Twenty years after the visit of Nicola Conte, let us examine the travel experience of Abdur Razak, a Persian traveler who visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Devaraya II.
During his voyage from Kozhikode to Vijayanagar in 1443, Razak was amazed by a small temple made of bronze. There is also a reference to a temple that is notable for its unique architecture. Vijayanagara, which stretches from the Krishna River to Kanyakumari, had a thousand elephants and about 11 lakh troops. The Vijayanagara kings defended the country by building seven strong forts and huge walls to protect the country from being penetrated by the waves of enemy army. The city's surveillance system and intelligence system were considered the best in the world. A traveler coming from the south can see the beginning of the fort that lie between the two hills southwest of the Hospet as the first defensive system. After that entrance you will reach the second stage with farms, houses and gardens. To the north of the city, you will have to pass through a sparsely populated area up to the Third Wall of the defense. The boundary of the fourth fort begins on the south side of Malpanagudi. There is a beautiful stone well that can be considered to belong to the aristocracy and the ruins of an ancient building can be seen there now. The fifth boundary is north of Malpanagudi. The famous entrance, many parts of which are still dilapidated can still be found here. The boundary of the Sixth Fort is on the south side of the Kamalapur Reservoir. The seventh and innermost fort can still be seen with some renovations now. The seventh fort surrounds the country, the administrative center and the palace for about a mile from north to south and two and a half miles from east to west. The outer fort wall, built of limestone and rock, was circular.There was no doubt that the guards at the gates of the fort were faithful in collecting taxes. The system of collecting arrears existed at all the entrances to the main city. The seventh fort on the north side was also the palace of the king.
At the beginning of a winter of 1406, the Sultan's army approached Vijayanagar. They attacked the city, looted houses and occupied the streets. Firuz Shah was then forced to give up everything and retreat as the city dwellers chased away the Islamic militants. That victory prompted Devaraya to defend his army within the walls. At the same time, he set out to retaliate against the Sultan's camp. In the rocky area of Vijayanagar, the Islamic militants were unable to use their cavalry properly and lost confidence. At the same time, Firuz Shah's hand was wounded by an arrow. Eventually, the king’s army retreated, kneeling before the might of Ahmed Khan and Khan Khan, and the Sultan withdrew from the city and stayed elsewhere for four months, waiting for the wounds of him and other wounded soldiers to heal. Devaraya, who was defeated in the war, was imprisoned in the capital. At the same time, the corpses of the slain Vijayanagara soldiers were desecrated and mutilat...
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