According to a popular legend, the Marigowda, the son of the chief Avathimalla Biregowda, was hunting one day in the Kodimanchanahalli forest. He found a rabbit standing fearlessly in front of hunting dogs. Excited by this, the chief told his son that it was a sign of the boldness of the local people. So, he obtained permission from the king of
Vijayanagara and built a fort and a town. This, in the course of time, developed into the town of Chickballapur. During the rule of Baichegowda, the king of
Mysore attacked the fort but had to withdraw due to the interference of
Marathas. Dodda Byregowda, who came to power after Baichegowda, resumed control of the territories seized earlier by
Mysore. In 1762, during the rule of Chikkappanayaka,
Hyder Ali laid siege the town for a period of three months. Then Chikkappanayaka agreed to pay 5-lakhs pagodas, and the army was withdrawn. After this, Chikkappa Nayaka with the help of Murariraya of
Gooty tried to get back his powers. He was hiding at Nandi Hills along with Chikkappa Nayaka. Immediately
Hyder Ali took Chickballapur and other places and arrested Chikkappa Nayaka. Then, with the interference of Lord Cornwallis, Chickballapur was handed over to Narayanagowda. Some sources suggest that Lord Cornwallis visited the temple of Lord Shiva in Peresandra, which is 18 km off of Chikkaballapur. A few references in British text suggest that Peresandra has a tremendous history; upon knowing this,
Tipu Sultan again acquired Chikballapur. In 1791, the British occupied Nandi and left Narayanagowda to rule the town; due to this, the fight between the Britishers and
Tipu Sultan again started. Narayanagowda lost his administration. Later on, the British defeated
Tipu Sultan. Chickballapur also came under the administration of Wodeyars of Mysore, which is now a part of Karnataka. ==Demographics==