Probably Meaning That They Were Formed Of Bars Hooped Or
Welded Together, In The Way In Which The Famous _Mons Meg_, Long In
Edinburgh Castle, And Now In The Tower Of London, Was Certainly
Made.
- E.]
[Footnote 130: Perhaps that now called Assodnagur in the Mahratta
country, about 125 miles nearly east from Chaul. - E.]
[Footnote 131: In fact only about half that distance. - E.]
[Footnote 132: About 165 English miles - E.]
SECTION VII.
_Of Goa._
Goa, the principal city of the Portuguese in India, in which the viceroy
resides with a splendid court, stands in an island about 25 or 30 miles
in circuit. The city, with its boroughs or suburbs, is moderately large,
and is sufficiently handsome for an Indian city; but the island is very
beautiful, being full of fine gardens, and adorned with many trees,
among which are the _Palmer_, or cocoa-nut trees, formerly mentioned.
Goa trades largely in all kinds of merchandise usual in these parts, and
every year five or six large ships come directly thither from Portugal,
usually arriving about the 6th or 10th of September. They remain there
40 or 50 days, and go from thence to Cochin, where they finish their
lading for Portugal; though they often load one ship at Goa and the
other at Cochin for Portugal. Cochin is 420 miles from Goa. The city of
Goa stands in the kingdom of _Dial-can_, or Adel Khan, a Moorish or
Mahometan king, whose capital, called Bejapour or Visiapour, is eight
days journey inland from Goa[133]. This sovereign has great power; for,
when I was at Goa in 1570, he came to attack that city, encamping with
200,000 men at a river side in the neighbourhood, where he remained
fourteen months, at the end of which a peace was concluded. It was
reported in Goa that a great mortality prevailed in his army during the
winter, which also killed many of his elephants. When I went in 1567
from Goa to _Bezenegur_ or Bijanagur, the capital city of the kingdom of
_Narsinga,_ eight days journey inland from Goa[134], I travelled in
company with two other merchants, who carried with them 300 Arabian
horses for sale to that king; the horses of the country being of small
stature, occasioning Arabian horses to sell at high prices in that part
of India. Indeed it is necessary that the merchants should get good
prices, as they are at great charges in bringing them from Persia to
Ormuz and thence to Goa. At going out of Goa, 42 pagodas are paid of
duty for each horse; the pagoda being a small gold coin worth about 6s.
8d. sterling. In the inland country of Narsinga, the Arabian horses sell
for 300, 400, and 500 ducats each, and some very superior horses sell as
high as 1000 ducats.
[Footnote 133: About 175, N.E. from Goa. In the original it is called
Bisapor. - E.]
[Footnote 134: The ruins of the royal city of Bijanagur are 190 English
miles nearly due east from Goa. - E.]
SECTION VIII.
_Of the City of Bijanagur._
In the year 1565, the city of Bijanagur was sacked by four Moorish kings
of great power: Adel-Khan, Nizam-al-Mulk, Cotub-al-Mulk, and
Viriday-Khan; yet with all their power they were unable to overcome this
city and its king but by means of treachery. The king of Bijanagur was a
Gentile, and among the captains of his numerous army had two famous
Moors, each of whom commanded over seventy or eighty thousand men. These
two captains being of the same religion with the four Moorish kings,
treacherously combined with them to betray their own sovereign.
Accordingly, when the king of Bijanagur, despising the power of his
enemies, boldly faced them in the field, the battle had scarcely lasted
four hours, when the two treacherous captains, in the very heat of the
battle, turned with their followers against their own sovereign, and
threw his army into such disorder that it broke and fled in the utmost
confusion.
This kingdom of Bijanagur had been governed for thirty years by the
usurpation of three brothers, keeping the lawful king a state prisoner,
and ruling according to their own pleasure, shewing the king only once a
year to his subjects. They had been principal officers under the father
of the king whom they now held a prisoner, who was very young when his
father died, and they assumed the government. The eldest brother was
called _Ram rajah_, who sat in the royal throne and was called king; the
second was named _Temi rajah_, who held charge of the civil government
of the country; and the third, _Bengatre_, was general in chief of the
army. In the great battle against the four Mahometan kings all the three
brothers were present, but the first and the last were never heard of
more, neither dead nor alive. Temi rajah alone escaped from the battle,
with the loss of one eye. On the news of this great defeat coming to the
city of Bijanagur, the wives and children of the three tyrants fled with
the imprisoned king, and the four Mahometan kings entered the city in
great triumph, where they remained for six months, searching everywhere
for money and valuable effects that had been hidden. After this they
departed, being unable to retain possession of so extensive a dominion
at such a distance from their own territory[135].
[Footnote 135: The reason in the text for evacuating the kingdom of
Narsinga, or Bijanagur, is very unsatisfactory, as it in fact bordered
on their dominions. More probably they could not agree on the partition,
each being afraid of the others acquiring an ascendancy, and they
satisfied themselves with the enormous spoils of the capital. This event
has been before mentioned from De Faria. - E.]
After the retreat of the four kings, Temi rajah returned to Bijanagur,
which he repeopled, and sent word to the merchants of Goa to bring all
the horses to him that they had for sale, promising good prices; and it
was on this occasion that the two merchants went up with their horses,
whom I accompanied.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 68 of 226
Words from 68643 to 69676
of 230997
