Karnataka History Timeline - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The name Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

is derived from "Karunadu" which means Loftyland (High plateau). As Karnataka lies in the middle of Deccan plateau the name is justified. The name can also mean "Land of black soil" (Kari - Black; Nadu - Area or Region) in Kannada. The history of Karnataka goes back to epics "Ramayana" and "Mahabharatha". The capital of "vaali" and "Sugriva" of epic Ramayana

Ramayana

The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...

is said to be Hampi

Hampi

Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other...

. Karnataka finds its mention in Mahabharatha in the form of "Karnata Desha". In olden times the region was also called as "Kuntala Rajya"
.
Karnataka was also part of the Dakshinapatha

Dakshinapatha

Ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts use the term Dakshinapatha as a name for both the southern high road of the Indian subcontinent, and for the region lying south of Majjhimdesa or middle India. It is derived from the two Sanskrit roots dakshina for south, and patha for road.The first reference to...

(southern region) which finds its mention in many Indian epics. Vatapi, associated with sage Agastya is obviously Badami in Bijapur district..
Karnataka is situated on the western edge of the Deccan plateau and has for its neighbours Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

and Goa

Goa

Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...

on the north, Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...

on east, Tamilnadu and Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

on the south. On the west it opens out on the Arabian sea

Arabian Sea

The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...

Prehistory

See Also: Evolution of Kannada Script

During 4th and 3rd century BCE,

Karnataka was part of Nanda

Nanda

Nanda is a surname of Punjabis . Nanda is a Tarkhan , Ahluwalia and Kamboj surname. All the clans of Tarkhan , Lohar, Gujjar, Kamboj, Ahluwalia tribes have a close genetic and ancestral relationship with each other, and together they form the Khatri/Rajput caste.-Among Kamboj people:*Nanda is a...

and Maurya Empire

Maurya Empire

The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...

. The Brahmagiri

Brahmagiri

Brahmagiri , ' is a mountain range in the Western Ghats of south India. It is situated on the border between Kodagu district in Karnataka state in the north and Wayanad district of Kerala state on the south . Brahmagiri Hill, at 1608 m height, is a scenic tourist attraction...

edicts in Chitradurga dated around c.230BCE belongs to emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...

and says of the nearby region as "Isila"
,
which means "fortified region" in Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

. In Kannada "Isila" can mean "To shoot an arrow" ("sila" or "sala" means to-shoot and "ise" or "ese" means to-throw in Kannada). After maurya, shatavahana came to power in the north and ganga in the south which can roughly be taken as the starting point of Karnataka in modern times. Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga
Kavirajamarga is the earliest available writing on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language. It was written by the famous Rashtrakuta King "Nripatunga" Amoghavarsha I and some say that it is based partly on an earlier Sanskrit writing, Kavyadarsa...

by Amogavarsha states Karnataka as the region between the Kaveri River

Kaveri River

The Kaveri , also spelled Cauvery in English, is a large Indian river. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan plateau through the...

in south and the Godavari River

Godavari River

The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...

in north. It also says "Kavya prayoga parynathamathigal"(See Image) which means people in the region are experts in poetry and literature.

Starting period

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
Starting period	Shatavahana	Semukha / Gouthamiputhra	Deccan comprising present Andhra, Karnataka, Maharastra

Around 30 BCE the Shatavahana came to power. The Shatavahanas ruled parts of northern Karnataka. They used Prakrit

Prakrit

Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...

as the administrative language and they either belong to Andra or Karnataka. Both Kannada and Telugu were found from their periods and gradually rose to prominence in their respective regions. Semukha and Gouthamiputhra Shatakarni were important rulers. The empire lasted for almost 300 years. With the disintegration of Shatavahana Empire, the Kadambas came to the power in the north of Karnataka and the Gangas in the south.

