The Hoysala Empire (Kannada: ಹೊಯ್ಸಳ) was an Indian empire. It controlled part of southern India from 1000 to 1346 A.D. Belur, Karnataka was the empire's capital. The Hoysala Empire is remembered today mostly because of its architecture. The hundreds of temples found across Karnataka are good examples of temples that were in the cities of Belur, Halebid and Somnathpura. The Hoysala kings were affected by Jainism and Hinduism. King Vishnuvardhana and the kings after him believed in Vaishnavism.