As with the final "a" in "Vijayanagara," so with the final "u" in such names as "Kondavidu" -- it has been dropped in order to avoid an appearance of pedantry; and I have preferred the more common "Rajahmundry" to the more correct "Rajamahendri," "Trichinopoly" to "Tiruchhinapalle," and so on. This system may not be very scientific, but I trust it will prove not unacceptable. * * * The name of the capital is spelt in many different ways by the chroniclers and travellers. The usual Portuguese spelling was "Bisnaga;" but we have also the forms "Bicheneger" (NIKITIN), "Bidjanagar" (ABDUR RAZZAK), "Bizenegalia" (CONTI), "Bisnagar," "Beejanuggur," &c. A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar CHAPTER 1 Introduction Introductory remarks -- Sources of information -- Sketch of history of Southern India down to A.D. 1336 -- A Hindu bulwark against Muhammadan conquest -- The opening date, as given by Nuniz, wrong -- "Togao Mamede" or Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi -- His career and character. In the year 1336 A.D., during the reign of Edward III. of England, there occurred in India an event which almost instantaneously changed the political condition of the entire south. With that date the volume of ancient history in that tract closes and the modern begins. It is the epoch of transition from the Old to the New. This event was the foundation of the city and kingdom of Vijayanagar. Prior to A.D. 1336 all Southern India had lain under the domination of the ancient Hindu kingdoms, -- kingdoms so old that their origin has never been traced, but which are mentioned in Buddhist edicts rock-cut sixteen centuries earlier; the Pandiyans at Madura, the Cholas at Tanjore, and others. When Vijayanagar sprang into existence the past was done with for ever, and the monarchs of the new state became lords or overlords of the territories lying between the Dakhan and Ceylon. There was no miracle in this. It was the natural result of the persistent efforts made by the Muhammadans to conquer all India. When these dreaded invaders reached the Krishna River the Hindus to their south, stricken with terror, combined, and gathered in haste to the new standard which alone seemed to offer some hope of protection. The decayed old states crumbled away into nothingness, and the fighting kings of Vijayanagar became the saviours of the south for two and a half centuries. And yet in the present day the very existence of this kingdom is hardly remembered in India; while its once magnificent capital, planted on the extreme northern border of its dominions and bearing the proud title of the "City of Victory," has entirely disappeared save for a few scattered ruins of buildings that were once temples or palaces, and for the long lines of massive walls that constituted its defences. Even the name has died out of men's minds and memories, and the remains that mark its site are known only as the ruins lying near the little village of Hampe.