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The
State of Andhra Pradesh abounds in archeological remains and religious
monuments. The Satavahanas of the 1st century AD left behind them many
works of art, the remains of which are seen at Amaravati near Guntur.
The Ikshvakus succeeded the Satavahanas and the monuments left behind by
them were discovered at excavations at Nagarjunakonda.Some of the best
known Budhist monuments of Andhra Pradesh such as the Mahastupa and some
Hindu temples were found in these excavations.
The
oldest temples in the State, Tirupati Venkateswara Temple and the
Kalahasteeswara Temple date back to the pre Christian times. The
Chalukyas of Badami (Karnataka) of about the 6th century built the
Alampur Bhrama temples.These are excellent examples of Chalukyan art and
sculpture. The Vengi Chalukyas ruled coastal Andhra Pradesh from the 7th
to the 11th centuries.
The
Badami Chalukyas of Deccan were succeeded by the Rashtrakutas and the
later Chalukyas. The Kakatiyas who succeeded the later Chalukyas and
ruled from Warangal (11th - 14th century AD) constructed several
beautiful temples that show a profuse display of sculptural work.. The
North Eastern region of Andhra Pradesh was under the rule of the Ganga
Kings and the temples of this region show influences of the Orissa style
of architecture.
The
Vijayanagar Empire caused a number of monuments to be built and
patronized in the State. Mention must be made of the Sree Sailam temple
and the ornate Lepakshi temples. The flat stuccoed granite ceilings of
the Vijayanagar Empire provided a suitable background for frescoes as
seen at Lepakshi.
Thus, the temples that line the length and breadth of the State stand in
silent acknowledgement of centuries of history and the patronage of
various kingdoms such as the Cholas and Pallavas of Tamilnadu, the
Chalukyas of Deccan , the Eastern Gangas and the Vijayanagar Kings. Some
of these temples have been visited and sung by the Alwar (Vaishnavite)
and the Nayanmar (Saivite) Saints of Tamilnadu.
Historical
Information on Andhra Pradesh:
It
is believed that the people of Andhra Pradesh basically belong to the
Aryan race. They are said to have migrated to the south of the Vindhyas,
where they mixed up with the non-Aryans. The history of Andhra Pradesh
dates back to the time of Ashoka the Great Mauriyan king ( 3rd century
B.C.). This state became an important Buddhist center during his reign.
The evidences of the Buddhist influence can be seen in Amaravathi and
Nagarjunakonda. These are regarded as one of the greatest archaeological
sites in India.
The Early Andhra Pradesh
The earliest dynasty that ruled Andhra Pradesh was the Satavahana
dynasty ( 2nd century BC 2nd century A.D), also known as the andhras.
They were ruling much of central and southern India at that time. They
established their capital at Amravati on the banks of river Krishna.
They were very much indulged in international trade with both eastern
Asia and Europe. The Satavahana kings were followers of Buddhism and
they worked towards the welfare of this religion.
Later, Andhra Pradesh was ruled by the Pallavas from Tamil Nadu, the
Chalukyas from Karnataka, and the Cholas. The Kakaityas also ruled this
state in 13th century and they established their capital at Warangal.
This dynasty had to face several Muslim invasions. Later on, after the
demolition of Hampi, the kings of Hindu Vijayanagar kingdom, shifted
their base to Chandragiri near Tirupati.
The Muslim Expansion
The Kakatiya dynasty ended in 1323, when the Tughlak Sultan of Delhi
captured the Kakatiya ruler. After the death of Kakatiya empire, four
local kingdoms arose out of the old Kakatiyan empire. One of these
kingdoms was Vijayanagar. This empire was a strong empire which rose
against the Muslim expansion for more than 200 years. Vijayanagar kings
fought bravely with Muslim sultanates in the north, which was attacked
by the invaders time and again. In order to weaken the Vijayanagar
empire, many sultans joined one another. Finally a grand alliance of the
sultanates of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Golconda and Bihar was formed against
Vijayanagar. Thus, the Vijayanagar army was defeated on 23rd January,
1565 by the Deccan sultans at the battle of Talikota.
Subsequently, in the mid 16 th century, the Muslim Qutb Shahi dynasty
emerged. The foundation of the modern city of Hyderabad was laid by the
Qutub Shahis of Golcunda. They were defeated by the son of the Moghal
emperor Aurangzeb in 1687, who seized Golconda. He appointed Asaf Jah
the governor of Deccan. Later, when the Mughal Empire was decaying under
Aurangzeb's successors, the Asaf Jahis were collecting power to become
independent rulers under the title of Nizam. Five years after the death
of Aurangzeb, in 1707, Hyderabad was declared independent by its Viceroy
and thus, established the Asaf Jahi dynasty of Nizams. The Nizams helped
the British against Tipu Sultan of Mysore and therefore they were
rewarded a certain degree of autonomy even at the timem, when the
British dominated all India. The Nizams were also involved in the
Anglo-French wars in the Deccan. But, finally they had enter into a
subsidiary alliance with the British in 1800.
Post-Independence
Andhra Pradesh is one of the first states in India which was formed only
on the linguistic basis. After India's independence, the andhras, that
is, the Telugu-speaking people (although Urdu is widely spoken in
Hyderabad) were distributed in about 21 districts. Out of them 9 were in
the Nizam's Dominions and 12 in the Madras Presidency. But after an
agitation, on October 1, 1953, 11 districts of the Madras State were
consolidated to form a new andhra State with Kurnool as capital. Later,
on November 1, 1956 the State Reorganization Commission recommended to
enlarge the andhra State by adding nine districts which were in the
Nizam's Dominion. The city of Hyderabad, became the capital of the
enlarged Andhra Pradesh, which was also the capital of the Nizam.
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