History of Hyderabad dates back to a long time before 1550, the time of the establishment of the city. The area was ruled in succession by the Chalukya dynasty, which had influence between some 624-1075 CE, and then Kakatiya dynasty, which ruled until 1321 CE. The architectural and cultural heritage of Deccan may be credited to these early rulers who left a strong impression on the cultural and architectural landscape. That was later conquered by the Tughlaq dynasty and later Bahmani Sultanate, and finally became a part of Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1518 when Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk proclaimed himself independent and thus founded Golconda Sultanate.
Hyderabad is the name that the city was named nowadays, which was established in 1591 by the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. He decided to create a new capital on the shores of Musi River mainly because of the water shortage and congestion that had reached high proportions in the current capital of Golconda. In the same year, the legendary Charminar, a towering four tower structure, was erected and the Charminar was developed as a commemorative entry point as well as a reference point of the founding of the city. This was also the time when the nearby Mecca Masjid was initiated but it would require about 100 years to be completed.
The Golconda Sultanate was later captured by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb after a long siege at the Golconda Fort in 1687 and Hyderabad was made a province of the Mughals. Nevertheless, the Deccan practice of Mughal power was brief. By 1724, Asaf Jah I, the Mughal viceroy who was in the region, proclaimed his own sovereignty and established what was later to be known as the Asaf Jahi dynasty also known as the Nizams of Hyderabad. The Nizams would also have a two-hundred-year rule in Hyderabad as a princely state developing it into one of the richest and the culturally polished centres of the subcontinent.
After the Indian independence in 1947, Indian Union annexed the princely state of Hyderabad in 1948 in a military operation called Operation Polo. Then the district became the capital of Hyderabad State until in 1956, the States Reorganisation Act combined it with the newly formed state of Andhra Pradesh. By 2014, Telangana state was to be separated out of Andhra Pradesh, with Hyderabad as its capital - a move that was the result of decades of political and cultural agitation of the citizens of Telangana region.
Culture
The culture of Hyderabad is highly described by the term Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb which means the co-existence of Hindu and Muslim culture in the same civic environment. This cultural fusion is a direct inheritance of years of mutual ruling, mutual socialization of the two communities, which gained momentum already during the times of the Qutb Shahi sultans and which remained until the long Nizam reign. It has a very diverse population of Telugu-speaking Hindus, Urdu-speaking Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs, and Jains, and other groups, which help the city develop the specificly cosmopolitan atmosphere.
The performing arts play a great role in the culture of Hyderabadi. Kathak and Kuchipudi are classics of classical dance, which have blossomed under the patronage of Qutb Shahi and Nizam courts and the city is a major hub of Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. Literature is no exception; the dynasty of the Qutb Shahs was great promoter of Deccani Urdu literature, and the Nizam era witnessed the additional growth of the Urdu and Telugu literature. The city has also become the center of Telugu film industry also referred to as Tollywood which is one of the most prolific and highest grossing film business in India. The Ramoji Film City, and it is in the district, has a Guinness world record as the largest complex of film studios in the world.
Throughout the district, the celebration of festivals is done on a large scale, which is an indication of the vastness of the communities that are represented in the area. The Hindu festival of tremendous magnitude, Bonalu, in honour of the goddess Mahankali, is celebrated with a lot of zeal, and Bathukamma, just in honour of Dussehra season, is celebrated by the Telugu Hindu community. Eid, Diwali, Vinayaka Chaturthi, and Christmas are equally celebrated, which contributes to the image of the district as the location where the cultural and religious diversity is not only tolerated but also promoted.
Language
The two most popular languages in the Hyderabad District are Telugu and Urdu and both languages have official recognition in the Telangana state. The dominant language spoken and spoken by most of the Hindus is Telugu which is a Dravidian language and which is the most commonly used language in schools in the area. The ST dialect of Telugu in Hyderabad and the neighboring Telangana state is referred to as the Telangana dialect with its own unique vocabulary and intonation that distinguish it in comparison to the standard Telugu used in Andhra Pradesh.
