Bengaluru

Bengaluru is the capital city of Karnataka, a state in southern India.

It is located on the southern edge of the Deccan Plateau. The city sits at a high altitude above sea level. Because of its many green spaces and parks, people call it India's "Garden City."

As of the 2011 census, the city had 8.4 million residents. The wider metropolitan area held about 8.5 million people. This makes it the third most populous city in India. It is also the most populous city in South India.

The history of human settlement in this region is very old. Archaeological evidence shows people lived here as early as 4000 BCE.

Iron Age tools and burial mounds date back to 800 BCE. In the first century CE, Roman coins were found in the area. These coins suggest the region was part of long-distance trade with the Roman Empire.

The Western Ganga dynasty was the first to establish effective control. They ruled from 350 CE until the Chola Empire conquered the region in the early eleventh century. The Cholas brought many new people, such as traders and artisans, to the area.

Many different groups ruled the land over the centuries. After the Cholas, the Hoysala kingdom held the region. Later, the Vijayanagara Empire controlled the area. In 1537 CE, a ruler named Kempe Gowda I founded the modern city.

He was a local chieftain under the Vijayanagara Empire. He built a mud fort that served as the city's foundation. Kempe Gowda I also created smaller divisions called petes. He built important water tanks like Kempambudhi to help the people.

After the Vijayanagara Empire fell, Kempe Gowda I declared independence for his territory.

The city changed hands many times during the late Middle Ages and early modern period. An Adil Shahi army defeated Kempe Gowda III in 1638 CE. The city then became a jagir, or feudal estate, for Shahaji. Later, the Mughals captured the city and sold it to the Kingdom of Mysore.

In 1759, Hyder Ali took control of the administration. His son, Tipu Sultan, later ruled the region. The British East India Company eventually captured the city during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. This led to the city becoming part of the princely state of Mysore.

For a long time, Bengaluru was actually two different urban settlements. One part was the old city, known as the Pete. The other was the Bengaluru Cantonment, which the British established in 1809.

The Cantonment was a British enclave located outside the old city. These two distinct areas grew separately for many years. They finally merged under one single urban administration in 1949. After India gained independence in 1947, Bengaluru became the capital of Mysore State. When the state was renamed Karnataka in 1973, Bengaluru remained the capital.

There are several theories about where the name "Bengaluru" comes from. One legend involves the Hoysala king Veera Ballala II. He supposedly named the town "Benda-Kaal-uru," meaning "town of boiled beans," after eating them.

Another theory links the name to the benga tree, or Indian Kino Tree. Some believe it comes from "benacha kal," meaning quartz stones. The name "Bangalore" was simply an English version of the Kannada name. On 1 November 2014, the name was officially changed back to Bengaluru. This change followed a proposal to honor the city's original linguistic roots.

Today, Bengaluru is a massive global hub for technology. It is often called the "Silicon Valley of India."

The city is a major exporter of information technology, or IT, services. It is one of the fastest-growing technology hubs in the world. The metropolitan area has a very high economic output, with a GDP of $359.9 billion.

Manufacturing also plays a huge role in the local economy. The city is home to many important institutes of higher education. It remains one of the most productive metro areas in the entire country.