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According to [[Hindu mythology]], Tiruchirappalli derives its name from the three-headed demon ''Trishira'', who [[Tapas (Sanskrit)|meditated]] on the Hindu god [[Shiva]] near the present-day city to obtain favours from the god.{{Sfn|Hemingway|1907|p=2}} An alternative derivation, albeit not universally accepted,{{Sfn|Hemingway|1907|p=2}} is that the source of the city's name is the [[Sanskrit]] word "Trishirapuram"—''[[Trishira]]'', meaning "three-headed", and ''palli'' or ''puram'' meaning "city".{{Sfn|Hemingway|1907|p=2}}{{Sfn|Yule|Burnell|1903|p=938}} | According to [[Hindu mythology]], Tiruchirappalli derives its name from the three-headed demon ''Trishira'', who [[Tapas (Sanskrit)|meditated]] on the Hindu god [[Shiva]] near the present-day city to obtain favours from the god.{{Sfn|Hemingway|1907|p=2}} An alternative derivation, albeit not universally accepted,{{Sfn|Hemingway|1907|p=2}} is that the source of the city's name is the [[Sanskrit]] word "Trishirapuram"—''[[Trishira]]'', meaning "three-headed", and ''palli'' or ''puram'' meaning "city".{{Sfn|Hemingway|1907|p=2}}{{Sfn|Yule|Burnell|1903|p=938}} | ||
==History== | |||
{{Main|History of Tiruchirappalli}} | |||
===Early and medieval history=== | |||
Tiruchirappalli is one of the oldest inhabited cities in [[Tamil Nadu]] and 3rd oldest city in [[India]] after [[Madurai]] and [[Varanasi]]; its earliest settlements date back to the Sangam period.{{Sfn|Thani Nayagam|1957|p=324}} [[Uraiyur]], the capital of the Early Cholas for 600 years from the 3rd century BC onwards,{{Sfn|Sastri|1935|p=22}} is a neighbourhood in the present-day Tiruchirappalli.{{Sfn|Sastri|1935|p=19}}{{Sfn|Beck|2006|p=40}} The city is referred to as Orthoura by the historian [[Ptolemy]] in his 2nd-century work ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]''.{{Sfn|Caldwell|1881|p=25}} The world's oldest surviving dam, the [[Kallanai]] (Lower Anaicut) about {{convert|18|km|mi}} from Uraiyur,<ref>{{Google maps | url =https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Uraiyur,%20tiruchirappalli&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&ei=SauEUoHnA4Sihged24C4DA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg | access-date =3 January 2014}}</ref> was built across the Kaveri River by [[Karikala Chola]] in the 2nd century AD.{{Sfn|Pujari|Kolhe|Kumar|2006|p=102}} | |||
[[Tiruchirappalli Rock Fort]], the rock is said to be one of the oldest formations in the world. It is 3.8 billion years old, as it is older than [[Greenland]] and [[Himalayas]]. | |||
The medieval history of Tiruchirappalli begins with the reign of the Pallava king [[Mahendravarman I]], who ruled over South India in the 6th century AD and constructed the rock-cut cave-temples within the [[Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort|Rockfort]].{{Sfn|Kuppuram|1988|p=105}}{{Sfn|Sastri|1935|p=105}}{{Sfn|Beck|2006|pp=42–92}} Following the downfall of the Pallavas in the 8th century, the city was conquered by the [[Medieval Cholas]], who ruled until the 13th century.{{Sfn|Sastri|1935|p=438}} | |||
After the decline of the Cholas, Tiruchirappalli was conquered by the [[Pandyan Dynasty|Pandyas]],{{Sfn|Aiyangar|1921|p=45}} who ruled from 1216 until their defeat in 1311 by [[Malik Kafur]], the commander of [[Allauddin Khilji]].{{Sfn|Aiyangar|1921|p=99}}{{Sfn|Lal|1967|pp=251–252}} The victorious armies of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] are believed to have plundered and ravaged the region.{{Sfn|Aiyangar|1921|p=99}}{{Sfn|Lal|1967|pp=251–252}}{{Sfn|Aiyangar|1921|pp=112–116}} The statue of the Hindu god [[Ranganatha]] in the temple of [[Srirangam]] vanished at about this time and was not recovered and reinstated for more than fifty years.{{Sfn|Lal|1967|pp=251–252}}{{Sfn|Aiyangar|1921|pp=112–116}} Tiruchirappalli was ruled by the Delhi and [[Madurai Sultanate|Madurai]] sultanates from 1311 to 1378,{{Sfn|Sastri|1935|p=213}} but by the middle of the 14th century the Madurai Sultanate had begun to fall apart.{{Sfn|Aiyangar|1921|p=185-188}} Gradually, the Vijayanagar Empire established supremacy over the northern parts of the kingdom, and Tiruchirappalli was taken by the Vijayanagar prince [[Kumara Kampana|Kumara Kampanna Udaiyar]] in 1371.{{Sfn|Sastri|1935|p=241}} The Vijayanagar Empire ruled the region from 1378 until the 1530s, and played a prominent role in reviving Hinduism by reconstructing temples and monuments destroyed by the previous Muslim rulers.