'Hampi' or 'Hampe', also referred to as the 'Group of Monuments at Hampi', is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site located in east-central Karnataka, India. 'Hampi' was the capital of the 'Vijayanagara Empire' in the 14th century. Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers, particularly the Portuguese, say that 'Hampi' was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets. By 1500 CE, 'Hampi-Vijayanagara' was the world's second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal. The 'Vijayanagara Empire' was defeated by a coalition of Muslim sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in 1565, after which 'Hampi' remained in ruins.

Located in Karnataka near the modern-era city of Hosapete, 'Hampi's' ruins are spread over 4,100 hectares (16 square miles) and it has been described by UNESCO as an "austere, grandiose site" of more than 1,600 surviving remains of the last great Hindu kingdom in South India that includes "forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes, temples, shrines, pillared halls, mandapas (halls for people to sit), memorial structures, water structures and others".

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