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Tamil Nadu has a hoary antiquity. Though early
sangam classics throw historical references, only from the Pallavas we pass to recorded history.
South India
had remained under the hegemony of the Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas for centuries. The
Pallavas held supremacy from about the second quarter of the fourth century AD. They were the
originators of the famous Dravidian style of temple architecture. The last Pallava ruler was
Aparajita in whose reign the later Cholas under Vijayalaya and Aditya asserted themselves by about
10th century. At the end of 11th century, Tamil Nadu was ruled by several dynasties like the
Chalukyas, Cholas and Pandyas. In the two centuries that followed, the imperial Cholas gained
paramountancy over
South India
.
Muslims gradually strengthened their position,
which led to the establishment of the Bahamani sultanate by the middle of the 14th century. At the
same time, the Vijayanagar kingdom quickly consolidated itself and extended its sway over the whole
of
South India
and at the close of the century, Vijayanagar became the supreme power in South. However, it
crumbled at the battle of Talikota in 1564 to the confederate forces of the Deccan Sultans. Even
during the period of the tumultous confusion that followed the battle of Talikota, European
commercial interest had appeared as rivals in the area of
South India
. The Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the English came in quick succession and established
trading centres known as .Factories.. East India Company which had established their factory at
Masulipatnam, now in Andhra Pradesh, in 1611 gradually annexed territories by encouraging enmity
among the native rulers, Tamil Nadu was one of the first of British settlements in
India
. The State is the successor to the old Madras Presidency which in 1901 covered the bulk of the
southern
Peninsula
. The composite
Madras
State
was later reorganised and the present Tamil Nadu was formed.
Situated on the eastern coast at the southern tip
of the
Indian
Peninsula
, its has a coastline of about 1000 km long. Tamil Nadu is bounded on north by Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka, on west by Kerala, on east by the Bay of Bengal and on south by the
Indian Ocean
.
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Tamil Nadu