Banavasi Kadamba

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.325 - CE.540	Banavasi Kadamba	Mayura Sharma / Kakusta Varma	Central, Western, Northwestern Karnataka

The Kadambas
Kadambas
The Kadamba Dynasty was an ancient royal family of Karnataka that ruled from Banavasi in present day Uttara Kannada district. The dynasty later continued to rule as a feudatory of larger Kannada empires, the Chalukya and the Rashtrakuta empires for over five hundred years during which time they...

are considered the earliest indigenous rulers of Karnataka. Its founder was Mayurasharma
Mayurasharma
Mayurasharma , a Brahmin scholar and a native of Talagunda , was the founder of the Kadamba Kingdom of Banavasi, the earliest native kingdom to rule over what is today the modern state of Karnataka, India. He took the name of Mayuravarma to emphasise his change from the Brahmin to the Kshatriya...

and its most powerful ruler was Kakustavarma. The Kadamba name is attributed to the Kadamba tree that was grown near the place where the empire was founded. Kadambas ruled for almost 200 years before Chalukyas took over their empire, but some minor branches of Kadambas ruled Hanagal, Goa

Goa

and other regions till 14th century. The details about this old empire is available through inscriptions like Chandravalli

Chandravalli

Chandravalli is an archaeological site located in the Chitradurga district of the state of Karnataka, India. The region is a valley formed by three hills, Chitradurga, Kirabanakallu and Cholagudda. It is a semi-arid region with scrub vegetation with a stream running through it...

, Chandragiri

Chandragiri

Chandragiri , is a suburb of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, India. Recently it is included under Municipal Corporation limits of Tirupati...

, Halmidi
Halmidi
Halmidi is a small village in the Hassan district of Karnataka state, India, near the temple town of Belur. Halmidi is best known as the place where the oldest known inscription exclusively in Kannada language, the so called Halmidi inscription, was discovered. Earlier also many inscriptions...

, etc.

Gangas of Talakad

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.325 - CE.999	Gangas of Talakad	Avanitha / Durvinitha / Ratchamalla	South Karnataka / parts of Andhra and Tamil Nadu

The Gangas
Gangas
The Western Ganga Dynasty was an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka in India. They are known as Western Gangas to distinguish them from the Eastern Gangas who in later centuries ruled over modern Orissa...

first ruled from Nandagiri and then from Talakad. They were patrons of Jain and Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

religions. They were also instrumental in laying a strong foundation for the flourishing and development of Kannada literature

Kannada literature

Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the Dravidian family spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script....

. They ruled for almost 700 years. During their peak period the empire included Kodugu, Tumkur, Bangalore, Mysore districts, parts of Andhra and Tamil Nadu. Durvinitha, Shripurusha and Ratchamalla were famous rulers. The most famous example of Ganga architecture is the Gometeshwara in Shravanabelagola

Shravanabelagola

Shravana Belgola is a city located in the Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is 158 km from Bangalore. The statue of Gommateshvara Bahubali at Śravaṇa Beḷgoḷa is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Jainism, one that reached a peak in architectural and sculptural...

built in c. 983 CE by the ganga minister "Chavundaraya". The statue is carved out of a single monolith rock and measures 57 feet high. This is the tallest monolith statue in the world and is so perfect that fingers of the hand is cut up slightly as a mark of induced imperfection (Drushti Nevarane in Kannada). The statue is naked and shows the beauty of the human in that form. The statue is first of its kind in karnataka and comparable statues were not produced thereafter.

Chalukyas of Badami

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.500 - CE.757	Chalukyas of Badami	Mangalesha / Pulakeshi_2	Parts of Karnataka, Maharastra, Gujarath, Orrisa, Andhra

The Chalukya empire was established by Pulakeshi
.
His son Kirtivarma consolidated and strengthened the empire. Mangalesha who was a powerful ruler extended the empire. The name "Chalukya" has no definite meaning. According to legend the brave man who was born out of god Brahma

Brahma

Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...

's Cheluka (a type of vessel) was named Chalukya. They were patrons of deity Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

. The most famous ruler was Pulakeshi 2nd
Pulakesi II
Pulakesin II is the most famous ruler of the Chalukya dynasty. In his reign the Chalukyas of Badami saw their kingdom extend over most of the Deccan.-Early life and accession:...

