Gurramkonda

Gurramkonda's hill fort overlooks the country of southern Rayalaseema. The stronghold is associated with Vijayanagara rule, while the Rangin Mahal below the fortress and the tomb of Mir Raza Ali Khan recall its later Muslim rulers. Control of this defensible site mattered in the struggles for the uplands between Mysore, the Marathas and the rulers of Kadapa.

In 1766 Mir Ali Raza Khan surrendered Sira to the Marathas and received Gurramkonda in exchange. His connection with Haidar Ali brought the fortress into Mysore's sphere. The Marathas subsequently besieged and took it, and Haidar formally agreed to cede it in 1772. Tipu recovered Gurramkonda for his father in 1774. These changes made the fort a concrete prize in the competition for the country above the ghats. The surrounding district later passed through the Nizam's control into the Ceded Districts administered by the East India Company. Under Thomas Munro at the opening of the nineteenth century, the regional struggle shifted toward suppressing armed local chiefs and reorganising land revenue.