Bangalore ( ), officially Bengaluru (Kannada: ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ), is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and fifth-most populous urban agglomeration.

Though historical references to the city predate 900 CE, a modern written history of continuous settlement exists only from 1537, when Kempe Gowda I, who many regard as the architect of modern Bangalore, built a mud fort in the city and established it as a province of the imperial Vijayanagara Empire. During the British Raj, it became a centre of colonial rule in South India. The establishment of the Bangalore Cantonment brought in large numbers of migrants from other parts of the country. Today, as a large and growing metropolis, Bangalore is home to some of the most well-recognized colleges and research institutions in India.Numerous public sector heavy industries, software companies, aerospace, telecommunications, and defense organisations are located in the city. Bangalore is known as the Silicon Valley of India because of its pre-eminent position as the nation's leading IT employer and exporter. A demographically diverse city, Bangalore has developed into one of India's major economic hubs and is the fastest growing major metropolis in India.

Etymology

The name Bangalore is an anglicised version of the city's name in the Kannada language, Bengalūru. The earliest reference to the name "Bengaluru" was found in a ninth century Western Ganga Dynasty stone inscription on a "vīra kallu" (ವೀರ ಗಲ್ಲು) (literally, "hero stone", a rock edict extolling the virtues of a warrior). In this inscription found in Begur, "Bengaluru" is referred to as a place in which a battle was fought in 890. It states that the place was part of the Ganga kingdom until 1004 and was known as "Bengaval-uru", the "City of Guards" in Old Kannada.K. Chandramouli. "The City of Boiled Beans". The Hindu. 2006. The Hindu Group. 25 July 2002 An article, published in The Hindu, states:"Inscription reveals Bangalore is over 1,000 years old". The Hindu. ḷ2006. The Hindu Group. 20 August 2004

An inscription, dating back to 890 CE, shows Bengaluru is over 1,000 years old. But it stands neglected at the Parvathi Nageshwara Temple in Begur near the city...written in Hale Kannada (Old Kannada) of the 9th century CE, the epigraph refers to a Bengaluru war in 890 in which Buttanachetty, a servant of Nagatta, died. Though this has been recorded by historian R. Narasimhachar in his Epigraphia of Carnatica (Vol. 10 supplementary), no efforts have been made to preserve it.