During the Thirty Years' War, mercenaries from the Croatian Military Frontier served in France and wore small knotted neckerchiefs that caught the attention of Parisians. The French word for Croats, Croates, became cravate, the name for the garment. Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat around 1646, when he was seven, and set the fashion for the French nobility. Men and women across Europe adopted fabric around the neck, and the lace versions required considerable time to arrange. Cravats were often held in place with strings and tied in a bow, and the design later evolved into the modern necktie.

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.