Historical Overview[edit]

In the 6th century BCE, Assaka was one of sixteen kingdoms of India. The Assaka was succeeded
by the Satavahana (230 BCE - 220 CE) who built the city of Amaravati. The Satavahana empire
reached its zenith under Satakarni. At the end of the Satavahanaperiod, the Telugu region was
fractured into feudatories under various lords. During the latter part of the 2nd century CE,
the Andhra Ikshvakus ruled the eastern region along the Krishna river.
During the 4th century, the Pallavas extended their rule from southern Andhra to the Tamil region
and established their capital atKanchipuram. Their power increased during the reigns
of Mahendravarman I (571 630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630 668 CE). The Pallavas
dominated the southern Telugu and the northern parts of the Tamil regions until the end of the 9th
century CE.
Between 624 and 1323 CE, a significant change came about in the social, religious, linguistic and
literary spheres of Andhra society. The Kakatiya dynasty emerged, bringing the entire Telugu land
under a unified rule. During this period, the Telugu languageemerged as a literary medium through
the contributions of Nannaya.
In 1323, the Sultan of Delhi, Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq sent a large army under the command of Ulugh
Khan (who later ruled as Delhi Sultan under the name Mohammad bin Tuglhluq) to conquer the
Telugu and lay siege to Warangal. The fall of the Kakatiya dynasty led to a new era under the
competing influences of the Turkic kingdoms of Delhi, theChalukya Chola dynasty (1070 CE until the
second half of the 13th century CE) in the south and the Persio-Tajik sultanate of central India. The
struggle for Andhra ended with the victory of Musunuri Nayaks over the Turkic Delhi Sultanate.
The Telugu achieved independence under the rule of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara
Empire (13361646 CE). After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Qutb Shahidynasty of
the Bahmani Sultanate ruled Andhra. The Qutb Shahi was tolerant of Telugu culture from the early
part of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century CE.
The arrival of Europeans, the French under the Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau and the English
under Robert Clive, ended another era of Andhra history. In 1765, Lord Robert Clive, along with
the Chief and Council at Visakhapatnam, obtained from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam a grant of
the five Circars. In 1792, the British achieved complete supremacy when they defeated Maharaja
Vijaya Rama Gajapati Raju of Vizianagaram.
The foundation for modern Andhra was laid in the struggle for Indian independence under Mohandas
Gandhi. The campaign of Potti Sriramulu for a state independent of the Madras state and social
reform movements by Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu and Kandukuri Veeresalingam, led to the
formation of Andhra State with Kurnool as its capital and Tanguturi Prakasampantullu, a freedom

fighter, as its first chief minister. A fully democratic society with two stable political parties and a
modern economy emerged under theChief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao.
India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. The Muslim Nizam of
Hyderabad wanted to retain his independence from India, but was forced to cede his kingdom to
India in 1948 to form Hyderabad State. Andhra State was the first state in India to be formed on a
mainly linguistic basis. It was carved from the Madras Presidency in 1953. In 1956, Andhra State
was merged with the Telugu-speaking area of Hyderabad State to create the state of Andhra
Pradesh.
The next chapter in the history of the Telugu's began when the Lok Sabha of India approved the
formation of Telangana from ten districts of Andhra Pradesh on 18 February 2014.

Pre-Satavahana Period[edit]
Main article: Andhra Kingdom
There are references to an Andhra kingdom and people called the "Andhras" in Sanskrit
epics (the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas). In the Mahabharata, there is a mention of a man
called Rukmini of Vidarbha[citation needed]. Vidarbha was a kingdom which included the Deccan
Plateau and the foothills of the Vindhya ranges. It included the areas that are now known as Andhra
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka and a little-known and now submerged
archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. Rama is said to have lived in the forests around the present day
city of Bhadrachalam during his exile.
Although these ancient literary signs point to a history dating to several centuries BCE, authentic
archaeological evidence exists only from the last two millennia. The Kingdom of Pratipalapura (5th
century BCE), which is identified with Bhattiprolu in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, may be
the earliest kingdom of South India. There is inscriptional evidence suggesting King Kubera ruled
over Bhattiprolu around 230 BCE. The script of these Bhattiprolu inscriptions was the progenitor of
the Brahmi Lipi that later diversified into the modern Telugu and Tamil scripts.

