As a result, Haider Ali was annoyed with this lapse and it is said that he ordered hanging of the French engineer at the east gate of the fort.

A mythological legend states that the city is named after Indra, the king of gods, who destroyed the Rakshasa (demon) ‘'Balla'’ who resided in that place.

It is said that Rama while searching for Sita met Sugreeva and Hanuman at a place near Hampi, 30 kilometres (19 mi), from Bellary, the celebrated capital of the Vijayanagara Empire.

An inscription from the time of the rule of Ganga Dynasty of Talakad, testifies to the territory of Sindha Vishaya, which today consists of Bellary and Dharwad districts.

The fort located on the Ballari Gudda, on a spur of the Sandur range at the border of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh has abundant granite outcrops.

[4] The terrain in and around the Bellary fort consists of granite rocks, which rises suddenly above the plains in the form of a very large mountain.

This type of rock creates a strong reflection of the Sun's rays causing very hot climatic conditions in the fort and the town (Bellary is considered one of the hottest places in India).

He surprised the forces sent by Nizam under the military command of a Frenchman named M. de Lally and besieged the fort and took total control.

[8] 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'.

It is quadrangular in plan, with a circumference of about 1.5 miles (2.4 km), and rises by about 460 ft (140 m) above the plains below; it can be accessed only through a winding rocky path amongst scattered boulders, which was considered impregnable.

During the British period, more buildings were added namely the Commissariat stores, the Protestant church, orphanage, Masonic lodge, post-office, and numerous private dwellings.

[14] In the past, during British rule, the Southern Mahratta Railway passed through the town connecting to Madras ( now Chennai) via Hubli on the west and Guntakal on the east.

[6] The civilian Bellary Airport is located at the far end of the Cantonment area with regular flights operating from Bangalore and Goa.

An air strip located at the Jindal Vijayanagar Steels complex, Toranagallu in Sandur taluk, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Bellary, is used by private airlines to operate sightseeing charter flights to Hampi and Mysore since October 2002.