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Telangana region has been ruled bymany great dynasties likeSatavahanas, Chalukyas, Kakatiyas,Mughals, Qutubshahis, asafjahis. Ofwhich the Kakathiyas impressions onarchitecture are found more in thesedays too. Generally Telanganahistory classified into three periods 1. Ancient Period

Satavahanas Eastern Chalukyas

2. Medieval Period Kakatiyas Bahmanis QutbShahis The Mughal Rule

3. Modern Period Asaf Jahis

ANCIENT PERIOD Satavahanas After the fall of the Mauryan -Empire,

the history of the Andhras, as acontinuous account of political andcultural events, commences with therise of the Satavahanas as a politicalpower. According to Matsya Puranathere were 29 rulers of this dynasty.They ruled over the Andhradesaincluding Deccan for about 400years from the 2nd century B.C. tobeyond the 2nd century A.D.Satavahanas were also calledSalivahanas and Satakarnis. In the3rd century B.C., Simukha, thefounder of the Satavahana dynasty,unified the various Andhraprincipalities into one kingdom andbecame its ruler (271 BC-248 BC).Dharanikota near Amaravati inGuntur district was the first capital ofSimukha, but later he shifted hiscapital to Pratishtana (Paithan inAurangabad district).

Satakarni II, the sixth ruler of thedynasty (184 BC) was an able rulerwho extended his kingdom to thewest by conquering Malwa.According to inscriptional evidence,he extended the boundaries of hisrealm far into central India across theVindhyas, perhaps up to the riverGanges. He ruled for a long period of56 years. The long reign of SatakarniII was followed successively byeight rulers of whom none can becredited with any notableachievement. It was the accession ofPulumavi I that brought renewedstrength and glory to their kingdom.He struck down the last of the Kanvarulers, Susarman, in 28 B.C. andoccupied Magadha. The Satavahanasthus assumed an all-Indiasignificance as imperial rulers insuccession to the Nandas, Mauryas,Sungas and Kanvas. The kings, whosucceeded him, appear to have beendriven, by the Sakas, out ofMaharashtra back to their home landin Andhra. The only silver lining inthat murky atmosphere was theexcellent literary work, Gathasap-

tasati, of Hala, the 17th Satavahanaking.

It was during the time of GautamiputraSatakarni, the 23rd ruler of thisdynasty, who ascended the throne inA.D.62, their kingdom made a sharprecovery of the lost territories fromthe western Kshatrapas. A Nasikrecord describes him as the restorerof the glory of the Satavahanas. Hiskingdom included the territories ofAsika, Assaka, Mulaka, Saurashtra,Kukura, Aparanta, Anupa, Vidarbha,Akara and Avanti, and the mount-ainous regions of Vindhya,Achavata, Pariyatra, Sahya, Kanha-giri, Siritana, Malaya, Mahendra,Sata and Chakora, and extended asfar as seas on either side. Thoughsome of the mountains mentioned inthe inscription cannot be identified atpresent, it is clear that Gautami-putra's kingdom covered not only thepeninsular India, but also thesouthern parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Hepassed away in A.D.86, and hissuccessors witnessed the dismembe-rment of their far flung empire.

Pulumavi II succeeded Gautamiputraand ruled for 28 years. In spite ofserious efforts put forth by him tosafeguard the frontiers of his vastempire, the closing years of his reignwitnessed the decline of theSatavahana authority. YajnasriSatakarni's accession to the throne inA.D.128 brought matters to a crisis.He came into conflict with the SakaSatrap, Rudradamana, and suffereddefeat, and consequently, lost all hiswestern possessions. However, hecontinued to rule till A.D.157 over atruncated dominion. His ship-marked coins suggest extensivemaritime trade during his days. Withhim passed away the age of the greatSatavahanas and by the end of the2nd century A.D., the rule of theSatavahanas was a matter of pasthistory.There were different opinionsabout their capital. Some argue thatSrikakulam in Krishna district was

their capital. Evidences show thatDharanikota in Guntur district,Dharmapuri in Karimnagar districtand Paithan in Aurangabad district ofMaharashtra State were used ascapitals at various periods.

The Deccan, during this period, was anemporium of inland and maritimetrade. The region between the riversof Godavari and Krishna was full ofports and throbbing with activity.There was plentiful currency tofacilitate trade and the Telugusentered upon a period of greatindustrial, commercial and maritimeactivity.

Buddhism flourished throughout theperiod and at the same time the rulerswere devoted to Vedic ritualism.They constructed several BuddhistStupas, Chaityas and Viharas. TheStupa at Amaravati is known for itsarchitecture par excellence. Satavah-anas were not only the able rulers butwere also lovers of literacy andarchitecture. The 17th ruler of thisdynasty, Hala was himself a greatpoet and his ``Gathasaptasati'' inPrakrit was well received by all.Gunadhya, the minister of Hala wasthe author of ``Brihatkadha''. Thedecline and fall of the Satavahanaempire left the Andhra country in apolitical chaos. Local rulers as wellas invaders tried to carve out smallkingdoms for themselves and toestablish dynasties. During theperiod from A.D.180 to A.D.624,Ikshvakus, Brihatphalayanas, Salan-kayanas, Vishnukundins, Vakatakas,Pallavas, Anandagotras, Kalingasand others ruled over the Andhraarea with their small kingdoms. Suchinstability continued to prevail untilthe rise of the Eastern Chalukyas.Important among them were theIkshvakus. The Puranas mentionthem as the Sriparvatiyas. Thepresent Nagarjunakonda was thenknown as Sriparvata and Vijayapuri,near it, was their capital. Theypatronised Buddhism, though theyfollowed the vedic ritualism. After

the Ikshvakus,a part of theAndhra regionnorth of theriver Krishnawas ruled overby JayavarmaofBrihatphala-yana gotra.Salankayanasruled over apart of the EastCoast with Vengi as their capital.Next to rule were the Vishnukundinswho occupied the territory betweenthe Krishna and Godavari. It isbelieved that their capital wasIndrapura, which can be identifiedwith the modern Indrapalagutta inRamannapet taluk of Nalgondadistrict. By A.D.514, the land northof the Godavari, known, as Kalingabecame independent. The area southof the Krishna fell to the share of thePallavas, who ruled from Kanchi.The Vakatakas occupied the presentTelangana. This state of affairscontinued with few changes up to thebeginning of the 7th century A.D.

Buddhism continued, though in adecadent form during this period.Mahayanism gave wide currency tothe belief that the installation andworship of Buddha and Bodhisattvaimages, and the erection of stupasconferred great merit. TheMadhyamika School of thought inMahayana was propounded byNagarjuna. Sanskrit came to occupythe place of Prakrit as the languageof inscriptions. The Vishnukundins

extended patronage to architecture andsculpture. The cave temples atMogalrajapuram and Undavalli nearVijayawada bear testimony to theirartistic taste.

The period of Andhra history, betweenA.D. 624 and A.D.1323, spanningover seven centuries, is significantfor the sea-change it brought in allspheres of the human activity; social,religious, linguistic and literary.During this period, Desi, theindigenous Telugu language, emergedas a literary medium overthrowingthe domination of Prakrit andSanskrit. As a result, Andhradesaachieved an identity and a distinctionof its own as an importantconstituent of Indian Cultural set-up.

This change was brought by stronghistorical forces, namely, the Easternand Western Chalukyas, theRashtrakutas and the early Cholas.Kakatiyas came to power during thelater half of this period and extendedtheir rule over the entire Telugulandwith the exception of a small land inthe northeast. Arts, crafts, languageand literature flourished under theirbenevolent patronage.

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Satavahana Empire rise and fall