.

1st Century B. C.:

About two centuries after Asoka, the Mauryan empire dwindled. As a result an upsurge
in political prominence took place in the Kalinga country through the Chedi ruler
Mahamegha Vahana Kharavela and in the Telangana region through the Andhra Jatiya
Satavahana ruler Satakarni–I simultaneously in about the mid 1st century B.C. The
former with his capital at Udayagiri in Orissa occupied the coastal tract upto
Dhanakada(Dharanikota) and Satakarni with his capital at Kotalingala in the present
Karimnagar district founded the Satavahana Kingdom in the Central Deccan. Kharavela
invaded Magadha. So also Satakarni’s son Simuka Satavahana marched upto
Magadha and routed the Kanva king Susarman along with the remnants of the
preceding Sungas. Thus by about 30 B. C. Simuka the son of Satakarni-I established
the independent Satavahana authority and supremacy over all the minor rulers in the
Deccan and seized the western port towns - Broach (Bharukachha) and Sopara, and as
a mark of the victory got several vedic sacrifices performed by his old parents Satakarni
and Naganika, which events were recorded in the elaborate inscription incised on the
rock wall of the trade route at the Naneghat pass where the portraits of the members of
the royal family were also engraved with labels. This was done after the demise of the
old king Satakarni and the accession of Simuka to the Satavahana throne. He is
reckoned in the puranas to be the founder of the real Satavahana sovereignty and
family as well.

1st Century A. D.:

Simuka Satavahana ruled upto C.7 B. C. followed by his brother Krishna Satakarni who
ruled upto 12 A. D. It seems certain, basing on the evidence of a bilingual lead coin-like
tablet found in the excavations at Veerapuram, Kurnool district, Satakarni-I's younger,
last but one son named Hakusiri Satakarni ruled for few years. The said bilingual lead
piece is supposed to be a trader’s license token, containing on its obverse, the bust
image of the Roman emperor Tiberius, A. D. 14 – 37, and on the reverse a similar
image with the legend Hakano Satakanino in Brahmi characters of that period. This is a
clear indication that Hakusiri ruled the Satavahana kingdom being a contemporary of
the Roman king Tiberius, eventhough for a short period of few years or some months.
Coastal Andhra during this period was under the rule of the members of the Sada
family, likely a collateral descendant line of Mahameghavahana Kharavela. About half a
dozen members of this family are known from their numerous coins and few inscriptions
found in that region. A certain Sirisada is known from the pillar inscriptions found at the
Buddhist hill resort near Guntupalli, West Godavari district. He is said in the records to
be ruling over both Kalinga and Mahisaka regions, perhaps the delta lands drained by
the rivers Krishna and Godavari and owned by several individual landlords. Thus the
terms Mahi (land) and isaka (owner) were applied to the region of the later Vengi
territory by the early Brahmana settlers. Intensive agriculture in the delta lands during
the early period is reasonably suggested by the name Mahisaka to this region. Another
noteworthy activity of this century was the brisk sea borne trade particularly with Rome.

2nd Century A. D.:

Gautamiputra Satakarni wrested the coastal Andhra territory from the Sada rulers likely
in the 1st decade of this century and expanded the Satavahana kingdom from the
western to the eastern seaboard. In this context it is worth noting the so called image of
Andhra Vishnu at Srikakulam in the Krishna District might have been installed by a
famous general named Vishnu Palita in the service of Gautamiputra Satakarni. The
flourishing state of sea borne trade is indicated by depicting the symbol of ship with one
or two masts on the coins issued by the latter Satavahana rulers, viz. Pulumavi-II and
Yajnasri. The discovery of several thousands of coins issued by the Satavahana rulers
all over the Deccan indicates the flourishing state of trade activity during the
Satavahana period. Machilipatnam, Potala lanka, Revupalle (Repalle), Kalingapatnam
and Krishnapatnam were the important port towns along Andhra coast.
The rise of Mahayana Buddhism and its masterly rational exposition from the pen of the
great Acharya Nagarjuna was a noteworthy contribution of this century to the Buddhist
theology. It was during this century that the renovation of the world famous Buddhist
Stupa at Amaravati was begun, which was completed in the early decades of the
following century. Now, unfortunately the grand edifice remains simply imaginable from
the miniature reproductions depicted on some casing slabs, the originals being lost due
to vandalism or otherwise.

3rd Century A. D.:

The Satavahana power came to an end in the first quarter of this century. The
Ikshvakus in the lower Krishna basin (Nagarjunakonda-Nandikonda.), some Naga
chieftains in the south, some generals like Talavaras and Rathas in Telangana began to
found their principalities, none of them being worth the name. Among those it was only
the Ikshvakus, with Vijayapuri near Nandikonda in the present Guntur district as their
capital, rose to prominence. One Vasisthiputra Chantamula was the founder king who
proclaimed sovereignty by performing Aswamedha sacrifice. His son was
Veerapurusha datta, his son Ehuvula Santamula and the latter’s son Rudrapurusha
datta ruled in succession, all for about seventy-five years. Their sovereignty extended
upto the present Nalgonda District. The greatness of the family lies in the liberal
patronage extended by its members both kings and queens, and other dignitaries to the
Buddhist creed by raising stupas and viharas in the valley for the benefit of stationary
monks and those visiting from far off countries like Ceylone and Gandhara as attested
by the lithic records. The Amaravati tradition of Buddhist art reached its zenith at
Nagarjunakonda under the royal patronage of these rulers. Amaravati and
Nagarjunakonda became the cradle for the flourishing Mahayana Buddhism.