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Summary: A Medieval Empire
Review: The rich and powerful Hindu empire of Vijayanagara (mid-14th to mid-16th century), covering South India from coast to coast, excited the admiration of Islamic and European visitors alike: "The city... is such that the pupil of the eye has never seen a place like it, and the ear of intelligence has never been informed that there existed anything to equal it in the world" wrote Abdul Razzaq, a 15th-century envoy from Persia. Today, what is left of this once-great capital is preserved as a huge archaeological site (9 square miles in extent) that takes its name from the modern village of Hampi. Beautifully well-preserved features include temples, reviewing stands, elephant stables, bathing pavillions, aqueducts, reservoirs, giant statues of the elephant god Ganesh and the Vishnuite lion-avatar Narasimha, and the thrilling landscape of the Tungabhadra river valley with its surrounding hills, granite boulders that seem to have dropped from the sky, and legendary association with the home of Hanuman, the monkey hero of the Ramayana.John M. Fritz and George Michell, as the directors for more than 20 years of the Vijayanagara Research Project, are ideally equipped to present this site to visitors. Beginning with 50 or so pages on the history, layout, architecture, etc. of Vijayanagara, the book continues with a 70-page tour of the site, and concludes with 30 pages of archival material (medieval visitors' reports, and selected early photographs of Alexander Greenlaw). Geared to the general reader, this illustrated guidebook is compact, inexpensive, and useful to have in hand when visiting the site.
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