“A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagara) A Contribution to the History of INDIA” 

It is written by the famous historian Robert Sewell. Robert Sewell (1845-1925) was a civil servant in colonial India. He did extensive work on the history of Vijayanagara empire particularly of Hampi (empire’s capital).

         This book covers wide range of information about Vijayanagara empire through its 17 chapters, all in chronological order like, origin of the empire, founder kings, different dynasties, expansion of the empire, the intruder rulers, the wars fought (special focus: battle of Talikote), cultural and architectural contributions etc.. The book doesn’t only focus on these political areas, but also a real picture of social setup, culture of people, the grand ceremonies practiced, temples etc..

        The description given about the different dynasties gives us clear view of this empire. These information has been enriched and made crystal clear through maps, flow charts which are really appreciable and necessary aspects. But the only sad thing was that the everlasting confusion about the empire’s origin is not made clear in this book also. But anyways, as this book also reflects our cultural self sufficiency and heritage, gives us a feel of proud and patriotism.

        The most fascinating fact about this book is that it has been translated as seen by Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz which is honored as an eyewitness account of Portugese travelers to India in 16^th century report. This is why even today this book still serves as one of the important source about Vijayanagara empire. Hence it proved the title “A Contribution to the History of India”.