Wanaparthy Palace

Built in the early 20th century, Wanaparthy Palace, also known as “Mustafa Mahal”, now serves as the Collector’s office and Collector Camp Office. The Samsthana rulers, whose surname is Janampally, traced their origins back to the 14th century when the local chieftains established their ascendancy over surrounding territory and divided it among themselves after the Warangal Kakatiya Dynasty crumbled.

When the Kakatiyas were succeeded by Bijapur, Qutub Shah, and Mughal successive rulers, it became expedient to maintain 8 samsthanams as buffer states along the Krishna river. Wanaparthy was bounded on 3 sides by other samsthanams. During the time of Aurangzeb, Wanaparthy became a feudatory of the Mughal empire and of the Nizam as viceroy of that empire in the south. The Rajas of the Samasthans were closely associated with the Qutb Shahi kings.

The early Rajas of Wanaparthy kept an army of 2000 infantry and 2000 cavalry. On March 17th, 1843, the title of “Balwant” was conferred on Raja Rameshwar Rao as a mark of honor by Sikander Jah.

For administrative purposes, the Samasthan was divided into two taluqas, namely “sugoor” and “keshampet,” each with its own Tahsildar. The Maharaja died on November 22nd, 1922, and was survived by two representatives in the Indian government after independence.