Tondaimandalam
Tondaimandalam, also known as Tondai Nadu, is a historical region located in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh and northernmost part of Tamil Nadu. The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the legendary kingdom of Athondai Chakravarti. The boundaries of Tondaimandalam are ambiguous – between the Rivers basins of Penna River and Ponnaiyar River. During the reign of Rajaraja I, this region was called as "Jayankonda Cholamandalam". Geography. The region includes the Nellore, Chittoor, North and South Arcot and Chingleput districts of the Andhra and Madras states. Chennai was part of the region. It covers the present  day areas of Nellore, Chittoor, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Tiruvanamalai, Villupuram, Kallakuruchi, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore and Chennai districts of modern-day Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. History. Neolithic burial urn, cairn circles and jars with burials dating to the very dawn of the common era have been discovered near Mamallapuram.It then came under the rule of Cholas during first century CE with the capital of Tondai Nadu as Kanchipuram. The "Proceedings of the First Annual Conference" of South Indian History Congress also notes: The word "Tondai" means a creeper and the term "Pallava" conveys a similar meaning. In the  3rd century CE, Tondai Nadu was ruled by Ilandiraiyan, the first king with the title "Tondaiman", whom P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar identifies with a Pallava prince. Pallavas moved southwards, adopted local traditions to their own use, and named themselves as Tondaiyar after the land called Tondai. The medieval Pallavas ruled Andhra and Northern Tamil Nadu, from the 4th to the 9th centuries, with their seat of capital at ancient Kanchipuram. The ancient Tamil poem of Kalingattuparani mentions the conquest of Telangana by Kulotunga Cholan who handed the reigns of Tondamandalam to his illegitimate son Adondai. It was captured by the  second Chola monarch, Aditya (ruled c. 871–907 CE). he defeated the armies of the Pallavas of Kanchipuram and claimed all of Tondai Nadu; the region north of the Kaveri basin around Palar river basin including present day Chittoor and Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, as Chola territory. The region was then a part of Vijayanagara Empire, first ruling from Hampi and then headquartered at Chandragiri in present-day Andhra Pradesh. The Vijayanagara rulers who controlled the area, appointed chieftains known as Nayaks who ruled over the different regions of the province almost independently. During the British Rule, the whole region  was a part of the Madras Presidency.