page_title: Machilipatnam
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Machilipatnam / History
caption_attribution_description: View of Masulipatam. Anonymous.
context_page_description: Machilipatnam, also known as Masulipatnam, Masulipatam, Masula, and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquarters of Machilipatnam mandal in Machilipatnam revenue division of the district. The ancient port town served as the settlement of European traders from the 16th century, and it was a major trading port for the Portuguese, British, Dutch and French in the 17th century.
context_section_description: The town has existed since at least the 3rd century BCE (Satavahana period) when, according to Ptolemy, it was known as Maisolos. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea calls it Masalia in the 1st-century BCE. The port is on the southeastern, or Coromandel Coast, of India. At the mouth of the River Krishna on the Bay of Bengal, the Masula port saw flourishing sea trade.
  Muslin was traded by ancient Greeks from the town and the word muslin originated from the name Maisolos. Muslin was an important source of income for the town, being a favorite of Roman traders for domestic consumption. Several Roman coins were found during excavations of Buddhist towns near Machilipatnam.
  The town was the district headquarters of the then, Masulipatnam district and now to the Krishna district, which was formed in 1859 in the composite Madras state.
  The Machilipatnam port served as the principal seaport of the Golconda Kingdom (more anciently named Telangana) from the 15th to 17th centuries.
caption: View of Masulipatam in 1676
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