Anantapur Travel and Tourism Guide

Anantpur served as a seat of the Vijayanagara Kingdom and was then known by the name of Hande Anantapuram. The term ‘Hande’ translates to mean ‘chief of the Vijayanagara rule.' The two villages of Bukkarayasamudram and Anaatasagaram were built by Chilkkavodeya, minister of the then Vijayanagara King, Bukka-I. According to history, Anantpur, with few other districts, were given as a gift by the then king of the Vijayanagara Kingdom to the head of the Hande family, Hanumappa Naidu. Gradually the region first came under the control of the Qutub Shahis, then the Mughals, and then the Nawabs belonging to Cuddapah. However, leaders of the Hande family continued to rule as representatives of the central rulers. Finally, the East India Company on behalf of Britain took over this region as a result of their treaty with the Nizams.