View source for Mediæval Vijayanagar: 03-Krishna Rao’s decision to attach ‘Rachol’

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This article is an extract from

''' Chronicle of Fernao Nuniz ''' <br/>

A Portuguese merchant or traveller at Vijayanagar

Written, Probably, A.D. 1535 — 37 <br/>

Published in translation by Mr. Donald Ferguson in <br/>
INDIAN ANTIQUARY, around 1920<br/>

Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor<br/>
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=Mediæval Vijayanagar: 03-Krishna Rao’s decision to attach ‘Rachol’=
How Crisnarao, on the arrival of Salvatinia, determined to attack Rachol, a city of the Ydalcao, and to break the peace that had lasted so long; and the reason why.

After Salvatinia had arrived and had been well received by the King, and after the lapse of some days, the King told him that he desired to fulfil all the wishes expressed in the testament of King Narsynga, one of which was to capture Rachol, which was a very strong city and amongst the principal ones of the Ydallcao, who had taken it from the kings his ancestors; and because there was now peace between both parties, and had been so for forty years, he knew not how he could manage to break it. But Salvatinia said that since the peace had been made under certain conditions — one of which was that if on either one side or the other any land-owners, captains in revolt, or other evil-doers should be harboured and their surrender should be demanded, they should forthwith be given up — there was now great reason for breaking the peace, since many land-owners and debtors to His Highness had tied into the kingdom of the Ydallcao. 

He counselled therefore that the King should send to demand the surrender of these men, and that on refusal to give them up there would be good ground for breaking the peace. Many, however, disagreed with this advice. Now it happened at this time that the King (of Bisnaga) sent Cide Mercar with forty thousand PARDAOS to Goa to buy horses, which Cide Mercar was a Moor in whom the King of Bisnaga confided on account of various affairs with which he had already been entrusted; and this man, when he arrived at a place where the Moors lived which was called, Pomdaa and is two leagues from Goa, fled from that place, Pomdaa, to the Ydallcao, carrying with him all the treasure. Some say that the Ydallcao wrote to him a letter as soon as he got there. 

As soon as they gave to the King this news of the flight of Cide, and how he had carried off all the money, he said that he would write to the Ydallcao to send the man back to him with all the money, since he was his friend. 

Then the King caused a letter to be written, in which he spoke of the friendship that had existed for so many years so that nothing could shake it, and that he hoped that a traitor would not be the cause of breaking a peace of such long standing as had been between them; and he begged that he would send Cide back at once.

As soon as the letter was read to the Ydallcao he sent to summon his kazis and the men of his council, and he bade them read the letter which had come from the King, as to which letter there were many suggestions made. At the end of all they agreed that he should not send him (Cide) to him (the King of Bisnaga), for they said that he (Cide) was one learned in the law and related to Mafumdo.[ [529] — Muhammad, Mahomet, I.E. he was of the Prophet's kindred.] 

And the Ydallcao, as a cloak to his action, gave Dabull to that Cide, by way of showing that he was not near his person nor knew he aught of him; from which town of Dabull Cide fled, nor had they any further news of him. 

When those who had come from the King returned bearing the Ydallcao's answer, the King showed great indignation at it, and held that the peace was broken; he at once ordered to appear before him the great lords of his Council, and had the letter read aloud so that all might hear. 

