The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c10.33

v1.c10.33

3. Of the relations between Rama Raya and the Portuguese we have quite authentic information. But for the better understanding of their intercourse, it will be convenient to narrate briefly the relations between Vijayanagara and the Portuguese from the time of their first appearance on the shores of India. To begin with, it seems that the origin of these relations must be looked for as far back as about 1507, when the first Portuguese Governor, Dom Francisco d' Almeida made the acquaintance of Timoja. This Timoja was practically and in effect the commandant of the Vijayanagara fleet entrusted with the task of waging perpetual war with Goa; which city had been captured some years before from the power of Vijayanagara by Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur ². When the Bijapur Sultan died in 1510, Timoja persuaded Affonso de Albuquerque, the then Viceroy of the Portuguese possessions in the East, to attack Goa, a former possession of the Hindu Empire. In doing this, Timoja took advantage of the tender age of the new Sultan Ismail Adil Shah ³. This enterprise was completely successful; and Timoja, who was then called the most faithful ally of Portugal ⁴, helped Albuquerque by land when the city was taken—so much that the Sultan of Bijapur despatched a messenger to Vijayanagara complaining that Timoja had given his aid to the Portuguese fleet in the capture of Goa ⁵.