Old Goa or Velha Goa is a historical city in North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. The city was constructed by the Bijapur Sultanate in the 15th century, and served as capital of Portuguese India from the 16th century until its abandonment in the 18th century due to a plague. Under the Portuguese, it is said to have once been a city of nearly 200,000 where from, before the plague, the Portuguese traded across continents. The remains of the city are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Old Goa is approximately 10 kilometres east of the state capital Panjim. The city was founded in the 15th century as a port on the banks of the Mandovi river by the rulers of the Bijapur Sultanate. The city was built to replace Govapuri, which lay a few kilometres to the south and had been used as a port by the Kadamba and Vijayanagar kings. Old Goa was the second capital after Bijapur of the rule of Adil Shahi Dynasty. It was surrounded by a moat and contained the shah's palace, and his mosques and temples. The city was captured by the Portuguese, and was under Portuguese rule from 1510 as the administrative seat of Portuguese India. The viceroy's residence was transferred in 1759 to the future capital, Panjim, at the time a village about 9 kilometres to its west. Few remnants, if any, of the pre-Portuguese period remain at Old Goa. During the mid-16th century, the Portuguese colony of Goa, especially Velha Goa, was the center of Christianisation in the East. The city was evangelized by all religious orders, since all of them had their headquarters there. The population was roughly 200,000 by 1543. Malaria and cholera epidemics ravaged the city in the 17th century and it was largely abandoned, only having a remaining population of 1,500 in 1775. It was then that the viceroy moved to Panjim. It continued to be the de jure capital of Goa until 1843, when the capital was then shifted to Panjim (Ponnjê in Konkani, Nova Goa in Portuguese and Panaji in Hindi). The abandoned city came to be known as "Velha Goa" (in Portuguese, 'Old Goa'), to distinguish it from the new capital Nova Goa (Panjim) and probably also Goa Velha (also meaning "Old Goa"), which was the Portuguese name for the town located on the old site of Govapuri. Velha Goa was incorporated into the Republic of India after its annexation in 1961, together with the rest of Goa. It still retains its religious significance in modern day Goa notably in its relations with Roman Catholicism. The Archbishop of Goa and Daman holds title as the Patriarch of the East. Unlike the patriarchs and the major archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches, the Patriarch of the East Indies only enjoys honorary title and is fully subject to the pope. He has a place within the Latin Church similar to the Patriarchs of Venice and Lisbon. This title was conferred upon the Archbishop of Goa as part of a settlement between the Holy See and the Portuguese government concerning the link between religious and political aspects of its territories.