History and Geography The first well-known rulers of Maharashtra were the Satavahanas (230 B.C. 225 A.D. ), who were the founders of Maharashtra, and have left a plethora of literary, epigraphic, artistic and archaeological evidence. This epoch marks tremendous development in every field of human endeavour. Then came the Vakatakas, who established a pan-Indian empire. Under them, Maharashtra witnessed an all-sided development in the fields of learning, arts and religion. Some of the Ajanta Caves and fresco paintings reached the high-level mark during their rule. After the Vakatakas and after a brief interlude of the Kalachuri dynasty, the most important rulers were the Chalukyas, followed by the Rashtrakutas and the Yadavas, apart from the Shilaharas on the coast. The Yadavas, with Marathi as their court language extended their authority over large parts of the Deccan. While the Bahamani rule brought a degree of cohesion to the land and its culture, a uniquely h...