Archaeological evidence indicates that Kotilingala (karimnagar) in Andhra Pradesh was the ancient site of pre-Satavahana and early Satavahana kings.The Satavahana was a Brahmin dynasty first mentioned in the Aitareya Brahmana, dating back to the 8th century BCE mentioning them to be of Vishwamitra's lineage. In the Pūrānas and on their coins the dynasty is variously referred to as the Sātavāhanas, Sātakarnīs, Andhras and Andhrabhrityas.[citation needed] A reference to the Sātavāhanas by the Greek traveller Megasthenes indicates that they possessed 100,000 infantry, 1,000 elephants, and had more than 30 well built fortified towns:
Next come the Andarae, a still more powerful race, which possesses numerous villages, and thirty towns defended by walls and towers, and which supplies its king with an army of 100,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry, and 1,000 elephants.
—Plin. Hist. Nat. VI. 21. 8-23. 11., quoting Megasthenes
