Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings called "Ventar" and several tribal chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination "Vel" or "Velir". During the third century BCE, the Deccan was part of the Mauryan kingdom, and from the middle of the first century BCE to second century CE the same area was ruled by the Satavahana dynasty. The Tamil area had an independent existence outside the control of these northern empires.
The names of the three dynasties, Cholas, Pandyas, and Keralaputras or Cheras are mentioned in the Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273–232 BCE) inscriptions, where they are mentioned among the kingdoms, which though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly terms with him.
Karikala Chola was the most famous early Chola. He is mentioned in a number of poems in the Sangam poetry.
Pandyas ruled initially from Korkai, a sea port on the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula, and in later times moved to Madurai. Pandyas are also mentioned in Sangam Literature, as well as by Greek and Roman sources during this period. The early Pandyas went into obscurity at the end of the third century CE during the incursion of the Kalabhras.
The kingdom of the Cheras comprised of the modern state of Kerala, along the western or Malabar Coast of southern India. Their proximity to the sea favoured trade with Africa.
Internal and external trade was well organised and active.
After the close of the Sangam era, from about 300 to about 600 CE, there is an almost total lack of information regarding occurrences in the Tamil land. Some time about 300 CE, the whole region was upset by the appearance of the Kalabhras. These people are described in later literature as 'evil rulers' who overthrew the established Tamil kings and got a strangle hold of the country. They did not leave many artefacts or monuments. The only source of information on them is the scattered mentions in Buddhist and Jain literature.
Jainism and Buddhism, took deep roots in the society, giving birth to a large body of ethical poetry.
Writing became very widespread and "vatteluttu" evolved from the Tamil-Brahmi became a mature script for writing Tamil.
The medieval period of the history of the Tamil country saw the rise and fall of many kingdoms, some of whom went on to the extent of empires, exerting influences both in India and overseas.
The Hindu sects Saivism and Vaishnavism became more dominant, with temples being built and Dravidian architecture being supported by empires replacing the significance of Nastik Jainism and Buddhism of the previous era. Some of the output of villages throughout the kingdom was given to temples that reinvested some of the wealth accumulated as loans to the settlements.
Tamil script replaced the "vatteluttu" script throughout Tamil Nadu for writing Tamil. Both secular and religious literature flourished during the period.
The seventh century Tamil Nadu saw the rise of the Pallavas under Mahendravarman I and his son "Mamalla" Narasimhavarman I. The Pallavas were not a recognised political power before the second century. After the fall of the Satavahanas, they began to get control over parts of Andhra and the Tamil country. The Pallavas were at their finest during the reigns of Narasimhavarman I and "Pallavamalla" Nandivarman II.
During the sixth and the seventh centuries, the western Deccan saw the rise of the Chalukyas based in Vatapi. The Pallavas had the more difficult existence of the two as they had to fight on two fronts - against the Pandyas as wells as the Chalukyas.
Pandya Kadungon (560 - 590) is credited with the overthrow of the Kalabhras in the south. Pandya Cendan extended their rule to the Chera country. His son Arikesari Parantaka Maravarman (c. 650 - 700) had a long and prosperous rule. He fought many battles and extended the Pandya power.
After some decades of expansion, the Pandya kingdom was large enough to pose a serious threat to the Pallava power.
The Pandya power continued to grow under Srimara and encroached further into the Pallava territories.
Around 850 rose Vijayalaya, made use of an opportunity arising out of a conflict between Pandyas and Pallavas, captured Thanjavur and eventually established the imperial line of the medieval Cholas. Vijayalaya revived the Chola dynasty and his son Aditya I helped establish their independence. He invaded Pallava kingdom in 903 and killed the Pallava king Aparajita in battle, ending the Pallava reign. The Chola kingdom under Parantaka I expanded to cover the entire Pandya country. However towards the end of his reign he suffered several reverses by the Rashtrakutas who had extended their territories well into the Chola kingdom.
The Cholas went into a temporary decline during the next few years due to weak kings, palace intrigues and succession disputes.
European settlements began to appear in the Tamil country during the Vijayanagara Empire. In 1605, the Dutch established trading posts in the Coromandel Coast near Gingee and in Pulicat. The British East India Company built a 'factory' (warehouse) at Armagaon (Durgarazpatnam), a village around 35 miles North of Pulicat, as the site in 1626.
The conflict between the British and the French had as result in 1765 the Emperor of Delhi issued a "firman" (decree) recognizing the British possessions in southern India.
Although the Company was becoming increasingly bold and ambitious in putting down resisting states, it was getting clearer day by day that the Company was incapable of governing the vast expanse of the captured territories. In 1784 Pitt's India Act made the Company subordinate to the British Government.
The next few decades were of rapid growth and expansion in the territories controlled by the English. The Anglo-Mysore Wars of 1766 to 1799, the Anglo-Maratha Wars of 1772 andPolygar Wars of 1800-1805 Dheeran chinnamalai,the Tamil king won three polygar wars against Britishers and at last he was hanged along with his two brothers.Then Britishers took entire control of Tamil Nadu by settling east India company after the death of chinnamalai the brave Tamil king.
The discontent in the various districts of the company territories exploded in 1857 into the Sepoy war. Although the rebellion had a huge impact on the state of the colonial power in India, Tamil Nadu was mostly unaffected by it.
In 1858 the British Crown assumed direct rule in India.
Failure of the summer monsoons and administrative shortcomings of the Ryotwari system resulted in a severe famine in the Madras Presidency during 1876 - 1877.The government instituted a famine insurance grant, setting aside 1.5 million Rupees. Other civic works such as canal building and improvements in roads and railway were also undertaken to minimise effects of any future famines.
The growing desire for independence began to gradually gather pace in the country and its influence in Tamil Nadu generated a number of volunteers to the fight against the British colonial power in the struggle for Independence. Notable amongst these are Tiruppur Kumaran, who was born in 1904 in a small village near Erode. Kumaran lost his life during a protest march against the British.
In 1916 Dr. T.M. Nair and Rao Bahadur Thygaraya Chetty released the "Non-Brahmin Manifesto" sowing the seeds for the Dravidian movements.
The trauma of the partition did not impact Tamil Nadu when India was granted Independence in 1947. There was no sectarian violence against various religions. There had always been an atmosphere of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence between all religions in Tamil Nadu. Congress formed the first ministry in the Madras Presidency. Rajaji was the first Chief Minister. Madras Presidency was eventually reconstituted as Madras State.
The Madras state was named Tamil Nadu (the land of the Tamils) in 1968.
Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka during the 1970s and the 80s saw large numbers of Sri Lankan Tamils fleeing to Tamil Nadu.