As soon as it was read he said that without more ado they should make ready, since he was determined to take full vengeance. But the councillors advised the King, saying that for such a small sum of money as this it was not well so to act; that he should think of what would be said and talked of throughout the world; and that if he was bent on breaking so prolonged a peace for such a trifling cause, he should call to mind that there never was any honesty in a Moor; that others were to blame in that which Cide had done; and that if Cide should dare to come to that war which was waged in order to take vengeance on him, then it would be well that those who accompanied him should die, but that they knew that Cide would keep well away from the army.[ [530] — The text is confused here.][ [531] — The following is Barros's account of this affair of "Cide Mercar." After mentioning the terms of the treaty between Vijayanagar and Bijapur, one of which provided for the reciprocal extradition of criminals and debtors, he writes: —
"Crisnarao, knowing that he could catch the Hidalcao in this trap, called a Moor by name Cide Mercar, who had been in his service for many years, and bade him take forty thousand pardaos and go to Goa to buy horses of those that had come from Persia. Crisnaro wrote letters to our Captain … on purpose so that the affair might become widely known to all. Cide Mercar, either tempted by the large sum of money in his charge, or swayed by a letter which they say was sent to him by the Hidalcao, when he arrived at a TANADARIA called Ponda, three leagues from Goa, fled to the Hidalcao from there. The Hidalcao as soon as he arrived sent him to Chaul, saying hat he bestowed on him this TANADARIA as he was an honourable man of the family of Mahamed …; but in a few days he disappeared from there, and they say that the king ordered his murder after he had taken from him the forty thousand pardaos."]

The councillors, however, saw that the King remained unmoved from his determination to make war, and they then counselled him, saying: — "Sire, do not go to war by that route (Dabull), but go against Rachol, which now belongs to the Ydallcao but of old was part of this kingdom; then the Ydallcao will be forced to come to defend it, and thus thou wilt take vengeance jointly both on one and the other." 

The King held this advice to be good and prepared for his departure, sending letters to Madre Maluco, and Demellyno, and Desturvirido, and other superior lords, giving them an account of what had taken place in the matter of the Ydallcao, and how he had determined to make war on him; from which lords he received answer that he was doing rightly, and that they would assist him as far as they were able. As to the Zemelluco, at the time when the messengers returned this answer he could find no excuse for not sending some troops to the aid of his sister who was wedded to the Ydallcao.[ [532] — "Madre" stands for Imad, the Birar Sultan; "Virido" for the Barid Sultan of Bidar. I cannot explain Demellyno or DESTUR, unless the former be an error of the copyist for "Zemelluco" as written below, which certainly refers to the Nizam Shah. Several Portuguese writers omit the first syllable of "Nizam" In their chronicles. On p. 348 below, these names are given as Madremalluco, Zemelluco, "Destuy" and "Virido;" and therefore "Destur" and "Destuy" must mean the Qutb Shah of Golkonda, at that period Sultan Quli. On p. 349 we have the form "Descar."]

The King had sent the letters to those lords out of his great craftiness, for he told them of what he was about to do in order to seduce them to his side, — so far at least as concerned their goodwill, seeing that in the matter of troops he had no need of them — because if they had joined the Ydallcao he (the King) would never have conquered as he did; but because the Ydallcao was hated by them all as being a more powerful chief than they, (for there is little faith amongst the Moors, and they bite one another like dogs and like to see one after the other destroyed) he was conquered, as you will see hereafter, in the month of May, on the new moon day, in the year one thousand five hundred and twenty-two.[ [533] — For a full discussion of this date see above, p. 140.]

After the King had made his offerings and performed sacrifices to his idols he left the city of Bisnaga with all his troops; and they marched in the following order. The chief of the guard (O PORTEIRO MOOR) led the advance with thirty thousand infantry — archers, men with shields, and musqueteers, and spearmen — and a thousand horse and his elephants. After him went Trimbicara with fifty thousand foot and two thousand horse and twenty elephants.[ [534] — See above, p. 263, note. His name was Kama Naik (p 329).][ [535] — SEUS ALLYFANTES. Perhaps SEUS is a clerical error for SEIS, "six." Barros, in describing the same event, says "sixteen elephants."] 

