THE TALE OF BANGALORE (BENGALURU)

The tale of Bengaluru (now Bangalore) getting it's name from 'Bende Kaalu Ooru' meaning 'Town of boiled beans' after King Veera Ballala II of the Hoysala dynasty in 1120 AD was fed boiled beans by an old woman in the forest is historically incorrect. The name 'Bengaluru' was recorded much before King Ballala's time in a 9th century inscription found in a temple in Begur village near Bangalore.
Bangalore was founded by Kempe Gowda I, who in 1537 AD built a mud fort in an area which is now K.R Market, Avenue Road and it's nearby areas. Kempe Gowda built 8 gates for this fort:

• Yelahanka Gate (present Mysore Bank Square).
• Yeshwantpur Gate (near Upparapet police station).
• Kengiri Gate (now a police station is named after it).
• Halasoor (Ulsoor) Gate. (now a police station is named after it).
• Kanakanahalli Gate (near Vokkaligara Sangha Bldg).
• Sonde Koppa Gate.
• Anekal Gate.
• Delhi Gate (at the Fort in K.R Market, which was rebuilt in stone by Hyder Ali). Inside the fort, he built the localities (pets) of Balepet, Aralepet (Cottonpet), Chickpet, Doddapet (Avenue Road), Upparapet, etc.
To this day these areas bear their old names, and serve as major wholesale & commercial markets.
Kempe Gowda II came to power in 1585 and it was he who set the limit for Bangalore's expansion by erecting 4 watch towers. These Watch towers still exists and are known as the Kempe Gowda Towers.
In 1638, the army of Adil Shah, the Sultan of Bijapur, led by Ranadulla Khan & Shahaji Bhonsle (Shivaji's father) captured Bengaluru fort. Kempe Gowda II was then forced to retreat to Magadi, from where he and his successors ruled as Magadi Rulers. Magadi was later annexed to Mysore Kingdom in 1728.
Bangalore was gifted twice as a Jagir and sold once. In 1638 AD, Adil Shah gifted it to Shahaji Bhonsle, thus starting the Maratha rule of Bangalore. In 1689, the Mughals captured Bangalore from the Marathas and sold it to Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar of Mysore for 3 lakh pagodas (gold coins). In 1759, Hyder Ali, commander of Mysore's army, received Bangalore as a Jagir from Krishnaraja Wodeyar II. Later Hyder Ali declared himself ruler of Mysore Kingdom after Krishnaraja Wodeyar II's death. Bangalore returned to the Wodeyars after Hyder's son, Tippu Sultan, died in 1799 fighting the British.