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Kolar district () is a district in the state of Karnataka, India.
Kolar (ಕೋಲಾರ) is the district headquarters. Located in southern Karnataka, it is the state's easternmost district. The district is surrounded by the Bangalore Rural district on the west, Chikballapur district on the north, the Chittoor district and Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh on the east and the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu on the south. As per the 2001 Census, Kolar had a total population of 2,536,069, comprising 1,286,193 males and 1,249,876 females, with a sex ratio of 972 females per 1000 males.
On 10 September 2007, it was bifurcated to form the new district of Chikkaballapura district. Due to the discovery of the Kolar Gold Fields, the district has become known as the "Golden Land" of India.
Kolaramma and Someshwara are notable temples in Kolar. The Kolaramma temple, built in Dravida Vimana style during the second century, is dedicated to Shakti. It underwent renovations under Rajendra Chola I in the 10th century and the Vijayanagara kings in the 15th century. Someswara Temple is an example of 14th-century Vijayanagara art.
Kolar's early history was compiled by Fred Goodwill, superintendent of the Wesleyan Tamil mission in Bangalore and the Kolar Gold Fields, and his studies have been published in a number of journals. Older than Bangalore, Kolar dates back to the second century. The Western Gangas made Kolar their capital, ruling Mysore, Coimbatore, and Salem. During the 13th century Bhavanandi composed Nannool, his treatise on Tamil grammar.
Under the Chola dynasty, King Sridhar kora (ruled 970–985) reportedly built the temple for Renuka and founded the city of Kolaahalapuram. Veera Chola, Vikrama Chola and Rajendra Chola I built stone structures with inscriptions at Avani, Mulbagal, Sitti Bettta and elsewhere. Chola inscriptions, which document the rule of Aditya I (871-907), Raja Raja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I of Kolar, refer to Kolar as Nikarili Cholamandalam and Jayam Konda Chola Manadalam. Inscriptions from Rajendra Chola I also appear on the Kolaramma Temple. Many Siva temples were built in Kolar during the reign of the Cholas, including the Someshwarar and Sri Uddhandeshwari Temples at Maarikuppam Village, the Eswaran Temple at Oorugaumpet and the Sivan Temple at Madivala Village. Chola rule of Kolar lasted until 1116. The inscriptions are neglected, and some have been vandalised.
In 1117 Kolar became part of the Hoysala Empire; in 1254 it was bestowed to Ramanatha, one of King Vira Someshwara two sons. The Hoysala were defeated by the Vijayanagara Empire, which ruled Kolar from 1336 to 1664. During this period, the Sri Someshwara Temple at Kolar was built.
For 50 years in the 17th century Kolar was under Maratha Empire rule as part of the Jagir of Shahaji, followed by 70 years of Muslim rule. In 1720 it became part of the Province of Sira, with Fath Muhammad (the father of Hyder Ali) the province's Faujdar. Kolar was then ruled by the Maratha Empire, the Nawab of Kadapa, the Nizam of Hyderabad and Hyder Ali. It was under British Raj from 1768 to 1770 before a brief Maratha rule followed by Hyder Ali. In 1791 Lord Cornwallis conquered Kolar and returned it to the Kingdom of Mysore in the peace treaty of 1792.
In the Kolar region, inscriptions document the reigns of the Mahavalis (Baanaas), the Pallava dynasty and the Vaidumbaas. Benjamin Lewis Rice recorded 1,347 inscriptions in the Kolar District, in the 10th volume of his Epigraphia Carnatica, of the inscriptions, 422 are in Tamil language, 211 in Telugu language. But the oldest are in Kannada. This was the original language. Tamil came in with the Cholas in the 11th century, and Telugu with Vijayanagar kings after the 15th. The period covered by the inscriptions is from 4th to the 18th century.
At the time of the 2011 census, 51.51% of the population spoke Kannada, 22.67% Telugu language, 12.88% Urdu and 10.99% Tamil language as their first language.
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