(c. 610 CE - c. 642 CE). He was having the title of "Satyasherya Parameshwara" and "Dakshina Patheshwarya" because he defeated most of southern and northern rulers including Harshavardhana of Kanouj. During his rule the empire extended up to the south of Karnataka and included the whole of western India (i.e. Gujarat, Maharashtra). Later victories also brought the eastern portions (Orissa, Andhra) into his rule. Chinese traveller Huen-Tsang

visited his court and called the empire "Maholocha" (Maharastra). His description included Pulikeshi 2nd's personal details and military techniques that was employed. An artistic picture in Ajanta

Ajanta

The Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India are 29 rock-cut cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE. The caves include paintings and sculptures considered to be masterpieces of both Buddhist religious art as well as frescos which are reminiscent of the Sigiriya...

depicts the arrival of representative of Persian emperor Kusru 2nd to his kingdom. Pulikeshi 2nd was finally defeated by Pallava

Pallava

The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...

ruler Narasimhavirman who occupied Badami

Badami

Badami , formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for rock cut and other structural temples...

and called himself "Vatapikonda", which literally means "The one who won Badami". The end of Pulikeshi 2nd is still a mystery. But the empire could last up to 757 CE.
Their contribution to architecture include cave temples of Badami

Badami

, Aihole

Aihole

Aihole is a temple complex in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It is a very popular tourist spot in north Karnataka. It lies to the east of Pattadakal, along the Malaprabha River, while Badami is to the west of both....

, Pattadakal

Pattadakal

Pattadakal is a village in Karnataka. It lies on the banks of the Malaprabha River in Bagalkot district. It is 22 km from Badami and about 10 km from Aihole...

, Mahakoota

Mahakuta group of temples

The Mahakuta group of temples is located in Mahakuta, a town in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka state, India. It is an important place of worship for Hindus and the location of a well-known Shaiva monastery. The temples are dated to the 6th or 7th century and were constructed by the early kings...

, etc.

Rastrakutha of Malakeada

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.757 - CE.973	Rastrakutha of Malakeada	Krishna 1 / Govinda 3 / Nrupatunga 1	Parts of Karnataka, Andra, Tamil Nadu, Madhyapradash, Maharastra

The name Rastrakutha

is a formal title like Patela, Gowda, Hegade, etc. Dentidurga and his son Krishna overtook the empire from Chalukyas and built a powerful empire on it. During the rule of Govinda,the empire became more powerful all over the south and the north. His son Nrupatunga Amogavarsha got immortalised as "Kavichakravarthi" due to the work of Kavirajamarga

Kavirajamarga

Kavirajamarga is the earliest available writing on rhetoric, poetics and grammar in the Kannada language. It was written by the famous Rashtrakuta King "Nripatunga" Amoghavarsha I and some say that it is based partly on an earlier Sanskrit writing, Kavyadarsa...

. In c. 914 CE Arab traveller Hassan-al-masood visited the empire. The 10th century was a golden period for the literature of Kannada. The famous poet "Pampa" was in the court of Arikesari who was a feudatory to Rastrakutas. Adikavi Pampa

Adikavi Pampa

Pampa , called by the honorific Ādikavi is one of the greatest Kannada poets of all time.He is very famous even today for his philosophical beliefs...

popularised the "Champu

Champu

Champu or Champu-Kavya is a genre in Sanskrit literature. It consists of a mixture of prose and poetry passages , with verses interspersed among prose sections...

" style through the epic "Vikramarjuna Vijaya

Vikramarjuna Vijaya

Vikramarjuna Vijaya , also known as Pampa Bharatha is a classic work of the 10th century Jain poet Pampa . It is an Kannada version of the great epic, the Mahabharata of Vyasa. Pampa choose the Arjuna, the central figure of the Pandava Clan, as the hero of his epic...

". Other famous poets who lived in this period are Ponna

Sri Ponna

Sri Ponna was a Kannada poet in the court of Rashtrakuta Dynasty king Krishna III . The emperor honoured Ponna with the title "emperor among poets" for his domination of the Kannada literary circles of the time, and the title "imperial poet of two languages" for his command over Sanskrit as well...

, Ranna

Ranna

Ranna was one of the earliest poets of Kannada language.Ranna, Adikavi Pampa and Sri Ponna together are called "three gems of Kannada literature".-Early days:Ranna was born on 949 C.E. in Muduvolalu Bagalkot district, Karnataka....