After him went Timapanayque; he had with him sixty thousand foot and three thousand five hundred horse and thirty elephants; and after him went Adapanayque with one hundred thousand foot and five thousand horse and fifty elephants. After him came Comdamara, and he had one hundred and twenty thousand foot six thousand horse and sixty elephants; after him went Comara, and he had eighty thousand foot and of horse two thousand five hundred, and forty elephants; after him the forces of Ogemdraho, the governor of the city of Bisnaga, with one of his captains, who had one thousand horse and thirty thousand foot and ten elephants.[ [536] — See below, p. 360, note.][ [537] — Probably Ganda Rajah, brother of Saluva Timma, the minister. (See p. 284, and note to p. 361.) The initial "O" may he the article "The."] 

After him went three eunuchs, favourites of the King, who had forty thousand foot and one thousand horse and fifteen elephants. The page who served the King with betel had fifteen thousand foot and two hundred horse, but he had no elephants.[ [538] — The great vassal lords of Madura, who after the fall of the kingdom established themselves as a dynasty of independent sovereigns, descended, so Barradas tells us, from the "Page of the betel" (above, p. 230).] Comarberca had eight thousand foot and four hundred horse and twenty elephants.[ [539] — I think that the second C in this name is an error for E, and that "Comarberea" represents Kumara Virayya of Mysore (above, p. 269). Later on Nuniz spells the name "Comarberya" (below, p. 336).] 

The people of the chief of Bengapor went by another route with the people of Domar, who were very numerous; and in the same way went other captains of ten or twelve thousand men, of whom I make no mention, not knowing their names.[ [540] — Above, pp. 40, 60, 122.] The King took of his guard six thousand horse and forty thousand foot, the pick of all his kingdom, men with shields, archers, and three hundred elephants.

All were equally well armed, each after his own fashion, the archers and musqueteers with their quilted tunics, and the shieldmen with their swords and poignards in their girdles; the shields are so large that there is no need for armour to protect the body, which is completely covered; the horses in full clothing, and the men with doublets,[543] and weapons in their hands, and on their heads headpieces after the manner of their doublets, quilted with cotton.[ [541] — LADES, for LAUDEIS, quilted tunics, doublets. The word is spelt in other places LAYDES, LAMDES, LANDYS, LAMDYS, and LANDEIS. See note, p. 276, above.] [[542] — GOMEDARES, probably the modern AGOMIA or GOMIA, "a poignard." Senhor Lopes refers me to Barros, Mendes, Pinto, &c., where the form used is GUMIA; the word being derived from the Arabic KUMMIYA, which properly means a curved dagger — "UM PUNHAL EM MEO ARCO" (MS. in Portuguese, on Morocco, in Senhor Lopes's possession).]

The war-elephants go with their howdahs (CASTELLOS) from which four men fight on each side of them, and the elephants are completely clothed, and on their tusks they have knives fastened, much ground and sharpened, with which they do great harm. Several cannon were also taken. I do not speak here of the washermen, who are numberless here — they wash clothes — nor of the public women who accompanied the army; there were twenty thousand of them with the king during his journey. 

Any one can imagine the amount of baggage that such a large number of people would take. In the rear with the king, but always on the road in front of him, some ten or twelve thousand men with water-skins who go seeking water, and place themselves along the road to give water to those who have no one to bring it to them; this is done so that none of the people should die of thirst. Three or four leagues in front of all this multitude go some fifty thousand men who are like scouts; they have to spy out the country in front, and always keep that distance; and on their flanks there are two thousand horse of the cavalry of that country. These are all bowmen, and they always advance on the flanks of the scouts.

In this order, as I have stated, they left the city of Bisnaga, and with them a great number of merchants, besides many others who were already in advance with all supplies; so that wherever you may be you will at once find all you want. Every captain has his merchants who are compelled to give him all supplies requisite for all his people, and in the same way they carry all other necessaries

According to the King's custom, when he wishes to lie down and sleep, they make for him a hedge of brush-wood and of thorns behind which his tent is pitched, which was done for him all along this route; on which route was seen a wonderful thing, namely that on passing a river which, when they reached it, came half-way up to the knee, before half the people had passed it was totally dry without a drop of water; and they went about in the sand of it making pits to find some water. In this order the King proceeded till he arrived at the town of Mollabamdym, which is a league from the city of Rachol, where he pitched his camp so as to give a rest to the people after the fatigues of the march.[ [543] — See above, p. 270.]

