Showing all 7 books
The Portuguese presence on the Arabian Sea coast of the Deccan dates from the beginning of the 16th century, with the establisment of Goa as the capital of a rapidly expanding maritime rnterprise that eventually encompassed much of Asia. In and around Goa, and further up the coast of what is now Maharashtra.
This guidebook is the first to showcase the vestiges of the Portugese sea forts of the Deccan, drawing attention to their surviving battlemented ramparts and ...
The town of Badami, the nearby villages of Aihole and Pattadakal, and the pilgrimage site of Mahakuta, in the Malprabha valley of central Karnataka, are celebrated for their magnificent rock-cut shrines and structural temples. These Hindu and Jain monuments are associated with the Early Chalukyas who reigned over this part of the Deccan during the 6th–8th centuries. Together with a profusion of magnificent sculptures, mostly found in situ, these shrines and ...
Hampi is one of the most beautiful and evocative of all historical sites in south India. Austere yet grandiose, it was established as the seat of the Vijayanagara empire in the mid-14th century, a time when art and architecture flourished. Contemporary chroniclers from Persia, Italy, Portugal and Russia visited the empire during this period and left glowing accounts of a city that was conquered by Sultanate troops in AD 1565, pillaged for six months and ...
The magnificent monuments of Gulbarga, Bidar and Bijapur in northern Karnataka are manifestations of a vibrant culture that flourished under the rule of the Bahmani and Adil Shahi sultans during the 14th to 17th centuries. The wealth of these rulers derived from the lucrative trade routes that traversed the Deccan plateau, while the splendour of their courts owed much to an open immigration policy by which gifted individuals from other parts of India, as well as ...
The 6th-century rock-cut cave temple on Elephanta island, in the middle of Mumbai harbour, is the home of Shiva, the greatest of all Hindu gods. Elephanta leads the reader through this magnificent cave temple, examining its overall architectural scheme and interpreting the myths of Shiva that are depicted so forcefully in the extraordinary stone sculptures. The outstanding photographs capture the beauty and magic of the cave. This book also contains fascinating ...