BI'JAPUR. 4i7 



moration of the wretched fate of that great potentate, who wa^ l>e- 

 headed, sfter having been defeated and taken prifcner in a mod 

 fevere battle with the aUied armies of t!.e MuKammedan fovereigns 

 of the Dekkan^ Ali-AAdil-Shah headed the confederacy which 

 •decided the fate of the gigantic empire of B'zjnagar. I neither 

 faw nor heard of the equeftnan fiatue of Ram raj at Bijapur^ which 

 has been mentioned in a former work-, though my guid^ of his owni 

 accord pointed' out to me the head. Vv'ithin the Cuadel is a very an- 

 cient Pagoda, from v/hich it would appear that there w?.s a fortrefjt 

 hei'e before the MuKammedan invafion of the Dekkan, which partly 

 razed, and pardy repaired, improved, and extended, may have con- 

 Hituted the work faid to have been conHrn'tied by Yu'suf AAdil SiiaHo 

 The Pagoda is built very much in the ftyle of the radeft excavations 

 at Ellora, and appears vtry ancient, 



4thly. The mofl confpicuous amongil the buildings ontfide of 

 the Fort is thQ^Makbara of Sultan JsRAKiM 2d, On the outfide 

 of the body of the maufoleum oyer which the dome is raifed, the 

 v/alls are carved into Arabic infcriptions. fculptured with great 

 ikill, and difpofed in every variety of ornament. The gilding and 

 enamel, however, is entirely defaced, excepting in a fraail part of 

 one of the (ides, where its remains give" a faint idea of iis former 

 luftre. A perfon lookini^ at the illuminated page of a beautiful ori- 

 ental manufcript, magnifying this, and fancying it to be re|)refented 

 by fculpture, painting, and gilding, on the face of a wall of black 

 granite, will have fome conception of the labour, fl^ill, and brilliancy 

 of this work. The whole of the Koran is faid to be carved on. the " 

 four fides of this elegant flrudure, in which, the utmofl art and taHe 

 of the architect and the fculptor have combined to produce the richefl 

 effect. This beautiful building with it's mofquc wasereded by Ibra- 

 him for his deceafed daughter, Zuhrah (\v) Sultan, and on his death, - 



(w) Venu3, 



