign of Krishnadevaraya, linking the city to the architectural and political expansion of the Vijayanagara Empire under one of its most prominent rulers.
- In the same set asTadipatri
Tadipatri and Adoni illustrate two complementary aspects of the Vijayanagara Deccan: Tadipatri’s monumental temple patronage and Adoni’s role as a heavily fortified northern frontier stronghold.
Sources
Government of Andhra Pradesh, Kurnool District — Culture & Heritage
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