Satavahana Period[edit]
During the Mauryan age, in the 4th century BCE, Andhra was a political state in the
southeastern Deccan. Megasthenes, who visited the court of Chandragupta Maurya (322-297 BCE),
mentioned that Andhras had 30 fortified towns and an army of 1,000,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and
1,000 elephants.[5]
Uninterrupted political and cultural accounts of Andhra Pradesh begin at the time of the rise of
the Satavahanas. Matsya Purana writes there were 29 rulers during this dynasty. They held the
Andhra desa for about 456 years, from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE. An inscription
at Nasik, written at the time of Gautamiputra Satakarni, the 23rd Satavahavana, indicates the

kingdom included most of the southern peninsula and some southern parts of the present Indian
states of Maharashtra, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The court language used by the Satavahanas
was Prakrit. Satavahana kings followed the Vedic religion.
The fall of the Satavahana empire left Andhra in political chaos. Local rulers carved out small
kingdoms for themselves. Between 180 and 624 CE, control of Andrha lay
withIkshvaku, Brihatpalayana, Salankayana, Vishnukundina, Vakataka, Pallava, Ananda
Gotrika, Kalinga and other small kingdoms. The most important was Ikshvaku. Sanskrit replaced
Prakrit as the language of inscriptions of that time.

Ikshvakus[edit]
The Andhra Ikshvakus (Sanskrit: ) formed a kingdom along the Krishna river during the latter
half of the 2nd century CE. The Ishvaku capital was Vijayapuri(Nagarjunakonda). Archaeological
evidence points to the Ikshvakus immediately succeeding the Satavahanas in the Krishna river
valley. They may have migrated to Andhra from the North.[6] The Ikshvakus left inscriptions
at Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Amaravati and Bhattiprolu. Ikshvaku rulers practiced the Vedic
religion.
Some scholars suggest this dynasty was related to the ancient Ikshvakus of the Hindu epics. For
example, that Rama of the Ramayana, the incarnation of Vishnu, was of theIkshvaku line. Surviving
inscriptions, such as those in the Nagarjunakonda valley, Jaggayyapeta and Ramireddipalli provide
some support for this hypothesis.
In the Vayu Purana, Manu, the great patriarch of ancient India, had nine sons, of whom Ikshvaku
was the eldest. Ikshvaku was founder of the Suryavanshi dynasty. He ruled fromAyodhya at the
commencement of the Treta Yuga. He had one hundred sons, the eldest of which was Vikushi, who
succeeded his father as the ruler of Ayodhya. Fifty of Vikushi's brothers founded small principalities
in Northern India. Forty-eight founded kingdoms in the South.
In the Dharmamrita, in the lifetime of the 12th Tirthankara, Yasodhara, an Ikshvaku prince of the
Kingdom of Anga, came to Vengi in the south. The prince was so impressed with the beauty of the
region and the fertility of the soil that he made it his permanent home and founded a city called
Pratipalapura (Bhattiprolu).
In the Puranas, the Andhra Ikshvakus are mentioned as the Sriparvatiyas (rulers of Sriparvata) and
Andhrabhrityas (servants of the Andhras). They were feudal lords of theSatavahanas and bore the
title 'Mahatalavara'. Although the Puranas mentions seven kings ruling Andhra for 100 years only
four are confirmed in inscriptions.

Vashishthiputra Sri Santamula (Santamula I)[edit]

Santamula I was the founder of the Ikshvaku dynasty. He performed the Asvamedha, Agnihotra,
Agnistoma and Vajapeya sacrifices to proclaim his independent and imperial status. It became a
common practice among the rulers of subsequent dynasties to perform the Ashvamedha sacrifice in
token of their declaration of independent status.

Virapurushadatta[edit]
Virapurushadatta was the son and successor of Santamula through his wife Madhari. He had a sister
named Adavi Santisri. He took a queen from the Saka family of Ujjain and gave his daughter in
marriage to a Chutu prince.

Ehuvula Santamula (Santamula II)[edit]

Ehuvula Santamula (Santamula II), Virapurushadata's son, ruled after a short Abhira interregnum.

Rudrapurushadatta[edit]
Rudrapurushadatta was an Ikshvaku ruler mentioned in inscriptions from Gurajala in Guntur district
of Andhra Pradesh. He may have been a son of Ehuvula Santamula. He ruled for over 11 years and
was probably the last important ruler of the Ikshvaku dynasty.
The Abhiras may have taken power from the Ikshvakus in about AD 278.

