Andhra Pradesh Anciently Urban

Urbanization of what was known as Andhra Desa covering almost all the present Andhra Pradesh, the Deccan Plateau and peninsular India started as early as the sixth century BC and this is borne out by the accounts of Megasthenes, Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupta Maurya, in the third century BC.Megasthenes recorded the existence of as many as 30 fortified towns in the region.

It was during this period that Buddhism and Jainism vied with the already established Brahmanism. But it was after the second Buddhist council in 380 BC that Andhra Desa became a Buddhist stronghold with Dhanyakataka, today’s Amaravati in Guntur district, as its center.

After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the Satavahanas, who had accepted the suzerainty of the Mauryas, united as a single race. Their empire was vast and spread over the peninsula. The rulers were followers of Brahmanism, but the womenfolk practiced Buddhism. It was during this period that Buddhism spread from these shores to China, the Far East and to Sri Lanka. The Amaravati School of art developed into a distinctive style. The Satavahanas proclaimed themselves Dakshinapathapatis – monarchs of the South. (Dakshin later came to be described as the Deccan.)