The history of Chhattisgarh was called as South Kosala and dates back to the 4th century AD. The mythological history of the state can be tracked down from the ancient days of Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The Haihaya dynasty ruled Chhattisgarh for six centuries during the 14th century. During the middle ages it is believed that the Chalukya dynasty established its rule in Bastar. Annmdev was the first Chalukya ruler who founded the dynasty in Bastar in 1320.
In 1741 the Marathas took over the reign from the Haihaya dynasty. In 1745 AD Raghunath Singh Ji the last descendant of Ratanpur house was forced to leave the area. Thus in 1758, the Marathas conquered Chhattisgarh and Bimbaji Bhosle was appointed as the ruler. After Bimbaji’s demise the suba system was introduced by the Marathas. The era was full of chaos and observed large scale loot and ransacking was done by the Maratha army. The Maratha officials paid no heed to the interest of the British. The Maratha rule was opposed by the Gonds.
During the early 19th century Maratha region was attacked by the Pindaris. In 1818 Chhattisgarh came under British rule. In 1854 Nagpur also came under the British rule thus Chhattisgarh was created in a deputy commissionership with its headquarters in Raipur. The British brought different reforms in administration and revue system. The tribal of Bastar strongly fought against the British and thus the Halba rebellion was started in the year 1774- 1779. Veer Narayan Singh has his name inscribed in the history of Chhattisgarh as he was the first martyr from the region.
Upto 2000 Chhattisgarh was the part of Madhya Pradesh. In the 1970s the drive to get the division done of Madhya Pradesh and call it Chhattisgarh was initiated. The local leaders began to claim a distinct cultural identity for the region. In the1990 the drive picked up momentum and by November, 2000 the state split and Chhattisgarh with its unique cultural identity came into existence. It is remarkable that formation of the new state took place with utmost peace and there was no agitation.