A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of IndiaSewell, Robert
History
A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India
Sewell, Robert
Vijayanagar (Empire) -- History
Should any one ask what revenues this king possesses, and what his
treasure is that enables him to pay so many troops, since he has so
many and such great lords in his kingdom, who, the greater part of
them, have themselves revenues, I answer thus: These captains whom
he has over these troops of his are the nobles of his kingdom; they
are lords, and they hold the city, and the towns and villages of
the kingdom; there are captains amongst them who have a revenue of
a million and a million a half of PARDAOS, others a hundred thousand
PARDAOS, others two hundred, three hundred or five hundred thousand
PARDAOS, and as each one has revenue so the king fixes for him the
number of troops he must maintain, in foot, horse, and elephants.[454]
These troops are always ready for duty, whenever they may be called out
and wherever they may have to go; and in this way he has this million
of fighting men always ready. Each of these captains labours to turn
out the best troops he can get because he pays them their salaries; and
in this review there were the finest young men possible to be seen or
that ever could be seen, for in all this array I did not see a man that
would act the coward. Besides maintaining these troops, each captain
has to make his annual payments to the king, and the king has his own
salaried troops to whom he gives pay. He has eight hundred elephants
attached to his person, and five hundred horses always in his stables,
and for the expenses of these horses and elephants he has devoted the
revenues that he receives from this city of Bisnaga. You may well
imagine how great these expenses may be, and besides these that of
the servants who have the care of the horses and elephants; and by
this you will be able to judge what will be the revenue of this city.
This king of Bisnaga has five kings his subjects and vassals,[455]
besides other captains and lords having large territories and great
revenues; whenever a son happens to be born to this king, or a
daughter, all the nobles of the kingdom offer him great presents of
money and jewels of price, and so they do to him every year on the
day of his birth.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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