India, Tamil Nadu, 1565 -1646 AD., Nayaka period, unspecified dynasts, Kasu, Mitchiner NISWC 1247.

India, Tamil Nadu during the Nayaka period by unspecified dynasts, ca. 1565 -1646 AD.,
Kasu (Cash) (12,5 mm / 3,71 g / 3 mm high), brass, axes (as pictured) medal alignment ↑↑ (ca. 0°),
Obv.: a bird(?) standing left.
Rev.: star design.
Mitchiner NISWC 1247 ; cf. Zeno 59585 .

The Muslim invasions of southern India triggered the establishment of the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire with Vijayanagara in modern Karnataka as its capital. The Vijayanagara empire eventually conquered the entire Tamil country by c. 1370 C.E. and ruled for almost two centuries until its defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by a confederacy of Deccan sultanates.
Subsequently, as the Vijayanagara Empire went into decline after the mid-16th century, many local rulers, called Nayaks, succeeded in gaining the trappings of independence. This eventually resulted in the further weakening of the empire; many Nayaks declared themselves independent, among whom the Nayaks of Madurai and Tanjore were the first to declare their independence, despite initially maintaining loose links with the Vijayanagara kingdom. The Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were the most prominent of Nayaks in the 17th century. They reconstructed some of the well-known temples in Tamil Nadu such as the Meenakshi Temple.