The modern city of Bengalore ('Bengaluru') was founded by Kempe Gowda, the Vijayanagar Chieftain of Yelahanga, over 400years ago. But ancient inscriptions pointing to the existence of a village called 'Bengaluru' prior to the 10th century AD.
Kempe Gowda built a mud fort in his city with 8 gates which lent their names to different areas inside the fort. Inside the fortress walls, the city grew into a commercial haven divided into localities ('Pet') where individual trades dominated each area. To this day these areas bear their old names such as Chickpet (little town), Dodda pet (big town), Taragupet (grain market), Halipet (cotton market) etc. Kempe Gowda also built several temples including Gavi Gangeswara Temple at Gavipuram and the Bull temple at Basavanagudi.
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