, etc. among others. During c. 973 CE Taila 2nd of Chalukya defeated the Rastrakutas after prolonged battle taking advantage of Karka 2nd's (the last ruler of Rastrakutas) weakness. The world famous Kailash Temple at Ellora is an excellent example for their architecture.

Chalukyas of Kalyana

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.973 - CE.1198	Chalukyas of Kalyana	Vikramadithya 6	Parts of Karnataka, Andra, Tamil Nadu, Madhyapradash, Maharastra

After the Rastrakutha came the Chalukya who ruled from Kalyana. The most famous among them was Vikramadithya 6th. He was responsible for the setting of new era call "Vikrama shaka"
.
An important event that took place during this period(c. 1150 CE) is the social and religious movement of Basaveshwara who was in the court of Bijjala. The literature that flourished under Basaveshwara, Allamaprabhu

Allama Prabhu

Allama Prabhu is a mystic-saint and Vachana poet of the Kannada language in the 12th century. Prabhu is the patron saint , the undisputed spiritual authority, and an integral part of the Lingayata movement that decisively shaped society in medieval Karnataka and...

, Channabasavanna

Channabasavanna

Channabasavanna was Basava's nephew and one of the foremost Shivasharanas of the 12th century. He, along with Basava, Allama Prabhu and Akka Mahadevi, played a pivotal role in the propagation of the Veerashaiva faith...

and Akkamahadevi

Akka Mahadevi

Akka Mahadevi was a prominent figure of the Veerashaiva Bhakti movement of the 12th century Karnataka. Her Vachanas in Kannada, a form of didactic poetry are considered her greatest contribution to Kannada Bhakti literature. In all she wrote about 430 Vachanas which is relatively fewer than that...

during this period gave rise to "Vachanna

Vachana sahitya

Vachana sahitya is a form of writing in Kannada that evolved in the 12th Century C.E. as a part of the Veerashaiva 'movement'. Vachanas literally means " said"...

" in Nadugannada (middle Kannada) which was simple to understand, elegent and effective in reaching the people. The Vachanna form of literature was instrumental in removing the Sanskrit influence to a large extent and thus popularised Kannada as an effective language for literature. The Kashmiri poet Bilhana

Bilhana

Bilhana Kavi was an 11th-century Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the Caurapâñcâśikâ.According to legend, the Brahman Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, and had a secretive love affair. They were discovered, and Bilhana was thrown...

came to his court and lived there. The Kalachurya took over their empire and ruled for about 20 years but were ineffective to see the integrity of the empire. Thus the empire got broke up which was shared by Sevunas in the north and Hoysalas in the south.

Sevunas of Devagiri

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1198 - CE.1312	Sevunas of Devagiri	Singana 2	Parts of Karnataka, Andra, Maharastra

The Sevunas were from Nasik and came to power during c. 835 CE. They ruled parts of Deccan to its north until the beginning of 12th century and with Devagiri as the capital. Singana 2 was the main ruler and during his rule most of the empire experienced stability which could not be maintained thereafter. They were constantly at fight with Hoysalas and other rulers and fell to Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

sultan Allah-ud-din Khilji and his general Mallikaffar. They ruled for almost five centuries.

Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1000 - CE.1346	Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra	Vishnuvardhana / Ballala 2	Parts of south and coastal Karnataka, Andra, Tamil Nadu

The hoysalas were famous for their architecture. The empire was founded by the legendary person "Sala" who was famous for killing a tiger and rescuing his master, and thus the empire is named Hoysala ( means - to shoot it or hit it ). According to the legend when Sala along with his master was at study in a temple a tiger attacked his master. His master gave him a Khatari (knife) and said Hoy, Sala ( Hi Sala Hit ). Sala fought with the tiger and killed it. This legend is depicted in their royal emblem and is also found in many inscriptions and in front of Belur

Belur

Belur may refer to any of the following:* Belur, Karnataka, town in Karnataka, India* Belur, West Bengal, India, a locality on the west bank of the Hooghly River* Belur Math, the religious abbey located in Belur, West Bengal, India...

