Anantapur offers some vivid glimpses of the prehistoric past. It is generally held that the place got its name from 'Anaatasagaram' , a big tank, which means "
Anantapur is familiarly known as "Hande Anantapuram" . ' Hande ' means chief of the Vijayanagar period. Anantapur and a few other places were gifted by the Vijayanagar rulers to Hanumappa Naidu of the Hande family.
The place subsequently came under the Qutub Shahis, Mughals, and the Nawabs of Cuddapah, although the Hande chiefs continued to rule as their subordinates. It was occupied by the Palergar of Bellary during the time of Ramappa but was eventually won back by his son, Siddappa. Morari Rao Ghorpade attacked Anantapur in 1757. Though the army resisted for some time, Siddappa ultimately bought off the enemy for Rs.50,000.
It then came into the possession of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Tipu hanged all the male members of the Siddappa family except Siddappa who escaped from his confinement at Srirangapatnam. After Tipu's death, it was once again taken back by Siddappa. Siddappa submitted himself to Nizam because of the treaty of 1799, who took the total control of the area. He was later pensioned off when British occupied the territory.
Anantapur is a city and a municipal corporation in Anantapur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the headquarters of the Anantapur District, the largest district of Andhra Pradesh. its population is 466,000, It is a fast growing city that has been upgraded to a city with a population of around 5 Lakhs.
Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Anantapur has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
