109 Buddhist caves, including those at Kanheri, can be found on the island, and date from the end of the 2nd century. Salsette was ruled by a succession of Hindu kingdoms, the last of which were the Silharas and later Maratha Empire. In 1343, the islands were annexed by the Muslim Sultanate of Gujarat. In 1534, the Portuguese took the islands from Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. Sashti became part of the northern province of Portuguese India, which was governed from Vasai on the north shore of Vasai Creek. It was leased to D. Diogo Rodrigues from 25 October 1535 to 1548. In 1554, the islands were handed over to Garcia de Orta, a renowned physician and botanist and the author of "Colloquies on the Simples, Drugs and Materia Medica of India", a seminal work on Indian and Eastern medicine of its time.