{{Sfn|Yunus|Parmar|2003|p=116}} Following the collapse of the Vijayanagar Empire in the early part of the 16th century, the [[Madurai Nayaks|Madurai Nayak kingdom]] began to assert its independence.{{Sfn|Aiyangar|1921|p=169}}{{Sfn|Sewell|1900|p=49}}{{Sfn|Sathianathaier|1924|p=234}} The city flourished during the reign of [[Vishwanatha Nayak]] (c. 1529–1564), who is said to have protected the area by constructing the [[Teppakulam, Tiruchirapppalli|Teppakulam]] and building walls around the Srirangam temple.{{Sfn|Hemingway|1907|p=51}}{{Sfn|Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway|1926|pp=73–74}} His successor [[Kumara Krishnappa Nayak]]a made Tiruchirappalli his capital,{{Sfn|Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway|1926|pp=73–74}} and it served as the capital of the Madurai Nayak kingdom from 1616 to 1634 and from 1665 to 1736.{{Sfn|Sathianathaier|1924|pp=103–160}}{{Sfn|Amaladass|1988|p=122}}{{Sfn|Subrahmanian|1977|pp=12–61}} | |||
In 1736 the last Madurai Nayak ruler, [[Meenakshi (Nayak queen)|Meenakshi]], committed suicide, and Tiruchirappalli was conquered by [[Chanda Sahib]].{{Sfn|Sathianathaier|1924|p=234}}{{Sfn|Ramaswami|1984|pp=43–79}} He ruled the kingdom from 1736 to 1741, when he was captured and imprisoned by the [[Marathas]] in the [[Siege of Trichinopoly (1741)|siege of Tiruchirappalli (1741)]] led by general [[Raghuji Bhonsle]] under the orders of [[Chhattrapati Shahu]].{{Sfn|Ramaswami|1984|pp=43–79}}{{Sfn|Jaques|2007|pp=1034–1035}}{{Sfn|Subramanian|1928|p=52–53}} Chanda Sahib remained prisoner for about eight years before making his escape from the Maratha Empire. Tiruchirappalli was administered by the Maratha general [[Murari Rao]] from 1741 to 1743, when [[Siege of Trichinopoly (1743)|it was acquired]] by the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]], who bribed Rao to hand over the city.{{Sfn|Ramaswami|1984|pp=43–79}}{{Sfn|Subramanian|1928|p=52–53}} Nizam appointed Khwaja Abdullah as the ruler and returned to [[Golkonda]].{{Sfn|Chhabra|2005|p=103}} When the [[Nawab of the Carnatic]] [[Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah]] was dethroned by Chanda Sahib after the [[Battle of Ambur]] (1749), the former fled to Tiruchirappalli, where he set up his base.{{Sfn|Rose|Newton|1929|pp=126–127}}{{Sfn|Markovits|2004|p=222}}{{Sfn|Ramaswami|1984|p=115}} The subsequent [[Siege of Trichinopoly (1751-1752)|siege of Tiruchirappalli (1751–1752)]] by Chanda Sahib took place during the [[Second Carnatic War]] between the [[East India Company|British East India Company]] and Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah on one side and Chanda Sahib and the [[French East India Company]] on the other.{{Sfn|Ramaswami|1984|p=148}} The British were victorious and Wallajah was restored to the throne. During his reign he proposed renaming the city Natharnagar after the Sufi saint [[Nathar Vali]], who is thought to have lived there in the 12th century AD.{{Sfn|Bayly|2004|p=233}}{{Sfn|Muthiah|2008|p=137}} Tiruchirappalli was invaded by [[Nanjaraja Wodeyar]] in 1753 and [[Hyder Ali]] of the [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore kingdom]] in 1780, both attacks repulsed by the troops of the British East India Company.{{Sfn|Brayley-Hodgetts|2008|p=217}} A third invasion attempt, by [[Tipu Sultan]]—son of Hyder Ali—in 1793, was also unsuccessful;{{Sfn|Burn|Cotton|1908|p=29}} he was pursued by British forces led by [[William Medows]], who thwarted the attack.{{Sfn|Fortescue|1902|pp=558–559}} | |||
===British rule=== | |||
The Carnatic kingdom was [[Carnatic Treaty|annexed by the British]] in July 1801 as a consequence of the discovery of collusion between Tipu Sultan—an enemy of the British—and [[Umdat Ul-Umra]], son of Wallajah and the [[Nawab]] at the time, during the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]].{{Sfn|Ingram|1995|pp=5–27}}{{Sfn|Ramachandran|2008|p=74}} Trichinopoly was incorporated into the [[Madras Presidency]] the same year, and the district of [[Trichinopoly District|Trichinopoly]] was formed, with the city of Trichinopoly (or Tiruchirappalli) as its capital.{{Sfn|Moore|1878|p=178}} | |||
