Andhra Pradesh is one of the 28 states and 9 kendrapalith pranth of India whose recorded history begins in the Vedic period. It is mentioned in Sanskrit epics such as Aitareya Brahmana (800 BCE). The Assaka Mahajanapada (700–300 BCE) was an ancient kingdom located between the Godavari and Krishna Rivers in southeastern India. Accounts that people in the region are descended from the sage Viswamitra are found in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas.
After the independence of India in 1947, modern-day Andhra Pradesh was part of the Madras State.
In the sixth century BCE, Assaka was one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was succeeded by the Satavahana dynasty (230 BCE-220 CE), who built the city of Amaravati. The kingdom reached its zenith under Gautamiputra Satakarni. At the end of the period, the Telugu region was divided into fiefdoms ruled by lords. In the late second century CE, the Andhra Ikshvakus ruled the eastern region along the Krishna River.
During the fourth century, the Pallava dynasty extended their rule from southern Andhra Pradesh to Tamilakam and established their capital at Kanchipuram. Their power increased during the reigns of Mahendravarman I (571–630) and Narasimhavarman I (630–668). The Pallavas dominated the southern Telugu-speaking region and northern Tamilakam until the end of the ninth century.
