The history of South India begins with the Sangam age, from 200 BC to 300 AD. It is called so after the sangam literature. There were several rulers and dynasties significant in South Indian history. These included the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Cheras, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas andthe Vijayanagar Empire .

Ancient history

The ancient history of South India is the story of a number of different kingdoms and dynasties which controlled various parts of the region at various times.

Kadambas of Banavasi

Kadambas were an ancient royal dynasty of Karnataka, who ruled from their capital of Banavasi from (345-525AD) later branched into Goa, Hanagal and Chandavar. The dynasty was founded by Mayura Sharma in circa 345 AD. They built some fine temples in Banavasi, Belgaum, Halashi and Goa. Kadambas were the first rulers to use Kannada as the official administrative languageas evidenced by the 450AD Halmidi inscription. With the advent of the Chalukyas, the Kadambas ruled as their feduciaries from 525AD for another five hundred years.

Chalukyas of Badami

One of the most prominent kings of the Chalukyan dynasty was Pulakesi-I. He ruled from Badami, the present day Bijapur, in Karnataka. His son Pulakesi II became the king of the western Chalukyan empire in 610 AD and ruled till 642 AD. Pulakesi II is most remembered for the fiery battle he fought and won against the North Indian Emperor Harshavardhana in 637 AD. He also defeated the Pallava king Mahendra Varman I. This Kannada empire ruled from 543AD - 757AD and an area stretching fromKaveri to Narmada rivers. The Chalukyas created the Chalukyan style of architecture. Great monuments were built inPattadakal, Aihole and Badami in Karnataka state. Thease were the beginingsof what is broadly termed Vesara style of architecture.

Chalukyas of Kalyani

This Empire was spawned by descendants of the Badami Chalukya clan and came to power and ruled from Kalyana, Karnataka from 973AD - 1195AD. They came to power at the decline of the Rashtrakutas. They ruled fom the Kaveri in the South to Gujarath in the north. The empire reached its peak under Vikramaditya VI. The Kalyani Chalukyas promoted the "Gadag" style of architecture, excellent examples of which are present in Gadag, Dharwad and Haveri districts of Karnataka. They patronised great Kannada poets like Ranna.

Cheras

The Cheras are an ancient clan who are mentioned in the edicts of Ashoka in Mysore, Karnataka. It refers to the Cheras as Keralaputras. The Cheras ruled from Alleppy to Calicut, in present day Kerala.

Cholas

King Vijayalaya became a prominent ruler of the Cholan dynasty in 850 A.D. He made Tanjore his capital. After many centuries Cholas raised to power under the King Vijayalaya and started the war against the Pallavas and the Pandyas to reascertain Chola supremacy. His son Aditya-I

Hoysalas

Hoysalas began their rule as subordinates of the Chalukyas of Kalyani and gradually established their own empire in Karnataka. Some of the most magnificent specimens of South Indian temples are those attributed to the Hoysala dynasty of Karnataka. Vesara style reached its peak in their period.Hoysalas period is remembered today as one of the brightest periods in the history of Karnataka. They ruled Karnataka for over three centuries from about 1040 A.D to 1342 AD. The most famous kings among the Hoysalas were Vishnuvardhana, Ballala II and Ballala III. Jainism flourished during the Hoysala period. Ramanuja the founder of Shri Vaishnavism, came to Hoysala kingdom to spread his religion. Hoysalas encouraged both Kannada and Sanskrit literature and earned a great name as builders of temples at Belur, Halebidu, Somanathapura etc., which were built in the Hoysala style.

Vinayaditya Hoysala began ruling the western region of Gangavadi. He formed the Hoysala dynasty, and ruled the kingdom for over fifty years. His grandson Ballala-I reigned from his capital at Belur. Vishnuvardhana Hoysala (1106 - 1152) conquered the Nolamba region earning the title Nolambavadi Gonda.

Kakatiyas

The Kakatiyas rose to prominence in the 11th century. As the Chalukyas declined in power, the Kakatiya clan wielded real power. By the early 12th century, the Kakatiya clan of the western Chalukyas declared independence and began expanding their kingdom. By the end of the century, their kingdom had reached the Bay of Bengal and it stretched between the Godavari and the Krishna rivers. The empire reached its zenith under Ganapati who was its greatest ruler. At its largest, the empire included most of modern day Andhra Pradesh and parts of Orissa, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Karnataka. Ganapati was succeeded by his daughter Rudramamba who was probably the first ever queen who ruled in her own right in South India, if not in all of India. The Kakatiya dynasty lasted three centuries and was probably the longest lived Telugu kingdom in history. "Varangal" was their capital.By the early 14th century, the Kakatiya Empire attracted the attention of the Delhi Sultanate under Allauddin Khilji. It paid tribute to Delhi for a few years, but was eventually conquered by the forces of Muhammad bin Tughluq in 1323.

