10. Vijayanagara

10.毗奢耶那伽罗王朝（Vijayanagara）“胜利城”

The city of Vijayanagara (“the city of victory”), located in Southern India, was the capital of an empire by the same name. This empire held power in the 14th to 17th centuries and covered much of the Indian subcontinent. Its existence is due to the power vacuum left behind by the Delhi Sultans, who wreaked havoc and then abandoned the region. Using the threat of encroaching Muslims as an incentive to bring all the Hindu people together, the first Vijayanagaran rulers managed to create an empire capable of holding rival Sultanates in check.

毗奢耶那伽罗城（“胜利城”），坐落于印度南部，是毗奢耶那伽罗王朝的首都。14世纪到17世纪，毗奢耶那伽罗王朝执政，其权利延伸到印度次大陆大部分地区。此王朝的建立，源于德里苏丹国（the Delhi Sultans）留下的权力真空期。德里苏丹国的统治造成浩劫后，君主主动放弃此领域统治权。而毗奢耶那伽罗王朝首位统治者，为了制约苏丹国，不惜以残害穆斯林为代价，来团结所有印度教信徒。

The capital of the empire, as described by Dr. George Michell, “Was perhaps the most complete example of an imperial city… situated in one of the most extraordinary landscapes to be found in Asia, not just in India…” A granitic landscape through which the Tungabhadra River flows allowed the people to build irrigation canals, while at the same time offering natural protection from surprise invasions. The region also holds tremendous religious importance for the locals.

乔治·米歇尔博士笔下的王朝首都是这样的，“毗奢耶那伽罗城可能是保存最完整的古都……地理位置得天独厚——在印度如此，在整个亚洲也如此……”栋格珀德拉河(Tungabhadra）河水流经坚硬的花岗岩大地，流域两岸人民修建起运河，不仅用于灌溉，还具有防护自然灾害功能。在该区域，宗教信仰对当地人民来说至关重要。

Eyewitness accounts, provided to us by Persian and European visitors, paint a picture of life in Vijayanagara as well as the magnificence of the local Maha Navami festival. Among the lavish palaces and temples, archeologists have found the remnants of army garrisons and elephant stables. With the major defeat of its army in 1565 AD at the hands of the Muslims, the city was abandoned and burned to the ground. Unlike most Indian settlements, Vijayanagara was never repopulated, despite multiple attempts to do so.

根据波斯和欧洲游客描述，我们画了一幅毗奢耶那伽罗民生图，和当地节日（ Maha Navami festival ）盛况图。在这些奢华的宫殿和寺庙中，考古学家已经发掘出了军队驻守要塞遗物和大象棚。公元1565年，毗奢耶那伽罗王朝遭遇滑铁卢，兵败穆斯林军，此城被付诸一炬。毗奢耶那伽罗城和印度其他城市不同，多次尝试振兴，却均以失败告终，逐渐变为荒城一个。