Balija dynasties

During the Vijayanagar period, the Balijas were appointed as tax-collectors. The empire was based on an expanding, cash-oriented economy, with the collection of taxes from both agriculture and trade regularized and enhanced by Balija tax-farming.

Many of the Polygars, the local military chieftains of South India, belonged to the Balija caste. The Vijayanagar rulers had a policy of consolidating power by granting Polygars local administrative rights in exchange for support from the soldiers that the Polygars put at their disposal in times of war.

Some of the Balija Nayaks eventually controlled some kingdoms and principalities after the breakdown of the Vijayanagara empire. These included: