The city of Vijayanagara was the urban core of the imperial city and the surrounding principalities of the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire during the 14th to 16th centuries. Notes by foreign travellers such as Abdur Razzak, the Persian who visited Vijayanagara in 1440, mention seven fortifications before the gates to the royal palace. The large area between the first and third fortifications contained agricultural fields, gardens and residences. The notes of Robert Sewell describe countless shops and bazaars (markets) filled with people from different nationalities between this fortification and the palace.