When the Emperors of Vijayanagar conquered the country from the Muslim and Tamil powers, they needed loyal chiefs, ready to serve them in times of peace as well as in times of war. The sovereign divided the territory into Nayakattinams and entrusted them with the chieftains called ‘Nayaks’. The Nayaks were the administrative agents of the Vijayanagar rulers in Tamilnadu. The glory of the Vijayanagar Empire began to decline after its defeats in the battle of Talaikota in 1565 and Toppur in 1616. Three Nayakdoms were created in the Tamil country with Gingee(1509-1649), Tanjavur(1532-1673) and Madurai(1529-1736) being their capitals. The Madurai and Tanjavur Nayaks contributed more to architecture than the others. The temples, mandapas, gopurams, palaces and public buildings constructed during this period contributed much for the development of art. They renovated certain temples and were beautified with sculptures and paintings. In Tamilnadu , though they were constructed on Dravidian style, the Islamic style which gave new dimension to them.