Hoyasalas

   They began as hill chieftains whose main source of revenue was banditry in the hilly tracts of south India. Gradually, the Hoyasalas moved down into the plains and emerged in the first half of the 12th century as a small kingdom that was a feudatory of the Chaulukyas. In the 13th century, the core of their kingdom was rep-resented by Dorasamudra. Vishnuvardhana, who converted from Jainism to Vaishnavism under the influence of Ramanuja, con-tributed to the consolidation of Hoyasala rule. The Hoyasalas were overthrown by Muslim invaders from the north during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-1351).