Brihatpalayanas[edit]
In the 3rd century CE, the Brihatpalayana ruled north Andhra from the capital, Kodur in the Krishna
District. One of the dynasties was Jaya Varma of the Brihatpalayana gotra(clan).

Anandagotrikas[edit]
The Ananda Gotrikas (335-425) ruled coastal Andhra from their capital, Kapotapuram. Their
affiliations are unknown.

Salankayanas[edit]
From about 300 to 440 CE, following the fall of the Ikshvakus, the Salankayanas ruled part of the
East coast from Vengi. Like the Vishnukundinas of Vinukonda who succeeded them, the
Salankayanas was the vassal of the Pallava of the southern Telugu and northern Tamil lands. In this
time, the script of the Telugu and Kannada languages began to clearly separate from that of other
south Indian and north Indian dialects.

Pallavas[edit]
The Pallava Empire (Telugu:
; Tamil: ) was a South Indian kingdom of the 4th to 8th
centuries CE. The Pallava ruled from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. Their ascendancy occurred during

the reign of Mahendravarman I (571 630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630 668 CE). The empire
included the southern Telugu and the northern parts of the Tamil region.
The Pallavas are noted for their patronage of Dravidian architecture examples of which survive
in Mahabalipuram. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited Kanchipuram under Pallava rule and
extolled the benign government.
This period was one of conflict with the Chalukyas of Badami in the north and the Tamil states
of Chola and Pandyas in the south. In the 8th century CE, the Pallavas fell to theChola.

Vishnukundinas[edit]
The Vishnukundina dynasty ruled in the Deccan and South India in the 5th and 6th centuries CE.
According to Edward B. Eastwick, the Maharaja of Vizianagaram was a descendant of the
Maharajas of Udaipur and of the Sisodia branch of the Gehlot tribe. A brother of the Maharaja of
Udaipur migrated to Oudh. The early rulers of the dynasty aligned with the Vakatakas and had
marital alliances with them and with the Rashtrakutas.
In 529, Madhava Varma, a descendant of the dynasty together with four allied clans, gained
independence by defeating the Salankayanas in coastal Andhra. Their capitals wereAmaravati and
Bezwada, until they eventually settled at Vizianagaram. Over the centuries, the four allied clans
served as feudatories to the Vizianagaram rulers, as well as to subsequent dynasties such as
the Chalukyas. Kalidindi in Krishna district was held by the Vishnukundin, although it was later
associated with the Rajus.
In 1512, the Maharaja of Vizianagaram was conquered by the Golkonda dynasty and was
made Subahdar of the Northern Circars. The title was conferred by EmperorAurangzeb, who gave
the Maharaja a two-edged sword (Zulfikar). The Zulfikar is still part of the Vishnukundinas coat-ofarms. The Rajahs of Vizianagaram obtained the title of 'Gajapati' after the 16th-century battle of
Nandapur in the Northern Circars.
In 1845, the British, represented by Lord Northbrook, conferred several honours upon Maharaja
Vijaya Rama Gajapati Raju III. On December 31, 1850, Raju III had a son. One of his daughters was
married to Maharaj Kumar Singh, a cousin of and heir apparent to the Maharajah of Rewah.

Kalachuris of Chedi[edit]
The Matsyas, Chedis, Perichedis, Haihayas and Kalachuris may share a common Vedic ancestry
and origin myth but the link is tenuous.
In the Puranas, Matsya (Sanskrit for 'fish') was the name of a tribe (Meenas) and a state of Vedic
civilisation. The Matsya tribe was founded by a fisherman who became a king.
The Mahabharata (V.74.16) describes King Sahaja as a son of Uparichara Vasu, a Chedi king. Vasu

ruled the Chedis and the Matsyas, suggesting the Matsya were once part of the Chedi Kingdom. The
Puranas mention as many as six Matsya kingdoms. The Pandya Kingdom in the extreme south
bears the picture of a fish on its official banner. Signs of the Matsya are later found in
the Visakhapatnam region.

Chedi[edit]
The Chedi kingdom was one among many kingdoms in central and western India ruled during early
periods by Paurava kings and later by Yadav kings. It corresponds roughly to the present
day Bundelkhand division of Madhya Pradesh.

