The straight-arm 'Roman salute' has no record in ancient Rome. The gesture was linked to Rome by Jacques-Louis David's 1784 painting The Oath of the Horatii, in which three brothers raise their arms to swear an oath, and it was later used in plays, films and political movements that wanted a classical look. Italian Fascists adopted it and the Nazis followed with their salute. Roman sources describe other gestures, such as a raised right hand, but not this one.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.