The region of modern day Bangalore was part of several successive South Indian kingdoms. After centuries of the rule of the Western Gangas, the region was captured by the Cholas in 1024. In 1116 the Hoysala Empire overthrew the Cholas and extended its rule over the region. Modern Bangalore had its beginning in 1537 by a vassal of the Vijayanagara Empire, Kempé Gowda I, who built a mud-brick fort at the site that would become the central part of modern Bangalore. Kempé Gowda referred to the new town as his "gandubhumi" or "Land of Heroes".
Bangalore city map, circa 1924 from "Murray's 1924 Handbook".
Within the fort, the town was divided into smaller divisions—each called a "pete". The town had two main streets—Chikkapeté Street, which ran east-west, and Doddapeté Street, which ran north-south. Their intersection formed the Doddapeté Square—the heart of Bangalore. Kempé Gowda's successor, Kempé Gowda II, built four towers that marked Bangalore's boundary.During the Vijayanagara rule, many Saints and Poets referred to Bangalore as "Devarayanagara" and "Kalyanapura" or "Kalyanapuri" ("Auspicious City").
Bangalore Palace, built in 1887, was home to the rulers of Mysore
After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, Bangalore's rule changed hands several times. Kempé Gowda declared independence, then in 1638, a large Adil Shahi Bijapur army led by Ranadulla Khan and accompanied by Shahji Bhonslé defeated Kempé Gowda III, and Bangalore was given to Shahji as a jagir (feudal estate). In 1687, the Mughal general Kasim Khan, under orders from Aurangzeb, defeated Ekoji I, son of Shahji, and leased Bangalore to Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar (1673–1704), the ruler of Mysore kingdom. After the death of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II in 1759, Hyder Ali, Commander-in-Chief of the Mysore Army, proclaimed himself the de facto ruler of Mysore. The kingdom later passed to Hyder Ali's son Tipu Sultan.
Bangalore fort was captured by the British armies under Lord Cornwallis on 21 March 1791 during the Third Anglo-Mysore War and formed a centre for British resistance against Tipu Sultan. Following Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799), the British returned administrative control of the Bangalore "pete" to the Maharaja of Mysore, choosing only to retain the Cantonment under their jurisdiction. The 'Residency' of Mysore State was first established in Mysore city in 1799 and later shifted to Bangalore in the year 1804. It was abolished in the year 1843 only to be revived in 1881 at Bangalore and to be closed down permanently in 1947, with Indian independence.
Tipu Sultan's Palace, Bangalore
In the 19th century, Bangalore essentially became a twin city, with the "pete", whose residents were predominantly Kannadigas, and the "cantonment" created by the British, whose residents were predominantly Tamils. Bangalore was hit by a plague epidemic in 1898 that dramatically reduced its population. New extensions in Malleswaram and Basavanagudi were developed in the north and south of the pete. Telephone lines were laid to help co-ordinate anti-plague operations, and a health officer was appointed to the city in 1898. In 1906, Bangalore became one of the first cities in India to have electricity from hydel power, powered by the hydroelectric plant situated in Shivanasamudra. Bangalore's reputation as the Garden City of India began in 1927 with the Silver Jubilee celebrations of the rule of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. Several projects such as the construction of parks, public buildings and hospitals were instituted to improve the city. After Indian independence in August 1947, Bangalore remained in the new Mysore State of which the Maharaja of Mysore was the Rajapramukh (appointed governor).