Pallavas

The Pallavas with their capital at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu were a hereditary Indian dynasty. They reigned around 4th and 9th century AD.

Mahendravarman was a prominent Pallava king who began work on the cave temple of Mahabalipuram. His son Narasimhavarman came to throne in 630 A.D. He defeated his arch enemy king Pulakeshi II in the year 632 AD and burned the Chalukyan capital Vatapi.

Pallavas are known for their rock temples in Mahabalipuram.

Pandyas

The Pandyas were a prominent dynasty in Southern India. Their kingdom, founded in the 6th Century BCE, was spread over the modern districts of Madurai and Tirunelveli. The Pandyas had trade and maritime contact with Egypt, Rome, China and Malaysia.

Rashtrakutas of Manyaketha

Considered by some historians as the largest Indian Empire, this Empire ruled from Manyaketha in Gulbarga, Karnatakafrom 735AD - 982AD and reached its peak under Amoghavarsha I, considered Ashoka of South India. The Rashtrakutas came to powerat the decline of the Badami Chalukyas and were involved in a three way power struggle for control of the Gangetic plains with thePrathiharas of Gujarat and Palas of Bengal. The Rashtrakutas are responsible for building some of the marvellous rock cut templesof Ellora including the fabulous Kailasa temple.

Satavahanas

Variously known as the Andhras, Andhrabhrityas, Satakarnis and Satavahanas, this dynasty ruled large portions of Central and South India spanning modern day Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The Satavahanas started out as feudatories to the Mauryan Empire, and declared independence soon after the death of Ashoka (232 BCE). They were the first native Indian rulers to issue their own coins with portraits of their rulers, starting with king Vashishtiputra Shri Pulumavi (r. 130-158 CE), a habit borrowed from the Indo-Greek kings to the northwest. The Satavahana kings are also remarkable for their contributions to Buddhist art and architecture. The great stupas in the Krishna River Valley were built by them, including the stupa at Amravati in Andhra Pradesh. The Satavahana Empire used Prakrit as their official language. The empire started to decline by the 3rd century CE and was supplanted by a number of dynasties including the Chutus, Ikshvakus and Pallavas in South India and Kadambas in Karnataka.

Medieval history

Early Medieval Period

The early medieval period saw the rise of Muslim power in South India. The defeat of the Kakatiya Empire of Warangal by Tughlaq forces of the Delhi Sultanate in 1323 heralded a new chapter in South Indian history. The grand struggle of the period was between the Bahmani Sultanate based in Gulbarga (and later, Bidar) and the Vijayanagara Empire with its capital in Vijayanagara in modern Hampi. By the early sixteenth century, the Bahmani empire fragmented into five different kingdoms based in Ahmednagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur and Golconda, together called the Deccan Sultanates. The Vijayanagara Empire, founded in the early 14th century with the express intention of stemming the tide of Muslim power overrunning South India, lasted for almost 200 years. It was visited and recorded by the Persian scholar Abdur Razzaq. The capital was at Vijayanagara on the banks of Tungabhadra river. The empire reached the zenith of its power and prosperity during the reign of Tuluva king, Krishnadevaraya. Krishnadevaraya was a great patron of art and literature and an accomplished poet himself in Telugu. The empire maintained active trade relations with the Portuguese. Domingo Paes, the Portuguese trader who lived in the capital in the 1520s wrote of prosperity, splendor and bazaars full of with precious stones. Vijayanagara was conquered by the combined forces of the Deccan sultanates in 1565 in the Battle of Tallikota. The Hampi ruins are scattered today over an area of fourteen square miles.

Telugu literature peaked during this time. The Kannada haridasa movement fostered strongHindu traditions where as during the same period North India was almost entirely under Muslim rule.