And the King being in the city of Mollabamdyn, settling all that was necessary for the siege of Rachol, there came to him people of the King of Bisnaga, and the people of Domaar, and also many other captains with an infinitude of people. As soon as they had joined and everything was put in order, and after his Brahmans had finished their ceremonies and sacrifices, they told the King that it was now time, that the pagodas had given sign of conquest, and that he should advance.

Then he sent the Moors in the royal service to lead the van, and Camanayque, the chief of the guard, pitched the camp very near the ditches of the city of Rachol, and every captain halted his people according to the commands given. The people of the City received them with many shots from heavy cannon that they had, and from many firelocks, and many arrows and musket-shots, so that those of the besiegers who arrived close to the ditches suffered heavily and wanted to retreat. 

But the King would not permit this, saying that he would not have sent them there were it not that he would soon effect an entry into the city, and if not, that they should all die; wherefore his men were compelled to attack the city, and did so in many brave and severe fights. In these many of them lost their lives, since those of the city were in very strong position and well acquainted with everything that was necessary for their defence, while the King's troops never ceased their attacks on the city. 

The captains, seeing how badly the attack was going in consequence of the number of soldiers killed, had recourse to lavish gifts and stratagems, as thus: — They began to buy (from the soldiers) the stones which they took from the walls and towers, and they paid them according to the value of the stone; so that the stones were worth ten, twenty, thirty, forty, and fifty FANAMS.[ [545] — A small copper coin.] By this device they contrived to dismantle the wall in many places, and laid the city open; but since the city was in itself so strong, and the soldiers who were in it were such chosen men and so used to warfare, they killed many of the King's people. 

Yet not for that did they cease fighting, but every day and at every attack they became bolder, in consequence of their greed for what the captains gave them, for the money had the power of taking from them the terror of death which had inspired them before. They also gave them something for dragging away a dead man from the foot of the wall. So the fight dragged on for a space of three months till the Ydallcao came up with reinforcements.

Now I wish you to know more of the situation, and of the city, and the people which it held. This city of Rachol lies between two great rivers, and in the midst of a great plain where there are no trees except very small ones, and there are great boulders there; from each river to the city is three leagues. 

One of these rivers is the northern boundary, and beyond it the country belongs to the Ydallcao, and the other is the boundary to the south which is the boundary of Narsymga. This plain lies in the middle of these two rivers, and there are large lakes therein and wells and some little streams where the city is situated, and a hill which looks like a woman's breast and is of natural formation. 

The city has three lines of strong walls of heavy masonry made without lime; the walls are packed with earth inside, and it has on the highest point a fortress like a tower, very high and strong; at the top where the fortress stands is a spring of water which runs all the year round. It is held to be a holy and mysterious thing that a spring which is in a lofty situation should in some way never be without water. Besides this spring there are several tanks of water and wells, so that the citizens had no fear of being ever taken for lack of water; and there were in the city supplies for five years. 

There were eight thousand men as garrison and four hundred horse and twenty elephants, and thirty catapults (TRABUCOS) which hurled heavy stones and did great damage. The towers which are on the walls are so close together that one can hear words spoken from one to the other. Between these and all around they posted their artillery, which consisted of two hundred heavy pieces, not to mention small ones. As soon as the people of the city knew of the arrival of the King's troops, and after they had received a captain of the Ydallcao who came with some soldiers to the city, they closed the gates with stone and mortar. The chief fight which takes place is on the east side, because on the north and south sides it stands on huge rocks which make it very strong; and, the city being besieged on all sides, the camp of the King was on the east side, and so was the strength of the attack.