attacks on the natives; and he also learned from an influential native
of the existence of the great kingdom of Vijayanagar and the power
of its king, Narasimha (or Narasa). At Cannanore the viceroy's son,
Lourenco, in 1506, received further information as to the state of
the country from the Italian traveller Varthema, and in consequence
of this Almeida asked King Narasa to allow him to erect a fortress
at Bhatkal, but no answer was returned.

Varthema has left behind him a valuable account of his experiences[185]
at this period. He speaks of Goa as being then under the "Savain,"
which is this writer's form of expressing the ruler known to the
Portuguese as the "Sabayo,"[186] who was the governor of the place
under the Adil Shah of Bijapur. The Sabayo was then at war with
Narasimha of Vijayanagar.

He describes Vijayanagar as a great city, "very large and strongly
walled. It is situated on the side of a mountain,[187] and is seven
miles in circumference. It has a triple circlet of walls." It was very
wealthy and well supplied, situated on a beautiful site, and enjoying
an excellent climate. The king "keeps up constantly 40,000 horsemen"
and 400 elephants. The elephants each carry six men, and have long
swords fastened to their trunks in battle -- a description which agrees
with that of Nikitin and Paes. "The common people go quite naked,
with the exception of a piece of cloth about their middle. The king
wears a cap of gold brocade two spans long.... His horse is worth
more than some of our cities on account of the ornaments which it
wears."[188] Calicut, he says, was ruined in consequence of its wars
with the Portuguese.

Varthema saw forty-eight Portuguese traders massacred at Calicut by the