Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 2, 2025
That they actually came there seems quite certain, and it is probable that Nuniz was in Vijayanagar at the time; but there is a LACUNA in his story which can only be filled up by reference to Firishtah.
To conclusively establish the fact that this account can only refer to Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi, who reigned from 1325 to 1351, it is necessary that we should look into the known character of that monarch and the events of his reign. Nuniz states that his "Togao Mamede" conquered Gujarat, was at war with Bengal, and had trouble with the Turkomans on the borders of Sheik Ismail, I.E. Persia.
All Southern India was under Krishna Deva's sway, and several quasi-independent chiefs were his vassals. These were, according to Nuniz, the chief of Seringapatam, and those of Bankapur, Garsopa, Calicut, Bhatkal, and Barkur. The Portuguese treated these lesser chiefs as if they were kings, called them so and sent embassies to them, no doubt much to their satisfaction.
Though names and details differ, it will be observed that there is evidently a common basis of truth in the accounts given by Firishtah and Nuniz. Both relate the deaths of two young princes, brothers, the subsequent murder of two other heirs to the kingdom, and the usurpation of the throne by a minister. With these remarks we turn to the more reliable portion of Firishtah's narrative.
Partly in compensation for this loss of land the Government has till very recently paid an annual pension to the head of the Anegundi family. This has now been abolished. Chronicles of Paes and Nuniz Letter Thus I obtained this summary from one Domingos Paes, who goes there, and who was at Bisnaga in the time of Crisnarao when Cristovao de Figueiredo was there.
This implies that he took, when merely hunting, immense numbers of men with him. Shahab-ud-Din, indeed, declared that Muhammad Taghlaq had an army of 900,000 horse; and Nuniz, on the opening page of his chronicle, says that this Sultan invaded the Balaghat with 800,000 horse. This estimate was, of course, only according to the tradition extant in 1535.
Accepting Firishtah, we can readily understand why King Achyuta received the Sultan and his army without open opposition, as Nuniz declares that he did, and why the Muhammadan king received splendid presents before he retired. To Nuniz, however, this conduct was inexplicable except on the basis of Achyuta's craven spirit and utter unworthiness.
As to the assertion of Nuniz that the Sultan entered Nagalapur or Hospett and "razed it to the ground," we may remember the treatment of the city of Bijapur by Krishna Deva Raya, and surmise that the houses of the Vijayanagar suburbs may have been pulled to pieces by the Mussalman soldiery in search for firewood.
Rajasekhara's second inscription must have been engraved very shortly before the final fall of the old royal house, for the first certain date of the usurper Narasimha is A.D. 1450. Amid this confusion of overlapping dates we turn for help to Nuniz; but though his story, gathered from tradition about the year 1535, is clear and consecutive, it clashes somewhat with the other records.
Firishtah relates a story of him which is worth repeating here, partly because the event occurred in the Hindu capital, partly because it illustrates the practice of duelling which, as Nuniz tells us, largely obtained at that time. and partly because it confirms the assertions of Nuniz that the king of Vijayanagar was in the habit of disposing at will with the revenues of his provinces.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking