are often styled the "mines of Golkonda" by travellers. Marco Polo told
the same tale of the same mines in the year 1296. Conti continues: --

"They divide the year into twelve months, which they name after the
signs of the zodiac. The era is computed variously...."

After having given a short account of the different coinages and
currencies, which is interesting, but of which the various localities
are left to the imagination, he writes: --

"The natives of Central India make use of the ballistae,[128] and
those machines which we call bombardas, also other warlike implements
adapted for besieging cities.

"They call us Franks and say, 'While they call other nations blind,
that they themselves have two eyes, and that we have but one, because
they consider that they excel all others in prudence.'[129]

"The inhabitants of Cambay alone use paper; all other Indians write
on the leaves of trees. They have a vast number of slaves, and, the
debtor who is insolvent is everywhere adjudged to be the property
of his creditor. The numbers of these people and nations exceeds
belief. Their armies consist of a million men and upwards."

Abdur Razzak also visited, the city during the reign of Deva Raya
II., but about twenty years later than Conti. He was entrusted with
an embassy from Persia, and set out on his mission on January 13,
A.D. 1442. At the beginning of November that year he arrived at
Calicut, where he resided till the beginning of April 1443. Being
there he was summoned to Vijayanagar, travelled thither, and was in