Bellary town and the district has a hoary history dating from 300 BC till 1365 AD, the beginning of the Vijayanagar empire. It was ruled by
Mauryas,
Satavahanas,
Kadambas,
Chalukyas of
Kalyana, Kalachuryas,
Sevunas and
Hoysalas. But the specific history of the fort (Upper Fort) starts with the rule of the chieftain named Hanumappa Nayaka, a feudatory of the Vijayanagar empire, who built the Upper Fort. With the fall of the Vijayanagar empire in 1565, the area witnessed political upheaval till the British took control of the region, around 1800 AD. But after the defeat of
Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali's son, at the hands of the British during the
Third Anglo-Mysore War, the territory was divided and the Bellary district with the fort was given to the then
Nizam Salabat Jang. After the defeat and death of Tippu Sultan in 1799 in the
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at
Srirangapattanam (Seringapatam), the Mysore territories were further divided up between the
Wodeyars, Asaf Jah II and the British. In 1796 AD, Asaf Jah II, harassed by the Marathas and Tipu Sultan, had opted to get British military protection under
Lord Wellesley's doctrine of
Subsidiary Alliance. Now, as part of this agreement, the Asif Jah II ceded a large portion of the acquired territory, including Bellary, to the British, to be added to the
Madras Presidency as 'Bellary District'. This area was also known as the
Ceded Districts (see map at), a term constantly used then for the areas, and was considerably larger than the present
district, including the present districts of
Kadapa (Cuddapah),
Anantapuram and much of
Karnoolu (Kurnool). This was also a deal or an agreement that was meant to compensate the company for the expenses they incurred to maintain the British Subsidiary Force at
Hyderabad. The fort was classified as
1st class by the British Administration. This fort gave Bellary its ancient importance, and led to its selection by the British rulers as the site of a
cantonment. Muzzaffar Khan, the
Nawab of Kurnool, was confined here from 1823 to 1864 for the murder of his wife. ==Fort structure==