During the [[Company Raj]] and later the [[British Raj]], Tiruchirappalli emerged as one of the most important cities in India. According to the [[Indian census|1871 Indian census]]—the first in British India—Tiruchirappalli had a population of 76,530, making it the second largest city in the presidency after the capital of Madras (now Chennai).{{Sfn|Burn|Cotton|1908|p=43}} It was known throughout the [[British Empire]] for its unique variety of ''cheroot'', known as the [[Trichinopoly cigar]].{{Sfn|Yule|Burnell|1903|p=938}} Tiruchirappalli was the first headquarters for the newly formed [[South Indian Railway Company]] in 1874 until its relocation to [[Madras]] in the early 20th century.{{efn|Madras was renamed as Chennai in 1996.<ref>{{cite news|title=Destination Puducherry |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/09/23/stories/2006092300020100.htm |access-date=29 December 2013 |date=23 September 2006 |first=Deepa H. |last=Ramakrishnan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001854/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/09/23/stories/2006092300020100.htm |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=31 December 2013 }}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite news|first=S. |last=Muthiah |title=The railway of the Deep South |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/the-railway-of-the-deep-south/article425584.ece |access-date=16 August 2013 |newspaper=The Hindu |date=9 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007133037/http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/the-railway-of-the-deep-south/article425584.ece |archive-date=7 October 2013 }}</ref> | |||
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="150px" perrow="4" caption="Trichinopoly during the British Raj"> | |||
File:Town and Fort of Trichinopoly p.302.jpg|alt=The town and fort of Trichinopoly photographed in 1840|The town and fort of Trichinopoly c. 1840 | |||
File:The tank and Rockfort Trichinopoly.jpg|alt=The Teppakulam and Rockfort photographed in 1860|Rockfort and Teppakulam, c. 1860 | |||
</gallery> | |||
===Contemporary and modern history=== | |||
[[File:Tiruchirapalli1955.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Map of Tiruchirappalli town in 1955|alt=a historical map of the city]] | |||
Tiruchirappalli played an active role during the [[Indian independence movement|pre-independence era]]; there were a number of strikes and non-violent protests during the [[Quit India Movement]],{{Sfn|Zaidi|1973|p=101}} notably the [[1928 South Indian Railway Strike|South Indian Railway Strike]] that took place in 1928.{{Sfn|South Indian Railway Strike|1928}} The city was the base for the [[Vedaranyam march|Vedaranyam salt march]] initiated by [[C. Rajagopalachari]] in parallel with the [[Dandi March]] in 1930.<ref>{{cite news|first=La. Su. |last=Rengarajan |title=Marathon march |url=http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/04/10/stories/2005041000240400.htm |access-date=16 August 2013 |date=10 April 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007060442/http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/04/10/stories/2005041000240400.htm |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=7 October 2013 }}</ref> Tiruchirappalli was an epicentre of the [[anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu]] when a team of Tamil language supporters gathered and organised a rally from the city to Madras in [[Anti-Hindi agitation of 1937–40|1938]].<ref>{{cite news|title=First anti-Hindi agitation remembered |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/first-antihindi-agitation-remembered/article3716668.ece |access-date=21 November 2013 |newspaper=The Hindu |date=2 August 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202225437/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/first-antihindi-agitation-remembered/article3716668.ece |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}</ref> Later in 1965, Tiruchirappalli was made the base of the "Madras state Anti-Hindi Conference" convened by C. Rajagopalachari.{{Sfn|Baliga|1999|p=244}}{{Sfn|Rasam|1997|p=98}} The population of Tiruchirappalli continued to grow rapidly, achieving a growth rate of 36.9% during the period 1941–51.{{Sfn|Rao|1974|p=193}} After independence in 1947, Tiruchirappalli fell behind other cities such as [[Salem, Tamil Nadu|Salem]] and [[Coimbatore]] in terms of growth.{{Sfn|Bala|1986|p=148}}{{Sfn|Rajendran|Arumugam|Chandrasekaran|2002|p=3}}<ref name="thehindu_20110409">{{cite news|title=City of choice |url=http://www.hindu.com/pp/2011/04/09/stories/2011040950120100.htm |date=9 April 2011 |first1=Aruna V. |last1=Iyer |first2=Asha V. |last2=Sridhar |access-date=11 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831032908/http://www.hindu.com/pp/2011/04/09/stories/2011040950120100.htm |work=[[The Hindu]] |archive-date=31 August 2011 }}</ref> Tiruchirappalli remained a part of [[Madras State]], which was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.