temple. They were patrons of Jain religion. During c.8th century Shankaracharya

Shankaracharya

Shankaracharya, is a commonly used title of heads of mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. The title derives from Adi Shankara, a 9th century CE reformer of Hinduism. He is honored as Jagadguru, a title that was used earlier only to Lord Krishna...

established one of their centers at Shringeri

Shringeri

Sringeri , also written as Sringeri, Śŗngeri and Śŗngagiri is a hill town and taluk headquarters located in Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka, is the site of the first maţha established by Adi Shankaracharya, Hindu theologian and exponent of the Advaita Vedanta philosophy, in...

in Chikamagalur and gave impetus to the Vidheka (Hindu) religion. After Basaveshwara, the worship of Shiva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

got boost in north karnataka. Ramanujacharya established a hindu center at Maelukoote near Mysore which is still functioning. The famous king "Bittydeva" was influenced by Ramanujacharya and got converted to Hindu and changed his name to "Vishnuvardhana" .
The world-famous temples at Belur

Belur

, Halebid and Somnathpura are examples of their architecture. The famous expert in epigraphy Mr.Furgusen

described the architecture of "Hoysaleshwara" temple as exceeding the art of any Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

. Mr.parsee Brown has said that the temples of Halebid is the pinnacle of architecture in those days.

Vijayanagara

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1336 - CE.1565	Vijayanagara	Devaraya 2 / Krishnadevaraya	Most of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andra

The Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara is in Bellary District, northern Karnataka. It is the name of the now-ruined capital city "which was regarded as the second Rome" that surrounds modern-day Hampi, of the historic Vijayanagara empire which extended over the southern part of India....

empire was founded by the duo Harihara and Bukka. The empire was established during tough times and hence only able rulers were allowed to oversee the empire and in that time Harihara who was an administrator took the empire from Hoysala Ballala in c. 1336 CE, and due to his work the empire got firmly established in c. 1346 CE
and blocked the Muslim invasion in the south of India and ruled for almost 200 years. Italian, Portugese, Persion visitors (Parsee, Kantae, Abdul Razak)

described the Vijayanagar capital Hampi

Hampi

as equivalent to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

in those days. Krishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya
Śrī Kriṣhṇa Devarāya , , , and also known as Krishna Devarayulu in some inscriptions was the famed Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529 CE.He is the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians...

was the most famous ruler of the empire and was from Tuluva dynasty. The Vijayanagar empire got defeated in the battle of Talikota in c. 1565 CE by the combined army of five sultans of deccan. The stone chariot is an excellent example of Vijayanagar architecture.

Bahumani

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1347 - CE.1527	Bahumani Sultanate	Muhammadshah 1 / 2	Deccan area comprising northern karnataka and andhra

The Bahumani empire was established due to the conquest of the Muslim rulers in south India. The Muslim raids were so intense that in almost two attacks four empires of the south were destroyed (Devagiri in c. 1318 CE, Varangal of Andra in c. 1323 CE, Pandya of Tamil Nadu in c. 1330 CE, and partially Hoysala). But Hoysala Ballala

Veera Ballala

Veera Ballala is the name of multiple South Indian kings of the Hoysala Empire:* Veera Ballala I 1102 - 1108 CE* Veera Ballala II 1173-1220 CE* Veera Ballala III 1291-1343 CE...

shifted his capital to Tiruvannamallai and continued his fight. Amir-hassan from Persia called himself as Bahaman and established the Bahumani kingdom. Muhammad shah was an able ruler and strengthened the empire. Muhammad Gawan was the most famous minister under the Bahumans.They ruled from Bidar. Russian traveller Nikiten

visited the empire in c. 1470 CE and described Bidar as a beautiful city.