Haihaya[edit]
The Haihaya kingdom (from 'haya' meaning 'horse') was one of the many kingdoms ruled by
Chandravamsha Kshatriya kings in central and western India. Mythology tells of Haihaya origin from
a prince of the Lunar race and the Vishnu Purana links its outlying tribes to the Yadu race. The five
great divisions of the tribe are named in the Puranas as the Talajanghas, Vitihotras, Avantis,
Tundikeras, and Jatas (Sujatas). The Haihaya rulers included Kartavirya Arjuna, a powerful king who
defeated Ravana. Although he had one thousand arms, he was felled and his arms severed
by Parasurama. The Haihaya capital was Mahishmati (the modern city of Maheshwar) on the banks
of the river Narmada in Madhya Pradesh.

Kalachuri[edit]
Kalachuri is the name used by two kingdoms who claim common ancestry and who ruled by a
succession of dynasties in the 10th to 12th centuries CE. The first of the two kingdoms controlled
areas in Central India (west Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan). The second, the southern Kalachuri, ruled
over parts of Karnataka. Kalachuri kings were related to the Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas by
matrimonial alliances and so also ruled from places like Tripuri, Gorakhpur, Ratnapur, and Rajpur.
The name Kalachuri may come from the words kali meaning 'long moustache' and churi meaning
'sharp knife'. The Kalachuri were also known as Katachuris (the shape of a sharp knife),
Kalanjarapuravaradhisvara (the Lord of Kalanjara) and Haihaya (Heheya).
In the Telugu epic, the "Battle of Palnadu", the Kalachuri are referred to as the Haihaya family of the
Kona region (Amalapuram; the Razole Taluqs of the area now known as theEast Godavari District);
and as the Haihaya family of Palanadu. They were modest feudatories of the Chalukyas.
The Perichedis are also mentioned as minor feudatories of the Chalukyas. According to V. Rama
Chandra Rao, the Perichedis were linked to the ancient Chedi. They had two branches, with
Kollipaka and Bezawada as their capitals.
Rao also mentions that the Vastsavai dynasty of Peddapuram may be related to the Matsya dynasty,
as there is evidence of a branch found in the Visakhapatnam area.

A record of 1174 suggests the Kalachuri dynasty was thought to be founded by Soma, who grew a
beard and moustache to save himself from the wrath of Parashurama. Their emblem was Suvarna
Vrishabha, the golden bull. The Kalachuri honoured Krantivirya Sahasrarjun, who killed Rishi
Jamdagni, Bhagwan Parshurama's father. Historians such as P. B. Desai are emphatic about the
central Indian origin of the Kalachuris.
At their zenith, the Kalachuris ruled an extensive empire covering areas
of Gujarat, Malwa, Konkan and parts of Maharashtra. Their rule was lost to the Badami
Chalukyas under Badami Chalukya Magalesa.
Colonel Todd recorded a tribe of Haihayas still existing "near the very top of the valley of Sohagpur,
in Bhagelkhand, aware of their ancient lineage, and though few in number, still celebrated for their
valour."

Eastern Chalukyas[edit]
Between 624 and 1323, a significant change came about in the social, religious, linguistic and
literary spheres of Andhra society. During this period, the Telugu language emerged as a literary
medium, overcoming the predominance of Prakrit and Sanskrit. From around 848, in the time of
Gunaga Vijayaditya, to the 11th century, the Telugu-language progressed from stanzas to literary
works. In this time, the Telugu language was written in old Telugu script. Al-Beruni referred to old
Telugu script as "Andhri" in his "Kitab Al-Hind" (1000). In the 11th century, the Mahabharata was
partially translated by the court poet Nannaya under the patronage of the Eastern Chalukya
ruler, Rajaraja Narendra. The emergence of the Telugu script from the old Telugu script began in the
11th century and culminated in the 19th century.
The Eastern Chalukyas were a branch of the Chalukyas of Badami. Pulakesin
II conquered Vengi (near Eluru) in 624 and installed his brother, Kubja Vishnuvardhana (624-641),
as its ruler. The Vishnuvardhana dynasty, known as the Eastern Chalukyas, ruled for nearly four
centuries. Vishnuvardhana extended his dominions as far as Srikakulam in the north and Nellore in
the south.
Control of the Vengi region shifted from Gunaga Vijayaditya, to Rashtrakuta rule, to the Kalyani
Chalukya (10th to 11th century); and to the Cholas. In 1118, Kulottunga Chola was defeated
by Vikramaditya VI of the Kalyani Chalukya dynasty. The Cholas at Talakad were defeated
by Hoysala ruler, Vishnuvardhana. Thus, once again, Vengi came under Chalukya rule.
The fall of the Kalyani Chalukya came with the death of Vikramaditya VI. By the end of the 12th
century, the Eastern Chalukya empire had been divided into local kingdoms: theHoysala Empire,
the Kakatiya Kingdom and the Yadavas.

