presence, without sinning against their laws. He also made all the
Hindoo soldiers learn the discipline of the bow; in which he and his
officers used such exertions, that he had at length two thousand
mussulmauns and sixty thousand Hindoos, well skilled in archery,
besides eighty thousand horse and two hundred thousand foot, armed
in the usual manner with pikes and lances."

On a day which must have been between November 1442 and April 1443 a
desperate attempt was made on the life of King Deva Raya by one of his
closest relatives -- a brother, according to Abdur Razzak, a nephew,
according to Nuniz. Abdur Razzak's story is without doubt the more
reliable of the two, since he is a contemporary witness. The story as
told by Nuniz is given in the chronicle at the end of this volume.[113]
Abdur Razzak was ambassador from Persia to Calicut and Vijayanagar, and
his account is particularly important as it definitely fixes the date.

"During the time that the author of this narrative was still sojourning
at Calicut (November 1442 to April 1443) there happened in the city
of Bidjanagar an extraordinary and most singular occurrence....

"The king's brother, who had had a new house built for himself, invited
thither the monarch and the principal personages of the empire. Now it
is an established usage of the infidels never to eat in presence of
each other. The men who were invited were assembled together in one
grand hall. At short intervals the prince either came in person or
sent some messenger to say that such or such great personage should
come and eat his part of the banquet. Care had been taken to bring
together all the drums, kettledrums, trumpets, and flutes that could
be found in the city, and these instruments playing all at the same
time, made a tremendous uproar. As soon as the individual who had been