Ramanathapuram

In the earlier parts of the fifteenth century, the present area of the Ramanathapuram district having the taluks Tiruvadanai, Paramakudi, Kamuthi, Mudukulathur, Ramanathapuram and Rameswaram were under the rule of the Pandyas. For a very small period, this area was also under the rule of the Chola Kings when Rajendra Chola brought it under his territory in A.D. 1063. In A.D. 1520, the Nayaks of Vijayanagar Empire took over this area under their control from the Pandiyan dynasty for about two centuries. Marava chieftains-Sethupathis who were Lords under the Kings of the Pandiyan dynasty reigned over this part. In the early eighteenth century, family disputes over succession led to the division of Ramanathapuram. With assistance from the King of Thanjavur in A.D. 1730, one of the chieftains deposed Sethupathy and became the Raja of Sivaganga. Acting upon the drawbacks of the Nayak rules, the local chieftains became independent. Chand Sahib captured Ramanathapuram and in 1741, the area came under the control of the Marathas and then under the Nizam in A.D. 1744. The rule of the Nawabs made displeasure in the mind of those chieftains and they declared the last Nayak as ruler of Pandiya Mandalam against the Nawab in A.D. 1752. By that time, throne of Carnatic had two rivals, Shanda Sahib and Mohamed Ali, and this district formed a part of Carnatic. The British and French supported Chanda Sahib and Mohamed Ali respectively which resulted in a series of conflicts in the southern part of the continent.

Ramanathapuram