Editing Tamil Nadu (section)

=== Medieval era (4th–13th century CE) ===
[[File:Five Rathas - Mahabalipuram.jpg|thumb|[[Rock cut]] monuments in [[Mahabalipuram]] built by the [[Pallavas]]]]

Around the 7th century CE, the Kalabhras were overthrown by the Pandyas and Cholas, who patronised Buddhism and Jainism before the revival of [[Saivism]] and [[Vaishnavism]] during the [[Bhakti movement]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Sastri|first=K.A. Nilakanta|title=A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|orig-year=1955|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-0-195-60686-7|page=333}}</ref> Though they existed previously, the period saw the rise of the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]] in the sixth century CE under [[Mahendravarman I]], who ruled parts of [[South India]] with [[Kanchipuram]] as their capital.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Francis|first=Emmanuel|date=28 October 2021|title=Pallavas|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00499|journal=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History|pages=1–4|doi=10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00499|isbn=978-1-119-39991-9|s2cid=240189630|access-date=23 December 2023|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171504/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00499|url-status=live}}</ref> The Pallavas were noted for their patronage of architecture: the massive [[gopuram]], ornate towers at the entrance of temples, originated with the [[Pallava art and architecture|Pallava architecture]]. They built the group of [[Rock cut|rock-cut]] monuments in [[Mahabalipuram]] and temples in [[Kanchipuram]].<ref name="UNC"/> Throughout their reign, the Pallavas remained in constant conflict with the Cholas and Pandyas. The Pandyas were revived by [[Kadungon]] towards the end of the 6th century CE and with the Cholas in obscurity in [[Uraiyur]], the Tamil country was divided between the Pallavas and the Pandyas.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Pandya dynasty|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pandya-dynasty|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=5 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005225758/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pandya-dynasty/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Aparajitavarman|Pallavas]] were finally defeated by Chola prince [[Aditya I]] in the 9th century CE.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Pallavas|first=Gabriel|last=Jouveau-Dubreuil|journal=Asian Educational Services|year=1995|page=83}}</ref>

[[File:Rajendra map new.svg|thumb|left|The [[Chola Empire]] at its greatest extent, during the reign of [[Rajendra Chola I]] in 1030]]

The Cholas became the dominant kingdom in the 9th century under [[Vijayalaya Chola]], who established [[Thanjavur]] as Chola's new capital with further expansions by subsequent rulers. In the 11th century CE, [[Rajaraja I]] expanded the Chola Empire with conquests of entire Southern India and parts of present-day [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Maldives]], and increased Chola influence across the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Coins of the Cholas|publisher=Numismatic Society of India|first=Charles Hubert|last=Biddulph|year=1964|page=34}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Atlas of the year 1000|publisher=Harvard University Press|author=John Man|year=1999|page=104|isbn=978-0-674-54187-0}}</ref> Rajaraja brought in administrative reforms including the reorganisation of Tamil country into individual administrative units.<ref>{{cite book|title=From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|first=Upinder|last=Singh|year=2008|isbn=978-8-131-71120-0|publisher=Pearson Education|page=590}}</ref> Under his son [[Rajendra Chola I]], the Chola Empire reached its zenith and stretched as far as [[Bengal]] in the north and across the Indian Ocean.<ref>{{cite book|last=Thapar|first=Romila|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyiqZKDlSBMC|title=The Penguin History of Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2003|isbn=978-0-143-02989-2|location=New Delhi|pages=364–365|language=|orig-year=2002|access-date=23 December 2023|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328171526/https://books.google.com/books?id=gyiqZKDlSBMC|url-status=live}}</ref> The Cholas built many temples in the [[Dravidian architecture|Dravidian]] style with the most notable being the [[Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur|Brihadisvara Temple]] at Thanjavur, one of the foremost temples of the era built by Rajaraja, and [[Gangaikonda Cholapuram]], built by Rajendra.<ref name="Great Living Chola Temples">{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/250/|title=Great Living Chola Temples|publisher=[[UNESCO]]|access-date=1 December 2023|archive-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912082313/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/250/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Pandyas again reigned supreme early in the 13th century under [[Maravarman Sundara Pandyan|Maravarman Sundara I]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Aiyangar|first=Sakkottai Krishnaswami|title=South India and her Muhammadan Invaders|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1921|place=Chennai|page=44}}</ref> They ruled from their capital of [[Madurai]] and expanded trade links with other maritime empires.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sen|first=Sailendra Nath|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|date=1999|publisher=New Age International|isbn=978-8-122-41198-0|pages=458|language=en}}</ref> During the 13th century, [[Marco Polo]] mentioned the Pandyas as the richest empire in existence. The Pandyas also built a number of temples including the [[Meenakshi Amman Temple]] at Madurai.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Meenaskshi-Amman-Temple|title=Meenakshi Amman Temple|date=30 November 2023|access-date=1 December 2023|publisher=[[Britannica]]|archive-date=23 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223062718/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Meenaskshi-Amman-Temple|url-status=live}}</ref>