Hyderabad’s Colorful History
The capital of India’s Andhra Pradesh state, Hyderabad is sometimes known as the City of Pearls. The vibrant city is home to beautiful lakes, ornate architecture, and modern shopping malls and skyscrapers. The booming technology and scientific industries of Hyderabad reflect the contrast of old and new in this ancient city. Visitors will find the five star hotels in Hyderabad are mixed into the city proper, near museums, monuments, restaurants, shopps, parks, and lakes.
Civilization in the area can be traced back to 500 B.C. Archaeologists have located a number of Iron Age sites in the city that date to that time. The city proper was founded in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah who was ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. It was located on the Musi River in order to escape the water shortage that had been experienced at the dynasty’s previous home in Golconda. Charminar, the city’s most popular destination, was ordered at this time and construction began soon after.
In 1687, Hyderabad was conquered by Arurangzeb, a Mughal emperor. Control quickly passed to the Mughal-appointed governors rather than the Emperor himself. Asaf Jah I was named “Governor of the country” or Nizam-ul-Mulk by the Emperor and then gained control of Hyderabad in 1724. The Nizams of Hyderabad ruled the city until a year after Indian independence.
During the dynasty of the Nizams, Hyderabad became the kingdom’s formal capital and experienced economic and cultural growth. The Jewels of the Nizams is a Hyderabad attraction that demonstrations the grandeur of the dynasty. Of all the princely Indian states, Hyderabad was the richest and its lands extended over 90,000 square miles.
In 1947 India gained independence from Britian. The Nizam sought to remain independent of India or to become part of Pakistan. And economic blockade by India forced the city to sign the Standstill Agreement. After Operation Polo, the Nizam succombed and signed the Instrument of Accession to the Indian Union in September 1948.
India reorganized its states according to linguistic grounds in November 1956. Hyderabad’s territories were divided between the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Bombay (now Maharashtra). The city of Hyderabad became the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Since that time the city has slowly gained economic and political importance in India. In the last decade, Hyderabad has seen incredible economic and technological growth, including the transplanting of Telugu film to the city from Chennai and the expansion of the IT sector leading to the city’s newest nickname of “Cyberabad”.
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