the stately citadel of Anegundi, the mother of the empire-city. The
population of this double city was immense, and the area occupied by
it very extensive. From the last fortification to the south, beyond
the present town of Hospett, to the extreme point of the defences of
Anegundi on the north, the distance is about twelve miles. From the
extreme western line of walls in the plain to the last of the eastern
works amongst the hills lying in the direction of Daroji and Kampli the
interval measures about ten miles. Within this area we find the remains
of the structures of which I have spoken. The hovels have disappeared,
and the debris lies many feet thick over the old ground-level. But the
channels are still in working order, and wherever they exist will be
found rich crops, tall and stately trees, and a tangle of luxuriant
vegetation. On the rocks above are the ruins of buildings and temples
and walls, and in many places small shrines stand out, built on the
jutting edges of great boulders or on the pinnacles of lofty crags, in
places that would seem inaccessible to anything but monkeys and birds.

In the central enclosure are the remains of great structures that
must once have been remarkable for their grandeur and dignity. These
immediately surrounded the king's palace; but in 1565 the Muhammadans
worked their savage will upon them with such effect that only the
crumbling ruins of the more massive edifices amongst them still
stand. The site of the palace itself is marked by a large area of
ground covered with heaps of broken blocks, crushed masonry, and
fragments of sculpture, not one stone being left upon another in its
original position.

To return to Nicolo. He continues: --

"The inhabitants of this region marry as many wives as they please,