Kurnool [key], city (1991 pop. 275,360), Andhra Pradesh state, S central India, at the confluence of the Tungabhadra and Hindri rivers. It was the state capital from 1953 to 1956, when it was superseded by Hyderabad. Kurnool is now a district administrative center and a market for grain, hides, and cotton. There are ruins of a fort built by the Hindu Vijayanagar kings in the 16th cent. The town was overrun by Muslims in 1565 and was ceded to the British by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1800. Kurnool is a center of Hindu pilgrimage and is surrounded by hill resorts.
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