Andhra Pradesh is one of the 29 states of India, situated on the country's southeastern coast. The state is the eighth largest state in India covering an area of . As per 2011 census of India, the state is tenth largest by population with 49,386,799 inhabitants. The new capital city of Andhra pradesh is proposed in Guntur District, north of Guntur City and will be developed under Capital Region Development Authority. In accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Hyderabad will remain the de jure capital of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states for a period of time not exceeding 10 years.
The state has the second longest coastline of among all the states of India, second only to Gujarat. It borders Telangana in the northwest, Chhattisgarh in the North, Odisha in the northeast, Karnataka in the west, Tamil Nadu in the south and the water body of Bay of Bengal in the east. A small enclave of of Yanam, a district of Pondicherry, lies south of Kakinada in the Godavari delta to the northeast of the state.
There are two regions in the state namely Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema and hence, the two regions are more often referred as Seemandhra by the media. There are 13 districts with 9 in Coastal Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema. Visakhapatnam is the largest city and a commercial hub of the state with a GDP of $26 billion followed by Vijayawada with a GDP of $3 billion. Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Tirupati, Rajahmundry , Kakinada , Ongole and Eluru are other important cities.
The Andhras trace their history to the vedic age. Andhra was mentioned in the Sanskrit epics such as Aitareya Brahmana (800 BCE). According to Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig veda, Andhras left the "northern land of the Aryans" and migrated to South India.
The Early Satavahanas ruled Andhra. The puranas refer to Satavahanas as Andhra Bhrityas. The Purāṇas list 30 Andhra rulers. Many are known from their coins and inscriptions as well. Satavahanas made Amaravati as their capital.
Simuka (c.230–207 BCE) After becoming independent around 230 BCE, Simuka, the founder of the dynasty, conquered the present-day Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh (including Malwa). He was succeeded by his brother Kanha (or Krishna) (r. 207–189 BCE), who further extended his state to the present day Andhra Pradesh. Later, Simuka made Srikakulam his capital.
Satakarni (c.180–124 BCE)
His successor Sātakarnī I was the sixth ruler of the Satavahana. He is said to have ruled for 56 years. The Mauryans extended their rule over Andhra in the fourth century BCE. With the fall of the Maurya Empire in the third century BCE, the Satavahanas became independent. After the decline of the Satavahanas in 220 CE, the Ikshvaku dynasty, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas, Rashtrakutas, Vishnukundinas, Eastern Chalukyas, and Cholas ruled the land.
Andhra Ikshvakus (Sanskrit इक्ष्वाकु, Telugu ఇక్ష్వాకులు) were one of the earliest recorded ruling dynasties of the Guntur-Krishna regions of Andhra Pradesh.They ruled the eastern Andhra country along the Krishna river during the later half of the second century CE. Puranas called Andhra Ikshvakus Shri Parvatiya Andhras. Their capital was Vijayapuri (Nagarjunakonda). It is a strong common belief among some historians that Andhra Ikshvakus were related to the mythological Ikshvakus, while some believe Andhra Ikshvakus seem to be a local tribe who adopted the title.
Archaeological evidence has suggested that the Andhra Ikshvakus immediately succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna river valley. Ikshvakus have left inscriptions at Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Amaravati and Bhattiprolu.
During third century AD, there was utter political and military confusion in the coastal Andhra due to the invasion of the Abhiras and their allies on the last Ikshvaku remnants and the rise of the Brihatphalayanas, the Anandagotras and the Salankayanas on the other. Simha Varma of the Manchikallu stone inscription establishes the independent rule of the Pallavas in parts of the Krishna valley of Andhra Pradesh.
During the reign of Maharaja Sivaskanda Varma of the Mayidavolu, Hirahadagalli, the early Pallavas became dominant power in the first quarter of the fourth century AD Sivaskanda Varma was the first great ruler of the early Pallavas. He extended his dominions from the Krishna in the north to the south Pennar in the south and to the Bellary district in the West. He performed the Aswamedha and other Vedic sacrifices.
Most of the Pallava Prakrit and Sanskrit charters from the southern Andhra country intimately connects them with the history of southern Andhra. The influence of the Pallavas was still felt by Andhra till it was swept by the Western Chalukyan invasion led by Pulakesin II in the first quarter of the seventh century AD. The Pallavas were not a recognized political power before the 2nd century AD. Pallavas were originally executive officers under the Satavahana kings.
Since the fall of the Ikshvakus, the Vishnukundins were the first great dynasty, which held sway way over the entire Andhra country including Kalinga and parts of Telangana and played an important and imperial role in the history of Deccan during the fifth and sixth century AD.
