History of Madurai

Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu[1][2] It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and a popular Hindu pilgrimage centre.[3][4][5]

## History

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Madurai has been inhabited since at least the 3rd century BCE.[6] Megasthenes may have visited Madurai during the 3rd century BCE, with the city referred as "Methora" in his accounts.[7] The view is contested by some scholars who believe "Methora" refers to the north Indian city of Mathura, as it was a large and established city in the Mauryan Empire.[8] Madurai is also mentioned in Kautilya's (370–283 BCE)[9] Arthashastra.[7] Sangam literature like Maturaikkāñci records the importance of Madurai as a capital city of the Pandyan dynasty.[10][11] Madurai is mentioned in the works of Roman historians Pliny the Younger (61 – c. 112 CE), Ptolemy (c. 90 – c. CE 168), those of the Greek geographer Strabo (64/63 BCE – c. 24 CE),[12] and also in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.[13]

## Kalabhra dynasty

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Pandyan dynasty Map at its greatest extent Coin of Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan, first ruler of the Sultanate of Madurai, 1335–1339 CE

After the Sangam age, most of present-day Tamil Nadu, including Madurai, came under the rule of the Kalabhra dynasty, which was ousted by the Pandyas around 590 CE.[14][15]

## Pandya dynasty

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A series of Pandya kings ruled Madurai between 590 CE and 920 CE.

## Chola dynasty

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The Pandyas were ousted from Madurai by the Chola dynasty during the early 9th century.[16] The city remained under the control of the Cholas until the early 13th century, when the second Pandyan empire was established with Madurai as its capital.[16]

## Delhi and Madurai Sultanates

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Further information: Madurai Sultanate

After the death of Kulasekara Pandian (1268–1308 CE), Madurai came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate.[16] The Madurai Sultanate then seceded from Delhi and functioned as an independent kingdom until its gradual annexation by the Vijayanagar Empire in 1378 CE.[17]

## Vijayanagar dynasty and Madurai Nayaks

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Further information: Madurai Nayak Dynasty

Madurai became independent from Vijayanagar in 1559 CE under the Nayaks.[17] The Nayaks ruled over Madurai for over 200 years with the capital city switching between Madurai and Tiruchirapally. Nayak rule ended in 1736 CE and Madurai was repeatedly captured several times by Chanda Sahib (1740 – 1754 CE), Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan (1725 – 1764 CE) in the middle of 18th century.[7]

## British Colonial period

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Hand coloured antique wood engraving drawn by W. Purser (1858) shows Madurai city as seen from the north bank of the Vaigai river

In 1801, Madurai came under the direct control of the British East India Company and was annexed to the Madras Presidency.[18][19] The British government made donations to the Meenakshi temple and participated in the Hindu festivals during the early part of their rule.[20] The city evolved as a political and industrial complex through the 19th and 20th centuries to become a district headquarters of a larger Madurai district.[20] In 1837, the fortifications around the temple were demolished by the British.[21] The moat was drained and the debris was used to construct new streets – Veli, Marat and Perumaal Mesthiri streets.[22]

The city was constituted as a municipality in 1866 CE.[23] The British government faced initial hiccups during the earlier period of the establishment of municipality in land ceiling and tax collection in Madurai and Dindigul districts under the direct administration of the officers of the government.[24] The city, along with the district, was resurveyed between 1880 and 1885 CE and subsequently, five municipalities were constituted in the two districts and six taluk boards were set up for local administration.[24] Police stations were established in Madurai city, housing the headquarters of the District Superintendent.[24] Under the British Madurai prospered. It was in Madurai, in 1921, that Mahatma Gandhi, pre-eminent leader of Indian nationalism in British-ruled India, first adopted the loin cloth as his mode of dress after seeing agricultural labourers wearing it.[25] Leaders of the independence movement in Madurai included N.M.R. Subbaraman,[26][27] Karumuttu Thiagarajan Chettiar and Mohammad Ismail Sahib.[28] The Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act passed by the government of Madras Presidency under C. Rajagopalachari in 1939 removed restrictions prohibiting Shanars and Dalits from entering Hindu temples. The temple entry movement was first led in Madurai Meenakshi temple by independence activist A. Vaidyanatha Iyer in 1939.[29][30]

