Historiographical Context of the Nayak Period

Abstract

The linguistic, literary, political, social, and cultural contexts of that state greatly contribute to the need to know or write the history of a state from its rise to its fall. Historiography approached in these contexts is not only focused on the rulers but also on understanding the history of the people. This article examines how the linguistic, literary, political, social, and cultural contexts of the time contributed to the historiography of the Nayak period centred on this hypothesis. In this way, the language environment where Tamil and other languages are mixed, the literary environment about changes in literary forms as a result of contact with other languages, the political environment of the Nayaks who supported the Vijayanagar regime and then fell apart due to rivalries and struggles, the social environment about conflicts in society with inequalities and caste structures, and the cultural environment about customs as a result of neighbouring settlements are all intertwined.