Chola Empire[edit]

The Chola dynasty were a ruling power in Andhra from 1010 to 1200. The Chola territories stretched
from the islands of the Maldives in the south to the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.

Kakatiyas[edit]
The Kakatiya dynasty came to power in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. Initially, the Kakatiyas were
feudatories of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani. They held a small territory near Warangal.
Prola II of the Kakatiyas (11101158), increased the Kakatiya territory to the south and declared his
independence. His successor, Rudra (11581195), increased the territory as far as the Godavari
delta to the east. Rudra built the Warangal Fort to serve as a second capital. He countered invasions
by the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri.
The next ruler, Mahadeva, extended the Kakatiyas kingdom to the coastal area. In 1199, Mahadeva
was succeeded by Ganapati Deeva. Ganapati Deeva was the first ruler, beyond the Satavahanas, to
unite governance of the Telugu lands and unlike the Satavahanas, the Kakatiyas were native Telugu
kings who used Telugu as their court language. In 1210, Ganapati defeated the Velanati Cholas and
extended his empire northwards to Anakapalle.
Rani Rudrama Devi (12621289), is one of the few queens of Indian history. She defended the
Kakatiyas kingdom against the Cholas and the Seuna Yadavas. On her death, at the beginning of
1290, Rani's adopted grandson, Prataparudra, became king. Prataparudra's reign was fraught with
battles against both internal and external foes. Prataparudra did, however, expand his borders to the
west to Raichur and in the south to Ongole and the Nallamala Hills. He introduced many
administrative reforms, some of which were adopted in the Vijayanagar empire.
In 1310, Muslim attacks began and in 1323 the Kakatiyas dynasty fell to the Delhi Sultanate.

Musunuri Nayaks[edit]
Independence of the Telugu land from the Delhi sultanate was regained by the Musunuri Nayaks,
who then ruled for fifty years. Hakka (Harihara) and Bukka, who had been treasury officers at the
court of Prataparudra, drew inspiration from Musunuri Nayaks and organised Hindu opposition
against the Muslim invaders.
Prataparudra was captured by Muslims invaders.[7] Two Telugus, Annaya Mantri and Kolani
Rudradeva, united the Nayaks against the invaders. A Nayak from Vengi (in the modern-day West
Godavari district), Musunuri Prolayanayak (Prolaaneedu), was chosen as their leader.[8][9] By 1326,
Prolaneedu had liberated Warangal.[10] Inspired by the victories of Prolaneedu and his cousin
Kaapaneedu, other states including Kampili, Hoysala, Dwarasamudram and Araveedu asserted their
independence.

Uligh Khan captured Harihara and Bukka at Warangal. They were converted to Islam and were sent
by the Sultan to suppress the rebellion of the Hoysala ruler. The brothers did not comply and
established the Vijayanagara Empire. The Sultan led a large army south but was halted by epidemic
illness and Nayak resistance. Kaapaneedu with the assistance of the Hoysala liberated Andhra
Pradesh. Kaapaya took the titles Andhradesaadheeswara and Andhrasuratraana.
In 1345, Muslim nobles rebelled against Muhammad bin Tughluq in Devagiri. This resulted in the
foundation of the Bahmani Sultanate by Hasan Gangu. He assumed the name Alauddin Bahman
Shah and in 1347, moved his capital to Gulbarga. Through raids and coercion, Singama of
the Recherla Nayaks, disestabilised Alauddin's rule. Kaapaneedumade a treaty with Alauddin and
surrendered the Kaulas fort.
In 1351, Muhammad bin Tughluq died. In 1359, Alauddin died and was succeeded by Mohammed
Shah. Kaapaneedu then sent his son Vinayaka Deva to liberate Kaulas and Bhuvanagiri from
the Bahmanis. The Vijayanagar emperor, Bukka Raya, assisted him in this campaign. Vinayaka
Deva had initial successes but was eventually defeated, captured and killed.
Kaapaneedu, persisted and captured Golconda and Warangal. In 1365, Golconda was chosen as
the border between the Bahmani and Warangal kingdoms in 1365. Musunuri Kaapaaneedu was
forced to pay remunerations (including a turquoise thron