HISTORY
17TH CENTURY TO PRESENT
The Kingdom of Pratipalapura of 500 BCE (Bhattiprolu in Guntur district), appears to be the earliest known kingdom in south India. The earliest recorded reference of Guntur comes from the Idern plates of Ammaraja I (922-929 CE), the Vengi Chalukyan king. Guntur also appears in two other inscriptions dated 1147 CE and 1158 CE. The original Sanskrit (ancient Vedic culture/tradition) name for Guntur was Garthapuri (a place surrounded by water ponds ('garta'/'gunta').
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| OLD TEMPLE AT GARTHAPURI |
The 'Agasthyeswara Sivalayam' in the old city is an ancient temple for Lord Siva. It has inscriptions on two stones in 'Naga Lipi' (an ancient script) dating back to about 1100 CE. It is considered one of the Hindu holy sites in the region. The backyard of the temple hosts a very historic tree . It is said that Agastya built the temple in the last Treta-Yuga around the Swayambhu Lingam and hence it has this name. The 'Nagals' were said to have ruled the region at that time. The region has been historically known for Buddhism and the first Kalachakra ceremony performed by Buddha himself.
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| SIVALAYAM |
The place of Sitanagaram and the Guthikonda Caves can be traced (through Vedic Puranams) back to the Treta-Yugam and Dwapara-Yugam (Traditional time scaleRef).
TIMELINE OF GUNTUR
EPIC EVENTS
Ø 2.0 To 0.8 Mill Years (Last Treta Yugam)
Ramayanam took place. Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana visited this part of India, now called Sitanagaram in the current Guntur District.
Ø 0.8 Mill years To 3102BC (Last Dwapara Yugam)
Mahabharatam took place in this yuga. During their Agnatha Vasam Pandavas visited the area near Guthikonda and Undavalli Caves of Guntur Region.
TILL 1600 AD
Ø 500 BCE - The Kingdom of Prati Palaputra (currently Bhattiprolu), appears to be the earliest known kingdom in Guntur District.
Ø 230BCE - Inscriptional evidence shows that king Kubera was ruling over Bhattiprolu, followed by the Sala Kings
Ø 200 BCE - The philosopher Acharya Nagarjuna lived in this area.
Ø Till & 900AD - Guntur region was successively ruled by dynasties such as the Satavahanas, Andhra-Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas,Vishnukundina, Kota Vamsa, Chalukyas.
Ø 900 AD - Ammaraja I (922-929), the Vengi Chalukyan King had ruled the region. It was referred as Garthapuri.
Ø 1180 AD - "Andhra Kurukshetra" took place, famous battle of Pallava Nadu which is enshrined in legend and literature.
Ø 1300 AD - Guntur was mentioned as the native place of his forefathers by the famous poet Sri Thikkana Somayaji who co-authored the TeluguMahabharatham.
Ø 1509 AD - The famous Tenali Ramalinga joined the club of Astadiggajas (Elite Team for Administration, Literature, Poetry) in the Vijayanagar empire.
17TH CENTURY TO PRESENT
Ø 1687 - Guntur became part of the Mughal empire when the emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Qutb Shahi sultanate of Golconda.
Ø 1750 - French occupied and took control of the region.
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| BATTLE OF GUNTUR (1780) |
Ø 1780 - Battle of Guntur (involved areas ranging from Mysore to Guntur) took place, where rockets were first used by Indian troops against the British Army.
Ø 1788 - Guntur was brought under control of the British East India Company, and became a district of Madras Presidency.
Ø 1868 - Helium was discovered in Guntur City by French astronomer Pierre Janssen during the August 18th solar eclipse.
Ø 1885 - A higher education institution was established at Guntur, called Andhra-Christian College (AC College).
Ø 1899 - On 6 April, Gandhiji held a public meeting at Guntur City on the India's independence movement, with local freedom fighers such as Pattabhi Sitaramayya and Konda Venkatappayya. They marched up to Bapatla.
Ø 1912 - A family from Guntur who are the only Indian Family,travelled in the Titanic on the way to United States and survived from the sinking accident.
Ø 1922 - Civil disobedience movement (part of regaining India's independence) took place in Guntur City organised by Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu with 30,000 volunteers.
Ø 1936 - India's first Central Tobacco Research Institute started in Guntur.
Ø 1946 - The city's first Medical College campus (Guntur Medical College) was established.
Ø 1947 - India regained independence from Britain.
Ø 1952 - Guntur residents elected their first MP, Sistla Narasimharao.
Ø 1953 - Guntur region played a major role in the formation of new Andhra Pradesh; T.Prakasam became the Head of the State.
Ø 1954 - The State High Court was established in Guntur on 5 July 1954.
Ø 1964 - Loyola Public School, one of the largest schools in Andhra Pradesh, was established in Nallapadu.
Ø 1967 - Andhra University Guntur Campus was established in Nallapadu.
Ø 1976 - Acharya Nagarjuna University was created, with the main campus on the east side of the city.
Ø 1985 - The city's first Engineering/Technology college campus (RVR & JC College of Engineering) opened.
Ø 1992 - Conjoined twins were successfully separated at Guntur General Hospital.
Ø 1995 - Guntur municipality became Municipal corporation of Guntur in August.
Ø 2003 - Guntur division became the region's Railway Divisional headquarters under Indian Railways.
Ø 2004 - To ease the traffic at Guntur station, New Guntur transit point started renaming old Reddipalem station as an alternate route and a by-pass to northern India.
Ø 2006 - The 30th Kalachakram International Festival took place at Amaravathi near Guntur.
Ø 2006 - On 4 October, a rare natural phenomenon occurred in Guntur when the sky over the city's skyline illuminated a pink-orange hue.
Ø 2009 - On 9 February, Vignan University has been established to become the first private university in the region.
Ø 2009 - On 3 September, K.Rosaiah of Guntur region became the CM of AP after the death of Rajasekhar Reddy.