Sultans of Bijapur

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1490 - CE.1686	Sultans of Bijapur	Yusaf Addil Khan / Ibrahim Addil Shah 2	Bijapur and adjoining areas

Around c. 1490 CE the empire broke into five parts in which Bidar

Bidar

Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....

and Bijapur belongs to Karnataka. Muhammed-Ibrahim-adil-shah has built the famous Gol Gumbaz
Gol Gumbaz
Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah, Sultan of Bijapur. The tomb, located in Bijapur, Karnataka in southern India, was completed in 1656 by the architect Yaqut of Dabul...

in Bijapur. Muslim architecture flourished under their reign but many remained uncompleted. Farista who was in the court of Ibrahim 2nd compiled an encyclopedia called "Najumal-Ullum" (star of scientists) which contained many art of southern style. The Mughals finally conquered their empire.

Nayakas of Kelaedi

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1500 - CE.1763	Nayakas of Kelaedi	Shivappa Nayaka / Rani Channama	Parts of Coastal Karnataka

The Nayakas

Keladi Nayaka

Keladi Nayaka Kingdom were an important ruling dynasty of post-medieval Karnataka, India. They initially started to rule as a feudatory of the Vijayanagar Empire...

of Kelaedi were ruling the coastal regions during the Vijayanagar reign. They successfully repelled the Portugese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

and Bijapur sultans. They carried forward the principles and traditions of hindu

Hindu

religion after the demise of vijayanagar empire. During its peak the kingdom encompassed regions from Goa

Goa

to Kannor and included Shimoga and Hassan regions. The most famous among them was "Shivappa Nayaka" who had excellent military and administrative skills. He was famous for his taxation and agricultural systems. His land taxation system is famous as "Shivappanayakana Shisthu" (Discipline of Shivappanayaka). Another important among them was "Rani Channama". She fought with the mughals to rescue Shivajis son Rajarama. She got immortalised in the Kannada traditional (janapada) songs. Hyderali occupied their kingdom to Mysore.

Wodeyars of Mysore

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1399 - CE.1761	Wodeyars of Mysore	RajaWodeyar / Ranadhira Kantirava / Chikadevaraja	Old Mysore region

The Yeduraya and Krishnadeva of Yadava clan who came from Dwaraka

Dwarka

Dwarka also spelled Dvarka, Dwaraka, and Dvaraka, is a city and a municipality of Jamnagar district in the Gujarat state in India. Dwarka , also known as Dwarawati in Sanskrit literature is rated as one of the seven most ancient cities in the country...

to Mysore were approached for help to contain Marappanayaka. They defeated and killed him. His heir was married to Yeduraya and he came to crown in c.1399 CE. Mysore was previously called "MahishaMandalla" which means region of demon Mahisha. The demon was killed by goddess in this region and hence got the name Mysore. The small kingdom was made into a mighty empire by RajaWodeyar. They shifted their capital from Mysore to Srirangapattana

Srirangapatna

Srirangapatna is a town in Mandya district of the Indian state of Karnataka...

. Chikadevaraja Wodeyar is the most famous ruler among them and got the title "Karnataka chakravarthy" by defeating Nayakas(ikeery), Sultans(Mudurai) and Shivaji. By 1686 CE the kingdom included almost all of south India. In 1687 CE they bought the city of Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

from Mughal by paying three lakh Rupees. By 1761 CE Hyderali who was a normal soldier took over their empire.

Sultanate of Srirangapatana

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1761 - CE.1799	Sultanate of Srirangapatana	HyderAli / Tippu Sultan	Parts of Karnataka, Andra

Hyderali who overtook the Mysore from the Wodeyars ruled from Srirangapatana. Though he was not educated, he was good at military tactics. Although he took the empire he did not call himself the emperor but called him the primeminister of the empire. He continued some traditions of the hindu Wodeyers. Tipu sultanwho became the ruler after Hyderali was also very able at military tactics. He defeated and repelled the British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

several times. But due to lack of administrative skills he was defeated by a confideration of British, Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

and Hyderabad Nijamas. He died on battle field in 1799 CE.

Mysore Wodeyars

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1800 - CE.1831	Mysore Wodeyars	Krishna Raja Wodeyar 3	Old Mysore area

After the defeat of Tipu, according to treaty in 1800 CE the British divided the state in which Bellary

Bellary

Bellary is a historic city in Bellary District in Karnataka state, India.-Origins of the city's name:There are several legends about how Bellary got its name....

