Geography and History of Andhra Pradesh

This is one of the south Indian states and is positioned in the coastal area towards the south eastern part of the country. Because of its location in the merging area of the Deccan plateau and the coastal plains, the state has got varied physical features. Being ruled by some of the famous dynasties in the historical times, this south Indian state is said to have a rich cultural heritage. Historically known as the "Rice Bowl of India", this state has got a number of places of visit that are of historical importance.

Geography of Andhra Pradesh

Geographically, the state is located in between the longitudes of 77° E and 84° 40' E and the latitudes of 12° 41' N and 22° N. Spread over an area of 2, 75, 045 sq. km., this is the 4th biggest state in the Indian sub-continent. This state of south India shares its borders with the state of Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Orissa towards its north, Karnataka towards its west and Tamil Nadu towards its south. The eastern side of the state is bordered by the huge water body of the Bay of Bengal though. Among the other states, which are situated on the country's coastal area, Andhra Pradesh has got a coastline of around 972 km. that makes it possess the 2nd longest coastline in the nation.

The state includes the eastern part of Deccan plateau as well as a considerable part of the Eastern Ghats. The entire state is divided into the following 3 distinct regions:

• Telangana Region
• Rayalaseema Region
• Coastal Andhra Region

The northern side of the Deccan plateau is marked as the Telangana region, while the southern side is known as the Rayalaseema region. River Krishna separates these two regions from each other. The other rivers flowing through the state are Godavari and Penner. The coastal area of the state is mostly formed by the deltas of these rivers of Andhra Pradesh.

Depending on their geographical location, the climate of the respective regions is featured with considerable variations. The summer season in this state, generally, stretches from the month of March to June. The coastal areas have got comparatively high temperature than the other parts of the state. The average temperature ranges from 20° C to 41° C. The summer is followed by the monsoon season, which starts during July and continues till September, when the heavy rainfall is received by the state from the south west monsoon. The north east monsoon contributes to around one third of the annual rainfall. This monsoon, usually, occurs during the months of October and November. Featured by tropical rains, this season plays a vital role in the identification of the nature of the state's climatic conditions. The period in between November and February is said to be the winter season in Andhra Pradesh. The winter temperature is not too cold and ranges in between 12° C to 30° C.

History of Andhra Pradesh

Starting from the 300 B. C. E., the entire history of this state can be divided into 3 periods, which are mentioned below:

• Ancient Period
• Medieval Period
• Modern Period

The first records about the history of the state are found in the Anguttara Nikaya, which is a Buddhist text. As per that text, the kingdoms of Andhras were established on the river bank of Godavari. Mention about the districts of Adilabad and Nizamabad of the Telangana region are found in the Mahajanapada (700 B. C. E. - 300 B. C. E.). In the 13th rock edict, Ashoka referred the Andhras as his subordinates. Apart from that, mention about this state was even done in the Aitareya Brahmana as Dakshina Padh that dates back to around 800 B. C. Dakshina Padh used to be the habitat of many sects like Andhras, Sabaras, Pulindas etc. The state emerged to political power in the time of the Maurya rule. During his visit to India in between 322 B. C. and 297 B. C. in the Chandragupta Maurya's court, Megasthenes mentioned that Andhra had 30 towns as well as an army that comprised of 1, 000 elephants, 2, 000 cavalry and 1, 00, 000 infantry. By the 1st Century A. D., the major portion of the Deccan Plateau was taken over by the flourishing empire of the Satvahanas. Post that, the famous Chalukyas ruled the area in between the period of the 7th Century and the 10th Century. This period was followed by the reign of many other dynasties such as the Cholas, the Kakatiyas as well as the Vijayanagar Empire. The strong foothold of the dynasty of Qutab Shahis was established in the 16th Century in and around the present capital city of Hyderabad. Even during the time of French rule and British rule, the Nizams used to rule the Hyderabad city.

The date of 1st October, 1953 is marked as the date when Andhra Pradesh was made a separate state. During that time, the state had just 11 districts of the earlier state of Madras. Kurnool was made the then capital of Andhra Pradesh. As per the States Reorganization Act, Hyderabad, the princely state of the Nizam's was amalgamated to this south Indian state on 1st November, 1956 and thus, Andhra Pradesh gained its final statehood. However, since the later part of 1960, the state has been witnessing several movements for the disintegration of this state of the Indian Republic into two parts of Andhra and Telengana. History in detail >>

Last Updated on 20 June 2013