A Forgotten Empire

Title: A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar) – A Contribution to the History of India

Author: Robert Sewell

Publisher: Master Mind Books, 2012 (First published 1900)

ISBN: 978-81-8468-290-8

Pages: 359

Robert Sewell (1845 – 1925) was a British civil servant employed at the Madras Record Office as a Keeper entrusted with documenting ancient inscriptions and remains in the region. This book is the first ever attempt to decipher the puzzle of history hidden in the stony ruins of Hampi. Basing his research mainly on three sixteenth century historians of the region, Sewell unveils a preliminary montage of a forgotten dynasty that fired up the imagination of folklore, but hardly left any historical references of its own. The author describes the birth of the empire in 1336 and its eclipse in 1565 in which the combined military might of the Deccani sultanates comprehensively decimated them at the Battle of Talikota. The two centuries of Vijayanagara prominence was a defining point in South Indian history, though they hardly made any impact north of the Vindhyas. The entire south accepted their tutelage and consolidation of Hindu monarchs helped stem the tide of Muslim invasions to a limited extent. Sewell’s historiography might look a little odd in the light of present standards, as in its emphasis on religious differences between the winners and vanquished as the root cause of all strife. But we should not lose sight of the fact that the book was written at the height of colonial power and his natural inclination was to paint the alien rulers in a better light when the reader is indirectly to make a comparison between the times his story narrates to the then existing conditions prevailing in British India.

Mohammed bin Tughlaq’s invasion of Anegundi, which was the ancestral seat of the Sangama brothers who were ministers of the ruling monarch provided the spur for establishing the dynasty. Its early phase was marred with frequent collisions with Bahmani sultans who established their headquarters at Gulbarga. The invasions were frequent and every time we read about a debacle on the part of Vijayanagara rulers and their having to part with gold, jewels and their daughters to the sultans. The dynasty itself was also not free from internecine strife and fratricidal intrigues for obtaining the throne by deceitful means. Vijayanagara’s star turned when Krishna Devaraya ascended the throne in 1509, who ruled till 1530. His rule was legendary and completely stemmed the alien tide as long as he reigned. Personal valour, efficient military administration and liberal assistance from the Portuguese with whom the King was in cordial relations helped him vanquish the opponents. The historical sky of Vijayanagara was illuminated by the lone star of Krishna Devaraya. The empire began to crumble right from his death. His successors were either weak or harsh on the nobles which drove them to sideline the monarch with titular powers. The haughty demeanour exhibited by Krishna himself prompted the five sultanates to join forces and defeat Vijayanagara in a convincing rout in the year 1565.

The writer leans on the historical narratives of two Portuguese historians Fernao Nuniz and Domingo Paes who travelled and wrote about Vijayanagara in 1535-37 and 1520 respectively. Being chroniclers of a foreign potentate, they look at the spectacle of Indian royalty with an open mind and makes frank comparisons with what they were familiar with, in Europe and elsewhere. Vijayanagara had a monopoly on buying horses traded by Portuguese ships which transported the animals from Yemen to Goa and then overland to Hampi. It is said that the demise of the empire after 1565 was one of the direct causes of the darkening of Portuguese prominence around this period. The sudden loss of a lucrative item of trade which never regained its old scale proved to be one of the nails in the Portuguese coffin.

Nuniz’s description of the life in Vijayanagara makes interesting reading. Generally, it is believed that the upper castes among the Hindus observe a strict diet of vegetarianism. But what we learn from the traveler is quite contrary, as he asserts that “these Kings of Bisnaga eat all sorts of things, but not the flesh of oxen or cows, which they never kill in all the country of the heathen because they worship them. They eat mutton, pork, venison, partridges, hares, doves, quail and all kinds of birds; even sparrows, and rats, and cats, and lizards, all of which are sold in the markets of the city of Bisnaga (Vijayanagara)” (p.308). Would the present-day Hindu revivalists be able to ‘stomach’ these hard facts?

Other books related to Vijayanagara Empire and reviewed earlier in this blog are Vijayanagara by Burton Stein, Hampi Ruins - Described and Illustrated by A H Longhurst and Court Life Under the Vijayanagar Rulers Madhao P Patil.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star