Hampi, Karnataka, India: Boulders and megaliths Dinesh Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century. It was a fortified city. Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers, particularly the Portuguese, say that Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, By 1500 CE, Hampi- Vijayanagara was the world's second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal. The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a Hindu kingdom in South India. coalition of Muslim sultanates; its capital was Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire, it is conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate mentioned in the Ramayana and the Puranas of armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in Hinduism. ruins. Hampi's ruins are spread over 4,100 hectares (16 sq mi) and it has more than The architecture is built from the abundant local 1,600 surviving remains of the last stone, its dominant style is Dravidian. great A TO Z INDIA FEBRUARY 2023 PAGE 28