Gulbarga District is situated between 76°.04' and 77°.42 east longitude, and 16°.12' and 17°.46' north latitude, covering an area of 16,224 square kilometres. The population of the district is 2.5 million (25 lakh). The district comprises 10 taluks. The climate of the district is generally dry and healthy with temperature ranging from 5ēc in the winter to 45ēc in the summer, and an annual rainfall of about 750 mm.
The entire district is situated in Deccan Plateau and the general elevation ranges from 300 to 750 meters above mean sea level. Two main rivers, Krishna and Bhima, flow in the district.
Gulbarga district was formerly part of Hyderabad state and most of the district became a part of Mysore state (later Karnataka) in 1956. Two taluks became part of Andhra Pradesh.
Shri Kshetra Gangapur, a well known pilgrimage of God Shri Sadguru Dattatreya, is very close to Gulbarga.
GULBARGA was known as 'KALBURGI' in former days which means stony land inKannada.Gulbarga district is situated in the northern part of Karnataka State. In the earlier days, Gulbarga was a district of Hyderabad Karnataka area and became a part of Karnataka State after re-organization of states.
Recorded history of this district dates back to the 6th Century A.D. The Rashtrakutas gained control over the area but the Chalukyas regained their domain within a short period and regained supreme for over two hundred years. The Kalahari's who succeeded them ruled till the 12th Century AD. Around the close of the 12th century.
The Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamadra destroyed the supremacy of the Chalukyas and kalachuris. About the same period the kakatiya kings of Wrangle came into prominence and the present Gulbarga and Raichur districts formed part of their domain . The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1321 AD and the entire Deccan including the district of Gulbarga passed under the control of the Muslim Emperors of Delhi.
The revolt of the Muslim officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of ,the Bahmani kingdom in 1347 AD, by Hassan Gangu who chose Gulbarga to be his capital. When the Bahmani dynasty came to an end, the kingdom broke up into five independent Sultanates and the present Gulbarga district came partly under Bidar and partly under Bijapur.
With the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangezeb in the 17th century, Gulbarga passed back to the Mughal Empire. In the early part of the 18th century when Mughal Empire was declining Asaf Jha a general of Aurangzeb became independent and formed the Hyderabad State in which a major part of Gulbarga area was also included .In 1948 Hyderabad state became a part of Indian Union and in 1956, excluding two talukas which were annexed to Andhra Pradesh the remaining talukus of Gulbarga district became part of New Mysore State
