Hampi Ruins. By A. H. Longhurst. (Madras : Government Press.
4s. 6d.)—The Superintendent of the Indian Archaeological Survey, Southern Circle, has written a scholarly account of the ruins of the once famous Hindu capital of Vijayanagar or "City of Victory," which from about 1336 to 1565 was the seat of a powerful king- dom that kept the Mohammedans from overrunning the Carnatie. In a great battle at Talikota, on January 23rd, 1565, the Hindus were routed, and the city was afterwards destroyed with Prussian- like thoroughness. It took five months to complete the work, and the site has lain desolate ever since, though the little village of Harnpi has sprung up in a corner of the ruins.. The remains of the great Hindu palaces, temples, and fortifications, with many fine sculptured columns and reliefs, are well described and illustrated in Mr. Longhurst's book. India abounds in such historical monu- ments, and the Archaeological Survey is doing excellent work in preserving them and making them better known to the world.
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