Banganapalle

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Banganapalle (also Banagana Palli) is a town in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It lies in Kurnool district, 70 km south of the town of Kurnool. Banganapalle is famous for its mangoes and even has a cultivar, Banganapalli named after it.

Nearby places of tourist interest include:

Yaganti - Hindu piligrimage place
Veerabramhendra Swami Matham
Mahanandi
Belum Guhalu

Between 1790 and 1948, Banganapalle was the capital of a princely state of the same name.

[edit] Princely history

In 1601, Sultan Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur conquered the fortress of Banganapalle from Raja Nanda Chakravathy. The fort and surrounding districts were placed under the control of his victorious general, Siddhu Sumbal, who held them until 1665. Muhammad Beg Khan-e Rosebahani was granted Bangangapalle and the surrounding jagir in perpetual fiefdom, but died without a male heir, leaving the jagir of Banganapalle to his grandson and adopted son, Faiz Ali Khan Bahadur. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Sultanate of Bijapur in 1686, but Faiz Ali Khan's fief was secured by the intervention of his maternal uncle Mubariz Khan, who served as Aurangzeb's viceroy of the Deccan.

Banganapalle was ruled by the descendants of Faiz Ali Khan initially as a fief of the Mughal empire, and after the Nizam of Hyderabad declared his independence from the Mughals in 1724, as a fief of Hyderabad. Faiz Ali Khan also died without a male heir, and Banganapalle was inherited by his grandson, Husain Ali Khan. Toward the end of Husain Ali Khan's reign, Hyder Ali of Mysore was expanding his power in the region, and Husain Ali Khan switched his allegiance to Hyder Ali. Husain Ali Khan died in 1783, and his young son, Ghulam Muhammad Ali, succeeded him, with his paternal uncle as regent. Within the space of a year, Hyder's successor Tipu Sultan had driven them from Banganapalle; they took refuge in Hyderabad, returning to reclaim Banganapalle in 1789. Shortly thereafter, the nearby jagir of Chenchelimala was acquired by the nawab of Banganapalle through marriage.

Banganapalle became a princely state of British India in the early 1800s. The British governor of the Madras Presidency twice took over the administration of the state for financial mismanagement, the first time from 1832 to 1848, and the second time for a few months in 1905.

In 1901, the princely state of Banganapalle had a population of 32,264, and an area of 660 km² (255 sq. mi.).

In 1948, the ruler of Banganapalle acceded to newly-independent India, and Banganapalle was incorporated into Kurnool district of the then Madras Presidency. In 1953, the northern districts of Madras state, including Kurnool district, became the new state of Andhra Pradesh.