Early Period

The history of the area corresponding to present-day Andhra Pradesh dates from the Maurya Empire. During the reign of Bindusara (297-272 B.C.), second ruler of the Maurya dynasty, Andhradesa became part of the Maurya Empire.

The emperor Asoka, his son and successor, refers in his inscriptions to a people called the Andhras. The first known Andhra dynasty, the Satavahanas, probably held administrative posts under the Mauryas. They came to power when the Maurya Empire disintegrated, following the death of the emperor Asoka in 232 B.C.

The Satavahanas ruled from about 230 B.C. to A.D. 200. Prathistan (Paithan) was their capital. The Satavahanas encouraged various religious groups and were patrons of Buddhism and Brahmanism. Archaeological finds from Amaravati on the east coast show the great skill and artistry of early Andhra sculptors and builders. Some of the Ajanta cave paintings date from this period. Nagarjunakonda became a centre of learning in the 100's and 200's A.D.

After the end of the Satavahana Empire, several dynasties emerged in Andhra. The most prominent were the Pallavas (225-610), the Ishvaku (250-340), and the Vishnu Kundins (440-610). Fragmented political control continued until the rise of the Kakatiya dynasty (1081-1323). The Kakatiyas ruled the entire Andhradesa. Warangal, northeast of the present city of Hyderabad, was their capital.

The southward expansion of the Delhi sultanate ended Kakatiya supremacy. Although the Kakatiya ruler repulsed the initial attempt of Ala-ud-din Khalji to conquer the Deccan, he was defeated in 1309, and became a tributary of the sultan. The Kakatiyas enjoyed a short-lived independence after the death of Ala-ud-din Khalji.

However, his successor, Ghiyas-ud-din Tughluq, annexed the Kakatiya kingdom after a five-month war ended in the fall of Warangal in 1323. The rise of the Vijayanagar Empire in the mid-1300's prevented Turkish expansion further south.