History of Madurai
Madurai has undergone through very interesting past and it is believed that origin of Madurai took place during Sangam Period. Formerly, the city was famous as Kadambavanam and during the ancient times, one farmer was crossing the forest and he saw Lord Indra performing puja of his own Lingam. The farmer reported this scene in front of Raja Kulasekra Pandya. The king immediately ordered to clear out the forest and established the world famous temple named Meenakshi Temple around the Lingam.
Dating back to 3rd century, the city was visited by Megasthanese followed by Rome and Greece traders. Gradually, Madurai got developed in world level trading center especially, boomed up in 10th century. After that, Cholas captured the city and ruled over the city till 13th century. Then, the throne of the city was captivated by Alauddin Khilji in 1311. Unfortunately, they were able to rule over the city only till 1323 as followed by Tughlaqs. In 1371, Madurai became a crucial fragment of Vijaynagar Dynasty of Hampi. As the matter of fact, the Vijaynagar dynasty had chosen the Nayaks to reign over the city but later on, in 1530, the Krishna Deva Rao died and the city went into the hands of Nayaks. During the ruling period of Nayak Dynasty, the city emerges as well-developed city and myriad of attractions were added like Padu Mandapam, Thirumalai Nayak Palace, etc. In 1781, British rule dominated the city!!