, Kadapa

Kadapa

Kadapa , formerly Cuddapah, is a city in the south-central part of Andhra Pradesh, India . The city's name originated from the Telugu word "Gadapa" meaning threshold or gate...

, Kurnool

Kurnool

Kurnool is located at . It has an average elevation of 273 metres .Kurnool lies on the banks of the Tungabhadra River. The Handry and Neeva rivers also flow through the city. The K.C...

areas went to Nijamas; Marathas got the northern parts; the coastal parts were retained by the British, but they divided it among Bombay and Madras presidencies. The then governor-general of British India Markvis of Wellesley

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley

Richard Colley Wesley, later Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, KG, PC, PC , styled Viscount Wellesley from birth until 1781, was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator....

reinstated the Wodeyar in Mysore and administration was given to Dewan Purnaiya because the throne prince was still young. Purnaiya was an able administrator, and under his guidance the empire functioned like any modern government. The other ministers in line were Sir Sheshadri Aiyar

K. Seshadri Iyer

Sir Kumarapuram Seshadri Iyer KCIE , b. June 1, 1845 - d.September 13, 1901), or Sheshadri Aiyar was an advocate who served as the Dewan of Mysore from 1883 to 1901...

, Dr. M. Visveswaraya and Sir Mirja Ismail

Mirza Ismail

Amin-ul-Mulq Sir Mirza Muhammad Ismail, KCIE, Kt, OBE ; was a Diwan of the Kingdom of Mysore, Jaipur and Hyderabad....

. Around 1824 CE "Rani Channamma

Kittur Chennamma

Kitturu Rani Chennamma was the queen of the princely state of Kittur in Karnataka. In 1824, 33 years before the 1857 war of independence, she led an armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse. The resistance ended in her martyrdom and she is remembered today as one...

" and his general "Sangoli Rayanna

Sangolli Rayanna

Sangolli Rayanna was a prominent freedom fighter from Karnataka, India. He fought the British till his death. He was the army chief of the Kingdom of Kittur ruled at the time by Rani Chennamma. Rayanna was born in the small village of Sangolli, he belonged to the Kuruba / Dhangar caste and hence...

" of Kittur

Kittur

Kitturu , also called Kittur is a village in Belgaum District of Karnataka state. It is part of the Bailahongal taluk in Belgaum district. It is a place of historical significance because of the resistance of Rani Chennamma of Kitturu to the British Raj.-History:On the outskirts of the town lies...

started to fight against British and declared independence. Due to this, in 1831 CE the British took over the empire.

British takeover

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1831 - CE.1881	British Takeover.	Commissioners of British	Old Mysore and other areas

In 1831 CE the British overtook the empire and appointed the commissioners, who were given the power to rule on behalf of the British empire. Among them "Sir Lord Cubbon

Mark Cubbon

Lieutenant-General Sir Mark Cubbon KCB was a British army officer with the East India Company who became the British Commissioner of Mysore state in 1834. He retained this office until 1860. He moved the capital from Mysore to Bangalore, helped reform the finances of Mysore, and created a...

" was the most important. They systematically changed the way the empire functioned and brought in major changes but they continued some of the older traditions. During this period the state got divided between Bombay and Madras provinces, Hyderabad Nijamas and Mysore.

Mysore Wodeyars

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1881 - CE.1950	Mysore Wodeyars	Krishna Raja Wodeyar 4/Jayachamaraja Wodeyar	old Mysore area

After a period of British Commissioners rule the Mysore was given back to the Wodeyars under Jayachamaraja Wodeyar. During this period the urge to independence gained momentum with the result that many leaders were imprisoned. The struggle finally led to the grant of independence to India by the British. The rule of wodeyars continued until the Indian independence and finally they merged the mysore with the Indian union which got incorporated into India as a state.