Late Medieval Period

With the fall of Vijayanagara and the breakup of the Bahmani sultanate, the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda and Hyderabad became the dominant power in the region. Qutb Shahi dominance of the region continued until the middle of the 17th century, when the Mughals under Aurangzeb made determined inroads into the Deccan. Golconda was conquered in 1687. The rise of Maratha military power under Shivaji and his heirs in the immediate north of what is today considered South India had a profound influence on the political situation of South India, with Maratha control quickly extending as far west as Ganjam and as far south as Thanjavur. Following the death of Aurangzeb, Mughal power withered, and South Indian rulers gained autonomy from Delhi. The Wodeyar kingdom of Mysore, which was originally in tribute to Vijayanagara and gained in strength over the next few decades, subsequently emerging as the dominant power in the southern part of South India. The Asaf Jahis of Hyderabad controlled the territory north and east of Mysore, while the Marathas controlled portions of what is today Karnataka. By the close of the "medieval" period, most of South India was either ruled directly from, or under tribute to Mysore, Hyderabad or Pune.

Modern history

French and British Colonialism

In the middle of the 18th century, the French and the British initiated a protracted struggle for military control of South India. The period was marked by shifting alliances between the two European powers and the local powers, mercenary armies employed by all sides, and general anarchy in South India. Cities and forts changed hands many times, and soldiers were primarily remunerated through loot. The four Anglo-Mysore wars and the three Anglo-Maratha wars saw Mysore, Pune and Hyderabad allying themselves in turns with the British or the French. Eventually, British power in alliance with Hyderabad prevailed and Mysore was absorbed as a princely state within British India. The Nizam of Hyderabad sought to retain his autonomy through diplomacy rather than open war with the British. The Maratha Empire that stretched across large swathes of central and northern India was broken up, with most of it annexed summarily by the British. In the end, it was the Marathas (and before them, Tipu Sultan of Mysore) who would fight the British till the very end.

British South India

South India during the British colonial rule was divided into the Madras Presidency and Hyderabad, Mysore, Thiruvithamcoore (also known as Travancore), Cochin, Vizianagaram and a number of other minor princely states. The Madras Presidency was ruled directly by the British, while the rulers of the princely states enjoyed considerable internal autonomy. British Residents were stationed in the capitals of the important states to supervise and report on the activities of the rulers. British troops were stationed in cantonments near the capitals to curb the potential of rebellion. The rulers of these states accepted the principle of paramountcy of the British Crown. The larger princely states issued their own currency and built their own railroads -- with non-standard gauges which would be incompatible with their neighbors. The cultivation of coffee and tea was introduced to the mountainous regions of South India during the British period, and both remain important cash crops.

After Independence

On August 15, 1947, the former British India achieved independence as the new dominions of India and Pakistan. The rulers of India's princely states acceded to the government of India between 1947 and 1950, and South India was organized into a number of new states. Most of South India was included in Madras state, which included the territory of the former Madras Presidency together with the princely states of Banganapalle, Pudukkottai, and Sandur. The other states in South India were Coorg (the erstwhile Coorg province of British India), Mysore State (the former princely state of Mysore) and Travancore-Cochin, formed from the merger of the princely states of Travancore and Cochin. The former princely state of Hyderabad became Hyderabad State, and erstwhile Bombay Presidency became Bombay State.

In 1953, the Nehru government yielded to intense pressure from the northern Telugu-speaking districts of Madras State, and allowed them to vote to create India's first linguistic state. Andhra State was created on October 1, 1953 from the northern districts of Madras State, with its capital in Kurnool. Increasing demands for reorganisation of the patchwork of India's states resulted in the formation of a national States Reorganisation Commission. Based on the commission's recommendations, Parliament of India enacted the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, which reorganized the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines. Andhra State was renamed Andhra Pradesh, and enlarged by the addition of Telugu-speaking region of Telingana, formerly part of Hyderabad State. Mysore State was enlarged by the addition of Coorg and the Kannada-speaking districts of southwestern Hyderabad State and southern Bombay State. The new Malayalam-speaking state of Kerala was created by the merger of Travancore-Cochin with Malabar and Kasargod districts of Madras State. Madras State, which after 1956 included the Tamil-majority regions of South India, changed its name to Tamil Nadu in 1968, and Mysore State was renamed Karnataka in 1972. Portuguese India, which included Goa, was annexed by India in 1961, and Goa became a state in 1987. The enclaves of French India were ceded to India in the 1950s, and the southern four were organised into the union territory of Pondicherry.