A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c21.s3.t17.46

c21.s3.t17.46

Firstly Salvanayque, the present minister; he has a revenue of a million and a hundred thousand gold *pardaos*. He is lord of Charamãodel and of Nagapatão, and Tamgor, and Bomgarin, and Dapatao, and Truguel, and Caullim, and all these are cities; their territories are all very large, and they border on Ceylon.² Of this money he is obliged to give a third to the King, and two-thirds remain for him for the expenses of his *lascaris* and horses, which he is obliged to maintain for the King, viz.: thirty thousand foot and three thousand horse and thirty elephants; so that he only gets the balance after deducting the expenses of this force. But in this way he acquires much wealth because he never maintains the whole force. And the King, whenever he wishes, takes away property of these nobles.