Domingo Paes

Domingo Paes (sometimes spelt Pais; 16th century) was a Portuguese traveller who visited the Vijayanagara Empire, located in the Deccan in southern India, around 1520. He went there as part of a group of traders from the then colony of Goa. His visit took place during the rule of King Krishna Deva Raya and Paes recorded his impressions of Vijayanagara state in his Chronica dos reis de Bisnaga ("Chronicle of the Vijayanagar kings"). His detailed account is the only known description of that empire and of its capital, Vijayanagara (Hampi), by a traveller from abroad.

Reports Paes, "The kingdom has many places on the coast of India, which are seaports with whom we are at peace, and some of them have factories, in particular in Amcola, Mirgeo, Honor, Batecalla, Mamgalor, Bracalor and Bacanor." Paes reports advanced irrigation technology that allowed the kingdom to produce high yields of crops at very reasonable prices, and a wide variety of cultures. He describes a busy market of precious stones. The city was prospering and its size, in the eyes of the narrator, was comparable to Rome, with abundant vegetation, aqueducts and artificial lakes.