Language: EnglishPages: 96 (Color Illus: 53)From the JacketSpread across 26 sq kms lie the remains of the splendid medieval city of Hampi or Vijayanagara, the City of Victory. Bounded by the wide, almost unfordable Tungabhadra river on one side and impassable craggy hills and ranges with massive boulders on the other sides, the site offered natural defences which the Vijayanagara kings used to their great advantage. Hampi was the capital of the powerful Vijayanagara empire from AD 1343 to 1565.The Vijayanagara empire at its height stretched over a large part of south India and was ruled by powerful kings like Harihara II, Deva Raya II and Krishnadeva Raya who showcased their immense might in the grandiose monuments they constructed at their capital - Vijayanagara.Foreign travellers like Domingo Paes, Abdur Razzaq and Nicolo Conti have left glowing and graphic details of the opulent grandeur of Hampi; its luxurious palaces, imposing temples, bustling bazaars, imposing houses, brilliant jewels and ostentatious festivals.Hampi was the epitome of the power and might of the Vijayanagara empire and in that lay its nemesis. The inglorious end of the city of Victory came when it was laid siege to and defeated by the combined armies of Bijapur, Golconda and Ahmednagar in 1565. Thereafter the city was robbed and pillaged and left desolate, its pavilions and temple standing forgotten - mute spectators of a glorious past.ForewordHampi, the erstwhile capital of the Vijayanagara empire, today covers an area of about 26 square kilometers on the southern bank of the river Tungabhadra in Karnataka. In medieval times, the Vijayanagara dynasty, famed for its patronage to art and culture ruled from here.Hampi's history goes back beyond hist - from Amzon