History of Gulbarga ( Kalaburagi ) City

The history of Gulbarga dates to the 6th century. The Rashtrakutas gained control over the area, but the Chalukyas regained their domain within a short period and reigned supreme for over 200 years. The Kalaharis who succeeded them ruled until the 12th century. Around the end of the 12th century, the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamadra destroyed the supremacy of the Chalukyas and Kalachuris of Kalyani. Around the same period, the Kakatiya kings of Warangal came into prominence and the present Gulbarga and Raichur districts formed part of their domain. The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1321 AD and the entire Deccan, including the district of Gulbarga, passed under the control of the Delhi Sultanate.
The revolt of the officers appointed from Delhi resulted in the founding of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1347 CE by Zafar Khan Alaudin Hasan Gangu, who chose Gulbarga (Hasanabad) to be the capital.When the Bahmani dynasty came to an end in 1428, the kingdom broke up into five independent Sultanates, Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, Ahmednager, and Golconda. The present Gulbarga/Gulbarga district came partly under Bidar and partly under Bijapur. The last of these sultanates, Golconda, finally fell to Aurangzeb in 1687.
With the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangezeb in the 17th century, Gulbarga passed under the Mughal Empire. In the early part of the 18th century, with the decline of the Mughal Empire, Asaf Jha, one of Aurangzeb's generals, formed the Hyderabad State, in which a major part of the Gulbarga area was also included. In 1948, Hyderabad State became a part of the Indian Union, and in 1956, excluding two talukas which were annexed to Andhra Pradesh, Gulbarga district became part of new Mysore State.
Gulbarga (Urdu) (city of flowers and gardens) was renamed Kalaburagi (Kannada) (Kal-means stone in Kannada, buragi means Fort) effective 1 November 2014

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