Vijayanagara- The Never To Be Forgotten Empire

The history and culture of the Vijayanagara Empire has been an ocean of historical research since almost a century. Ever since Robert Sewell wrote his master piece "The Forgotten Empire" scholars of various countries, scholars of various academic repute have attempted to bring to light the multiplicity of the history and culture of the Vijayanagara Empire. Number of Seminars and Conferences of National and International level are held to debate upon various aspects of the history of this empire. Yet many of the issues connected with the history of this Royal power have remained enigmatic to the scholars.

The present work titled "Vijayanagara - Never to be Forgotten Empire" is not a research document. The author himself admits that this work is based on the secondary sources and his main intention. is to summaries certain important issues debated by the historian, so that laity can know the outlines of the history of this royal dynasty. Certain important aspects of the Vijayanagara history such as the foundation of the empire, its founders, its religious leanings, foreign travelers, who visited the Empire and its capital Hampi, some important rulers, the fall of the Empire, are all briefly discussed in the work. With this information the work will, for sure, serve as a hand book for those who are interested to know the history of this Empire.

Vijayanagara Empire - Is it a forgotten empire? Or, is it a never-to be-forgotten empire? Or, is it a never forgotten empire? Whatever it may be, what is certain is that hundreds of books/research articles/ monographs were written on the Empire covering all possible perspectives. But the problem is, more the publications, more the confusion and contradiction. Readers may wonder why then this book which may not improve upon what has already been written. Well, this is an attempt, depending on purely secondary sources, to highlight those areas of confusion, fiction and gossip.

I relied heavily on Robert Sewell's "A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagara)” which is a treasure house for those who would like to know the medieval history of Vijayanagara Empire. Sewell was an ICS officer of the British Raj posted at Bellary and not a historian. But his contribution to the medieval history of India, basically the history of Vijayanagara, is seminal. But, one can't say the book is without its own fault lines. Sewell's main sources for his book are the chronicles of Fernao Nuniz, a Portuguese horse trader who was in the capital during the reign Achyuta Rya, Domingo Paes, a Portuguese horse trader again and supplier of horses to Krishna Deva Raya and Mohd. Qasim Firishta who wrote on the history of Bahamani sultans. Most of the accounts of these foreign travelers was based on hearsay, street gossip folk stories and clueless observations.

**Contents and Sample Pages**