The Kakatiyas brought the Telugu speaking region of southern India under one political unit for around 300 years, leaving an indelible mark on cultural history that should be regarded as a golden period for this part of the Deccan. The magnificent temples of the Kakatiyas are unique in form as well as function, and in their time were not merely centres of worship but also repositories of political, social and cultural ethos. The sculptures are the epitome of the time for the knowledge and science displayed by Kakatiya art. Together with the inscriptions on the monuments, the sculptures are invaluable reserves, educating the populace about these aspects. Though many temples have been destroyed due to the invasions of the Delhi Sultanate, or have deteriorated over the centuries. through structural collapse, their remains still communicate the glorious past of the Kakatiyas in Telangana.
The Kakatiya Heritage Trust is striving to preserve, protect and propagate the contribution made by the Kakatiyas. Since 2009, the Trust has been working on capacity building and heritage management of the Kakatiya historical sites by educating professionals and students about the rich heritage of Telangana, and bringing out several publications on Kakatiya legacy. In association with the Archaeological Survey of India and the Department of Heritage Telangana, the Trust is working towards the nomination of the Ramappa temple at Palampet as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the first in Telangana.
We are confident that this guidebook by Dr. Phillip B. Wagoner, along with the photographs of Surendra Kumar, will give the readers a unique insight into the splendid art and architecture of the Kakatiyas, and show the engineering marvels of the people of Telangana some 800 years ago. The author, who is Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, has conducted extensive research on the cultural history of the Deccan over the past four decades, primarily focusing on the late medieval and early modern periods.
Hanamkonda, Warangal, Palampet, Ghanpur is a concise book explaining the history of Kakatiya historical sites, types of temples, city plans and irrigation projects, as well as the splendid art of the Kakatiyas. We are grateful to JAICO and the Deccan Heritage Foundation for co-publishing this guidebook under the expert editorial guidance of Dr. George Michell.
Telangana may be India's 29th and newest state (2014), but the region has a distinctive identity going back at least to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, and arguably, even to prehistoric times. In terms of physical geography, Telangana may be defined as the northeastern part of the Deccan plateau, an elevated semi-arid tableland bounded north and south by the Godavari and Krishna rivers. On the east, it is fringed by the densely forested hills that separate it from coastal Andhra, and to the west it is demarcated by the zone where Telangana's sandy red soils yield to the black cotton soils of northern Karnataka and Maharashtra. Like much of the rest of the Deccan, Telangana saw a succession of prehistoric and early cultures, beginning with the Southern Neolithic (ca 2,500 to 800 BCE) and the Megalithic (also called Pandukal Complex; ca 800 BCE to 2nd or 3rd century CE). By the beginning of the Common Era, the Megalithic was giving way to the Early Historic Period throughout most of the region. This was characterized by the rise of larger towns and an expansion of trade, the appearance of coinage and writing, widespread cultural contacts with northern India, and the emergence of state society as represented by the Satavahana kingdom (mid-1st century BCE), arising in the Telangana region and then spreading into the northwestern Deccan.
The emergence of Telangana as a more distinct cultural zone was closely tied to two interlinked developments: the construction of irrigation tanks, known locally as cheruvus, which made wet-rice cultivation possible throughout much of this semi-arid region, and the rise and expansion of the Kakatiya state in the second half of the 12th century. Ruling from their capital in the northeastern part of Telangana first Hanamkonda, and later Warangal - the Kakatiyas quickly expanded their rule over most of the three regions where Telugu is spoken today: Telangana, coastal Andhra, and Rayalaseema in southwestern Andhra.
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