Karnataka State

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
CE.1956	Karnataka State	Government	Whole of Karnataka

After the Indian independence

Independence Day (India)

The Independence Day of India is celebrated on the fifteenth of August to commemorate its independence from British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation in 1947. The day is a national holiday in India. All over the country, flag-hoisting ceremonies are conducted by the local administration in...

and partition

Partition of India

The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...

of the country the states were reorganised

States Reorganisation Act

The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India's states and territories. The act reorganised the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B,...

based on the linguistic and other criteria and thus the divided areas of Kannada speaking population came together to form the present day Karnataka under the name of Mysore. On 1973 November 1, the name Mysore was changed to Karnataka. The state choose the city of Bangalore as its capital and gave Kannada the status of administrative language. The Vidhana Soudha build by Kengal Hanumanthya became the state parliament house. The Attara Kachery was made the state high court.

Bangalore City

In around c.1537 CE an important event occurred that of establishment of Bangalore

Bangalore

city by Kempegowda who was a chieften of Yalahanka kingdom. According to popular belief, when Kempegowda went to hunting he saw a mola (rabbit) chasing a naayi (dog). He thought this as a good sign and in that place he built a fort which led to the foundation of the city of Bangalore. Pleased by this, the Vijayanagar

Vijayanagara Empire

The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...

emperor Achutaraya awarded the place around the fort to Kempegowda. Kempegowda used the money of the empire to improve the city and to make the foreign traders and local workers to settle down there. He built viewing (watching) towers and his emblems in all the four directions of the city at places like Alasuru, Hebbala, Lalbag, and Kempambudi lake. Even today they can be seen and it remains as his memories. These towers are used as emblems of bangalore city corporation. Although the extent of the towers was large in those days, today the city has outgrown them.

Summary

The table shows the summary

Time Period / Era	Empire / Dynasty	Main Rulers	Empire Extent
Starting period	Shatavahana	Semukha, Gouthamiputhra	Deccan comprising present Andhra, Karnataka, Maharastra
CE.325 - CE.540	Banavasi Kadamba	Mayura Sharma, Kakusta Varma	Central, Western, Northwestern Karnataka
CE.325 - CE.999	Gangas of Talakad	Avanitha, Durvinitha, Ratchamalla	South Karnataka, parts of Andhra and Tamil Nadu
CE.500 - CE.757	Chalukyas of Badami	Mangalesha, Pulakeshi 2	Parts of Karnataka, Maharastra, Gujarath, Orrisa, Andhra
CE.757 - CE.973	Rastrakutha of Malakeada	Krishna 1, Govinda 3, Nrupatunga 1	Parts of Karnataka, Andra, Tamil Nadu, Madhyapradash, Maharastra
CE.973 - CE.1198	Chalukyas of Kalyana	Vikramadithya 6	Parts of Karnataka, Andra, Tamil Nadu, Madhyapradash, Maharastra
CE.1198 - CE.1312	Sevunas of Devagiri	Singana 2	Parts of Karnataka, Andra, Maharastra
CE.1000 - CE.1346	Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra	Vishnuvardhana, Ballala 2	Parts of south and coastal Karnataka, Andra, Tamil Nadu
CE.1336 - CE.1565	Vijayanagara	Devaraya 2, Krishnadevaraya	Most of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andra
CE.1347 - CE.1527	Bahumani	Muhammadshah 1 / 2	Deccan area
CE.1490 - CE.1686	Sultans of Bijapur	Yusaf Addil Khan, Ibrahim Addil Shah 2	Bijapur and adjoining areas
CE.1500 - CE.1763	Nayakas of Kelaedi	Shivappa Nayaka, Rani Channama	Parts of Coastal Karnataka
CE.1399 - CE.1761	Wodeyars of Mysore	RajaWodeyar, Ranadhira Kantirava, Chikadevaraja	Old Mysore region
CE.1761 - CE.1799	Sultanate of Srirangapatana	HyderAli, Tippu Sultan	Parts of Karnataka, Andra
CE.1800 - CE.1831	Mysore Wodeyars	Krishna Raja Wodeyar 3	Old Mysore area
CE.1831 - CE.1881	British Takeover.	Commissioners of British	Old Mysore and other areas
CE.1881 - CE.1950	Mysore Wodeyars	Krishna Raja Wodeyar 4, Jayachamaraja Wodeyar	old Mysore area
CE.1956	Karnataka State	Government	Whole of Karnataka

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