The Hoysala Empire was a prominent South Indian empire that ruled most
of the modern-day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th
centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur
but was later moved to Halebidu. The Hoysala rulers were originally
hill peoples of Malnad Karnataka, an elevated region in the Western
Ghats range. In the 12th century, taking advantage of the internecine
warfare between the then ruling Western Chalukyas and Kalachuri
kingdoms, they annexed areas of present-day Karnataka and the fertile
areas north of the Kaveri River delta in present-day Tamil Nadu. By
the 13th century, they governed most of present-day Karnataka, parts
of Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh in Deccan India. The
Hoysala era was an important period in the development of art,
architecture, and religion in South India. The empire is remembered
today primarily for its temple architecture. Over a hundred surviving
temples are scattered across Karnataka, including the well known
Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and
the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. The Hoysala rulers also patronised
the fine arts. This patronage encouraged literature to flourish in
Kannada and Sanskrit.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_Empire
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1702:
Princess Anne became the Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland,
succeeding William III.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Great_Britain)
1782:
American Revolutionary War: Almost 100 Native Americans in
Gnadenhutten, Ohio died at the hands of Pennsylvanian militiamen in a
mass murder known as the Gnadenhutten massacre.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnadenhutten_massacre)
1966:
Nelson's Pillar, a large granite pillar with a statue of Lord Nelson
on top in Dublin, Ireland, was destroyed by a bomb.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson%27s_Pillar)
1983:
The Cold War: During a speech to the National Association of
Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Ronald Reagan
described the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".
1985:
A failed assassination attempt on Islamic cleric Sayyed Mohammad
Hussein Fadlallah in a car-bombing in Beirut killed more than 80
people and injured almost 200 others.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Beirut_car_bombing)
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Wiktionary's Word of the day:
flagrant: Obvious and offensive, blatant, scandalous.
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flagrant)
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Wikiquote of the day:
We do not ask for what useful purpose the birds do sing, for song is
their pleasure since they were created for singing. Similarly, we
ought not to ask why the human mind troubles to fathom the secrets of
the heavens. The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great and
the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich precisely in order that
the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh enrichment.
-- Johannes Kepler
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler)