Saintly Successors: After the fall of the Satavahana empire, the Ikshvakus succeeded them in the coastal areas with their capital at Vijayapuri, a valley beside Sriparvata that later came to be called Nagarjunakonda. It was at Sriparvata that Acharya Nagarjuna established a centre of learning and preached the Mahayana form of Buddhism based on the Madhyamika philosophy during the 2nd century AD. Subsequently came the Vishnukundins and during their reign Telugu became the court language and the area was referred to as Telangana or the Telugu land. During the Ikshvaku rule, Prakrit was replaced by Sanskrit. By the sixth century, Telugu as a language adopted a number of Sanskrit words. Then came the Chalukyas, the Pallavas and the Kakatiyas. The Kakatiyas established themselves as rulers of a Telugu-speaking people and set up their capital at Hanumakonda. The Chalukyas and Kakatiyas proved themselves to be excellent architects and their contribution to temple architecture is a feast for the eyes even today.

A New Era: The glorious reign of the Kakatiyas came to an end in the 14th century and for the first time Telugus came under a Muslim regime that brought with it a totally different set of customs, language and religion. The Delhi Sultanate defeated the Kakatiyas in 1310. It was during 1347 AD that Allauddin Hasan, claiming lineage to Bahman Shah of Persia, revolted against the Delhi Sultanate and declared himself ruler of the southern part of the territory, comprising mainly the Deccan and Telangana area. The Bahmanis were a regular source of irritation to the neighbouring Gajapathi and Vijayanagar rulers. Another epochal era was during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire, who joined forces with the Gajapathi rulers of the east coast and consolidated his empire. But after his death in 1529, decay set in on the kingdom with palace feuds. It was somewhere around this time that the Qutb Shahi dynasty came into being when Sultan Quli, the Bahmani governor of Telangana, became independent and extended the new kingdom of Golconda right upto Machilipatnam on the east coast. Given the title of Qutb-ul-Mulk by the Bahmanis, Qutb Shah, a descendant of a royal family of Hamadan in Persia, took over the reins and ruled till 1548.

The Birth of Hyderabad: Sultan Quli was murdered by his son Jamsheed but his youngest son Ibrahim managed to escape and take refuge in the neighbouring Vijayanagar Empire under Rama Raya. Seven years in exile, Ibrahim returned. to Golconda after Jamsheed’s death. By then, Ibrahim had married a Vijayanagar princess Bhageerathi and to them was born the builder of Hyderabad, Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah. The city was named Bhagnagar, after Bhagmati. Subsequently it came to be called Hyderabad, today’s vibrant metropolis that has been transformed into a fitting tribute to the builder of the city. Hyderabad today hosts some of the best buildings, both heritage and modern. Structures put up centuries ago are still preserved as monuments. Parks or gardens have been revived and the number of water bodies in and around the city rejuvenated to re-create the splendour of a thriving modern city that retains its old heritage with a sense of pride and belonging.

Malls and shopping complexes in multi-storeyed structures abound but the old ambience remains. A special charm is very much there. Amidst all this romantic environment, industries have come up. Some of the multinational companies have set up branches here, a number of State and Indian Government units including prestigious research and development as well as defense establishments have made Hyderabad their home. Their staff, drawn from all parts of the country, feel at home in the new environment and culture. Andhra Pradesh is now no more just Andhra or Telugu. Though the culture exists, it is now a global destination with little distinction between the visitor and the resident.