Cavalry was the most important feature of the Vijayanagara army. It played a major role in battles.
Therefore countries were competing among themselves to import the best breed of horses from other countries. They got their horses from Central Asia and Arabia. The horse trade was initially controlled by the Arabs. Local traders called ‘Kudirai Chettis’ also took part in this horse trade. From 1498, Portuguese traders also came into this field. The Portuguese who reached the Western shores of the subcontinent tried to found trade centres and military establishments there. In military technologies they had the upper hand. This helped them to become a strong political power.
