Andhra Pradesh is one of the state of the country, which takes pride in its rich historical and

cultural heritage. A peek into the History of Andhra Pradesh can give an idea of the glorious past
the state has witnessed. The brief history of Andhra Pradesh can be classified into four prime
periods.

The origin

Historians believe that the original people of Andhra Pradesh were Aryans. They migrated to the
south of Vindhyas and there they mixed up with other races. A major part of Emperor Ashoka's
kingdom, Andhra Pradesh was an important Buddhist center of that time. Several places in the
state still bears the traces of the Buddhist culture and influence.

The earlier period

The Satavahana dynasty is perhaps the earliest dynasty that ruled in Andhra Pradesh. This was
during the second century B.C and they were also known as the Andhras. Amravati, on the
banks of river Krishna was their capital. They promoted national and international trade and were
great followers of Buddhism. After the end of the Satavahana reign, the state was ruled by the
Pallavas, the Chalukyas, the Cholas and the Kakaityas respectively.

The period of Muslim expansion

The Kakatiya dynasty was uprooted in 1323, following the capture of their ruler by Tughlak
Sultan of Delhi. After the end of the Kakatiya dynasty, few local kingdoms rose to power in
different parts of the kingdom. Among these, the Vijaynagar kingdom was the most powerful one.
The great king Krishnadeva Raya belonged to that kingdom. After failing time and again against
the Vijayanagar empire, the kingdom was finally captured by the Muslim invaders. In the middle
of the 16th century, the state saw the emergence of the Qutb Shahi dynaty. They were defeated
by the Mughals, to be precise by Aurangazeb's son. In 1707, Hyderabad was declared
independent and went under the rule of the Nizams. The Nizams were great allies of the British
and they helped the Europeans to defeat Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

The post independence period

After the Indian independence, Andhra Pradesh became the first state to be formed on the basis
of language. The Telegu speaking people were given twenty one districts, out of which nine were
in the Nizam's Dominions and the rest in the Madras Presidency. However following an agitation
in 1953, eleven districts of the Madras state were taken to form a new Andhra state with Kurnool
as its capital. Nine districts under the Nizam were later added to form the enlarged state of
Andhra Pradesh in 1956. Hyderabad became the capital of the state, which is one of the most
technologically advanced cities of the modern India.