## Notes

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1. ^ "Tamil Nādu - City Population - Cities, Towns & Provinces - Statistics & Map". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
2. ^ "Largest Urban areas". CityMayor.de.
3. ^ Reynolds, Holly Baker (1987). The City as a sacred center: essays on six Asian contexts - Madurai: Koyil Nagar. BRILL. pp. 12–25\. ISBN 978-90-04-08471-1.12-25&rft.pub=BRILL&rft.date=1987&rft.isbn=978-90-04-08471-1&rft.aulast=Reynolds&rft.aufirst=Holly+Baker&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=OsAfAAAAIAAJ&pg;=PA12&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:History+of+Madurai" class="Z3988">
4. ^ "Madurai Districts". Dinamalar.
5. ^ "Ptolemy (2nd century ce), commenting on the brisk trading relations between 'Modura', the Greeks and the Romans, calls it 'the Mediterranean emporium of the south'" Madurai (2002). In Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend, Thames & Hudson.
6. ^ Zvelebil 1992, p. 27.
7. ^ a b c Harman 1992, pp. 30–36.
8. ^ Quintanilla 2007, p. 2.
9. ^ Agarwal 2008, p. 17.
10. ^ Mangudi Marudanar 2004.
11. ^ Gopal 1990, p. 181.
12. ^ Bandopadhyay 2010, pp. 93–96.
13. ^ Reynolds & Bardwell 1987, pp. 12–25.
14. ^ Dalal 1997, p. 128.
15. ^ Kersenboom Story 1987, p. 16.
16. ^ a b c Salma Ahmed 2011, p. 26.
17. ^ a b V. 1995, p. 115.
18. ^ Markovits 2004, p. 253.
19. ^ B.S., S. & C. 2011, p. 582.
20. ^ a b King 2005, pp. 73–75.
21. ^ Reynolds & Bardwell 1987, p. 18.
22. ^ Narasaiah 2009, p. 85.
23. ^ Madurai Corporation – citizen charter.
24. ^ a b c Imperial gazetteer of India: Provincial series, Volume 18 1908, pp. 229–230.
25. ^ Gandhi Memorial Museum, Madurai.
26. ^ Kamat Research Database, Biography: N.M.R.Subbaraman.
27. ^ Arnold 1977, p. 128.
28. ^ More 1977, p. 106.
29. ^ Press Information Bureau archives, Government of India.
30. ^ The Hindu 2011.

### Works cited

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* Agarwal, S. K. (2008). Towards Improving Governance. Academic Foundation. ISBN 978-81-7188-666-1.
* Arnold, David (1977). The Congress in Tamilnad: nationalist politics in South India, 1919–1937. Manohar. p. 128\. ISBN 978-0-88386-958-1.
* B.S., Chandrababu; S., Ganeshram; C., Bhavani (2011). History of People and Their Environs. Bharathi Puthakalayam. ISBN 978-93-80325-91-0.
* Bandopadhyay, Manohar (2010). Tourist destinations in India. Delhi: Oriental Books. ISBN 978-93-80944-00-5.
* Dalal, Roshen (1997). The Puffin History of India for Children, 3000 BCE – CE 1947. Puffin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-333544-3.
* "Gandhi Memorial Museum, Madurai". Bombay Sarvodaya Mandal / Gandhi Book Centre. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
* Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.
* Harman, William P (1992). The sacred marriage of a Hindu goddess. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 30–6\. ISBN 978-81-208-0810-2.30-6&rft.pub=Motilal+Banarsidass&rft.date=1992&rft.isbn=978-81-208-0810-2&rft.aulast=Harman&rft.aufirst=William+P&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=F_siW9T3ev4C&pg;=PA36&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:History+of+Madurai" class="Z3988">
* Imperial gazetteer of India: Provincial series, Volume 18. Clarendon Press. 1908.
* Kersenboom Story, Saskia C. (1987). Nityasumaṅgalī: Devadasi Tradition in South India. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. ISBN 978-81-208-1527-8.
* "Kamat Research Database, Biography: N.M.R.Subbaraman". Kamat Research Database. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
* King, Anthony D. (2005). Buildings and Society: Essays on the Social Development of the Built Environment. Taylor & Francis e-library. ISBN 978-0-203-48075-5.
* "Madurai Corporation – citizen charter". Madurai Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
* Mangudi Marudanar (2004). "Mathuraikanchi" (PDF). Project Madurai.
* Markovits, Claude (2004). A History of Modern India, 1480–1950. London: Wimbledon Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-84331-152-2.
* More, J. B. P (1977). Political Evolution of Muslims in Tamilnadu and Madras 1930–1947. Orient Blackswan. ISBN 978-81-250-1192-7.
* Narasaiah (2009). Aalavai – Madurai Managarathin Kadhai. Palaniyappa Brothers. ISBN 978-81-8379-517-3.
* "Special postage stamp on freedom fighters and social reformers". Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
* Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie (2007). History of Early Stone Sculpture at Mathura, Ca. 150 BCE-100 CE. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 978-90-04-15537-4.
* Reynolds, Holly Baker; Bardwell, Smith (1987). The city as a sacred center: essays on six Asian contexts: Annual meetings. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-08471-1.
* Salma Ahmed, Farooqui (2011). A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid Eighteenth century. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-317-3202-1.
* "Deeds of a great social reformer remembered". The Hindu. 26 February 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
* V., Vriddhagirisan (1995) [1942]. Nayaks of Tanjore. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-0996-9.
* Zvelebil, Kamil (1992). Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-09365-2.

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