A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c21.s3.t17.45

c21.s3.t17.45

¹ *De fazemda*. I think that the meaning is as given. It will be observed below that the kingdom was divided into provinces or estates, each one entrusted to a noble who farmed the revenue to his own advantage, paying a fixed sum every year to the king. In the case of Narvara, the treasurer of the jewels, his estate is described as “bordering on the country of Bisnaga,” and as this expression cannot refer to the entire country ruled by the king, it must be taken in a limited sense as applying to the king’s own personal lands—his home-farm, so to speak. The system is well known in India, where a prince holds what are called *Khās* lands, *i.e.* lands held privately for his own personal use and benefit, as distinct from the lands held under him by others, the revenue of which last ought to go to the public purse.