The Salankayanas were an ancient dynasty that ruled the Andhra region between Godavari and Krishna with their capital as Vengi, modern Pedavegi 12 km from Eluru in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India's from 300 to 440 AD. They were Brahmins and their name is derived from their symbol and gotra name, which stood for Nandi (the bull of Shiva).
The Chola dynasty ruled Andhra during the period of 1010–1200. The Chola territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh.
The Reddy kingdom (1325–1448 CE) was established in present day coastal Andhra Pradesh by Prolaya Vema Reddi in the early fourteenth century. The region that was ruled by this dynasty spanned present day coastal andhra from Vishakapatnam in the north to Kanchipuram in the south. Prolaya Vema Reddi was part of the confederation of states that started a movement against the invading Turkic Muslim armies of the Delhi Sultanate in 1323 CE and succeeded in repulsing them from Warangal. Today Reddys is a social group or caste of India, predominantly inhabiting the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The Vijayanagara Empire was an empire originated South India, in the Deccan Plateau region in the early fourteenth century. It was established in 1336 by Harihara Raya I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions by the end of the thirteenth century. It lasted until 1646 although its power declined after a major military defeat in 1565 to the Deccan sultanates. The empire is named after its capital city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India. The writings of medieval European travelers such as Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes and Niccolò Da Conti, and the literature in local languages provide crucial information about its history. Archaeological excavations at Vijayanagara have revealed the empire's power and wealth. The region of Rayalaseema in the present day Andhra Pradesh got its name from the rulers of this dynasty who's name generally ended with raya, meaning raya ruled region (seema).
The empire's legacy includes many monuments spread over South India, the best known of which is the group at Hampi. The Vijayanagara emipre's time is considered as the golden era of South India in many aspects by historian be it prosperity, welfare, wealth, military might and nurturing of arts. The previous temple building traditions in South India came together in the Vijayanagara Architecture style. The mingling of all faiths and vernaculars inspired architectural innovation of Hindu temple construction, first in the Deccan and later in the Dravidian idioms using the local granite. Efficient administration and vigorous overseas trade brought new technologies such as water management systems for irrigation. The empire's patronage enabled fine arts and literature to reach new heights in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit, while Carnatic music evolved into its current form. The Vijayanagara Empire created an epoch in South Indian history that transcended regionalism by promoting Hinduism as a unifying factor.
Inspired by their success, the Vijayanagara Empire, one of the greatest empires in the history of Andhra Pradesh and India, was founded by Harihara and Bukka, who served as treasury officers of the Kakatiyas of Warangal. In 1347 CE, an independent Muslim state, the Bahmani Sultanate, was established in south India by Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah in a revolt against the Delhi Sultanate. The Qutb Shahi dynasty held sway over the Andhra country for about two hundred years from the early part of the sixteenth century to the end of the seventeenth century.
In Colonial India, Northern Circars became part of the British Madras Presidency. Eventually this region emerged as the Coastal Andhra region. Later the Nizam rulers of Hyderabad ceded five territories to the British which eventually emerged as Rayalaseema region. The Nizams retained control of the interior provinces as the princely state of Hyderabad, acknowledging British rule in return for local autonomy. However, Komaram Bheem, a tribal leader, started his fight against the erstwhile Asaf Jahi Dynasty for the liberation of Hyderabad State. Meanwhile, the French occupied Yanam, in the Godavari delta, and (save for periods of British control) would hold it until 1954.In 1947 Vizianagaram was the largest Hindu Princely state in Andhra Pradesh.
India became independent from the United Kingdom in 1947. The Nizam wanted to retain the independence of the Princely Hyderabad State from India, but the people of the region launched a movement to join the Indian Union. The state of Hyderabad was forcibly joined to the Republic of India with Operation Polo in 1948.
In an effort to gain an independent state based on linguistic differences and to protect the interests of the Telugu-speaking people of Madras State, Potti Sreeramulu fasted until death in 1952. As Madras became a bone of contention, in 1949 a JVP committee report stated "Andhra Province could be formed provided the Andhras give up their claim on the city of Madras (now Chennai)". After Potti Sreeramulu's death, the Telugu-speaking areas, i.e. Andhra State, was carved out of Madras State on 1October 1953, with Kurnool as its capital city.
On the basis of a gentlemen's agreement of 1November 1956, the States Reorganisation Act formed Andhra Pradesh by merging Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking areas of the already existing Hyderabad State. Hyderabad was made the capital of the new state. The Marathi-speaking areas of Hyderabad State merged with Bombay State and the Kannada-speaking areas were merged with Mysore State.
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014