Urdu, which is scripted in Nastaliq, has a very strong historical relationship with the district. It was made the court language in the Nizam period and the language of administration, education, and literary culture of the elites in most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The native Urdu spoken in Hyderabad is known as Deccani Urdu or Dakhani Urdu and is also unlike the standard Urdu because it uses Telugu, Persian and local words.
In addition to the Telugu and Urdu, there are quite several inhabitants, speaking Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Gujarati, due to a long history of immigrants in the city of the several regions of India. English is also the language of secondary officialism and is commonly spoken in business, in advanced education, and technology. It is also an indication of the fact that Hyderabad is one of the most cosmopolitan urban centres in the country since this linguistic diversity is another aspect that reflects this fact.
Geography
Hyderabad District lies in the southern part of the state of Telangana and lies on the north of Deccan Plateau. The district is of average elevation, 536 metres above mean sea level, and of topography, undulating masses of sloping rocky land, the greater part of which is of grey and pink granite - some of the most ancient and hardest rocks on earth, and estimated to be about 2.5 billion years old. These prehistoric geological features bring about several tiny hillocks that are scattered all around the district with the highest Banjara Hills that is elevated at 672 meters high.
The main river that passes through the district is the Musi River which is one of the tributaries of the Krishna River. It starts in the Anantagiri Hills which are situated about 70 kilometres south-west of Hyderabad and flows through the city to join the Krishna River. The river was the major source of water to the city traditionally and was a major source in the establishment and initial development of the city of Hyderabad. It has two major dams built on it namely Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar which were constructed in the early twentieth century as a way to avoid flooding as well as increase the water supply in the city.
Another thing that is interesting about the district is that it contains many lakes that are widely known in the area as sagar or sea. These are most conspicuous through Hussain Sagar which is an artificial lake that was completed in 1562 when Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah was the fourth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty. The heart of the district is Hussain Sagar that divides twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Its Tank Bund, the long embankment along the perimeter of the lake is a well-known prominence on its own and a landmark.
Hyderabad is in the Koppen climate system of tropical wet and dry. Summers are hot and humid with temperatures often soaring beyond 40 degrees Celsius and winters are mild with minimum temperatures sometimes going as low as 12 degrees Celsius. Most of the rainfall is received in the monsoon season that covers the months of June to October. The soil type in the district is red and sandy with few areas of black cotton soil.
| Hyderabad District Fact Sheet | |
|---|---|
| District | Hyderabad |
| Headquarters | Hyderabad |
| Population (2011) | 4010238 |
| Area ((/km2)) | 217 |
| Denisty ((/km2)) | 18480 |
| Languages Official | Telugu |
| Literacy | 80.96 |
| Forest Area under the control of Forest Department (Area in Hectares) | 0 |
| Temple | Ashtalakshmi Temple, Hyderabad, Birla Mandir, Hyderabad, Chilkur Balaji Temple, Jagannath Temple, Karmanghat Hanuman Temple ,Sanghi Temple, Ujjaini Mahakali Temple, Akkanna Madanna Temple |
| Tehsils | Amberpeth, Ameerpet, Asifnagar, Bahadurpura, Bandlaguda, Charminar, Golconda, Himayatnagar, Khairtabad, Marredpally, Musheerabad, Nampally, Saidabad, Secunderabad, Shaikpet, Trimulgherry |
FAQs
Q.1:Who founded the city of Hyderabad and in what year?
Hyderabad was founded in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, on the banks of the Musi River.
Q.2: Why is Hyderabad referred to as the "City of Pearls"?
Hyderabad earned this nickname because, until the nineteenth century, it was the only trading centre in the world for Golconda diamonds and was also a globally recognised hub for the trade of natural pearls.
Q3: What is the Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb associated with Hyderabad?
Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb refers to the harmonious blending and coexistence of Hindu and Muslim cultural traditions that has characterised Hyderabad's social fabric since its founding.
Q4: What is the oldest rock formation found in the Hyderabad region?
The grey and pink granite formations found throughout the district are approximately 2.5 billion years old, making them among the oldest and hardest rocks on Earth.
