the field, he was shut up in Rajahmundry. The Muhammadan powers of the Deccan then combined to deal a death-blow to the Vijayanagar kingdom, and he obtained a short respite. But on the return of the Musalman invaders he was again defeated outside the walls of Rajahmundry. At their first onset in this battle his troops broke the right wing of the enemy, but, on their reserve coming up, the fugitives rallied and drove their assailants inside the fort. Vidiádri was besieged there for four months, and at last (1571-72) was compelled to surrender. The fire of the heavy artillery of the Musalmans had made a breach nearly fifty paces in length in the curtain of the fort, and further resistance seemed useless. Vidiádri was permitted to go unharmed and Rajahmundry was never again a Hindu possession.
The neighbourhood was the scene of a stubborn battle a few years later, when the Muhammadan governor defeated the insurgent rája of Kasimkota. The fate of the day hung long in the balance and victory was only secured by a charge of Muhammadan cavalry which had turned the flank of the Hindu army.
On the disruption of Aurangzeb's empire, Rajahmundry became the head-quarters of a Nawábship of the province of Golconda. The names of the Nawábs, and indeed of all the Musalman governors of the town from 1553 to 1769, are given in the Mackenzie MS. referred to above.
After the cession of the Northern Circars to the French in 1753, Rajahmundry, on account of its central position, was chosen by Bussy as his head-quarters in preference to Masulipatam. It remained the French capital till the English invasion of 1758. On the evening after the battle of Condore, a force of 1,500 sepoys was sent on by Colonel Forde to occupy the town. They arrived on the following evening (December 10th 1758) and found the French, who imagined the whole English force to be upon them, in the act of evacuating the fort. One boat laden with several Europeans was in the middle of the Gódávari river, and some others with a few small field-pieces had just reached the opposite bank, when the English arrived. The English sepoys opened fire on them from the walls of the fort, and this deterred them from carrying off their guns, or remaining in the vicinity. Fifteen Frenchmen were taken prisoners in the fort, and also a quantity of ammunition and stores. The town was shortly afterwards, however, retaken by the French. When Colonel Forde advanced southwards against Masulipatam in February 1759, only a small garrison, some sick and wounded, and some
