Central India remains contested by various major powers—each developing a distinctive but related artistic style—until the ascendancy of Turkish–Central Asian dynasties at the end of the period. Buddhism, once a powerful religious and cultural force in the South, disappears in all but Sri Lanka, where it flourishes into the modern period. The Deccan is absorbed into the Muslim cultural sphere under the Delhi Sultanate, and then independent rulers. Vijayanagar remains independent, entering into complex alliances with the various Deccan powers until it is overcome by them in 1565.