{{Sfn|Rana|2006|p=399}} The city underwent extensive economic development in the 1960s with the commissioning of [[Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited]].{{Sfn|Ahmed|1980|p=52}}<ref name=business_line>{{cite web|title=Tiruchi: Key centre for fabrication |url=http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-editorial-feature/tiruchi-key-centre-for-fabrication/article2692965.ece |access-date=5 October 2013 |work=[[Business Line]] |date=7 December 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007013748/http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-editorial-feature/tiruchi-key-centre-for-fabrication/article2692965.ece |archive-date=7 October 2013 }}</ref> In the early 1980s, [[M. G. Ramachandran]], then [[List of Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu|Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu]] drafted a plan to move the state's administrative headquarters to Tiruchirappalli.<ref name=Mayilvaganan>{{cite news|first=V. |last=Mayilvaganan |title=Residents see development, price rise as major election issues |url=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOICH/2009/05/11&PageLabel=7&EntityId=Ar00700&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T |access-date=16 August 2013 |newspaper=The Times of India |date=11 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006222852/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOICH%2F2009%2F05%2F11&PageLabel=7&EntityId=Ar00700&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T |archive-date=6 October 2013 }}</ref> A [[satellite town]] was developed near [[Navalpattu]] on the outskirts of the city,<ref name=Mayilvaganan /> but the proposed move was shelved by successive governments.<ref>{{cite news|first=S. |last=Muthiah |title=Madras Miscellany |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/article2037759.ece |access-date=16 August 2013 |newspaper=The Hindu |date=22 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006214525/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/article2037759.ece |archive-date=6 October 2013 }}</ref> | |||
Like much of Tamil Nadu, Tiruchirappalli remains prone to communal tensions based on religion and ethnicity. There have been occasional outbreaks of [[Attacks on Sri Lankans in Tamil Nadu|violence against Sri Lankans]]. In 2009, the offices of a Sri Lankan airline were attacked in the city.<ref> | |||
{{cite web |first=Jatindra |last=Dash |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1637830731.html |title=Karunanidhi sets up a forum for Sri Lankan Tamil's Welface |publisher=The Hindustan Times, accessed via HighBeam Research {{subscription}} |date=3 February 2009 |access-date=29 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610060341/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1637830731.html |archive-date=10 June 2014 }} | |||
</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Forum for Sri Lankan Tamils' welfare |url=http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article32700.ece |access-date=29 November 2013 |newspaper=The New Indian Express |date=3 February 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203090748/http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article32700.ece |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref> In September 2012, two groups of Sri Lankan pilgrims who had visited the [[Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health]] in [[Velankanni]] and the [[Poondi Madha Basilica]] had their buses attacked in Tiruchirappalli by a group of Tamil activists.<ref>{{cite news|title=Attacks on Lankan pilgrims in Tamil Nadu: India assures security |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/09/05/attacks-lankan-pilgrims-tamil-nadu-india-assures-security |access-date=29 November 2013 |newspaper=[[Asian Tribune]] |date=5 September 2012 |first=R. |last=Vasudevan |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203000231/http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/09/05/attacks-lankan-pilgrims-tamil-nadu-india-assures-security |archive-date=3 December 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=On way to airport, Sri Lankan pilgrims attacked by mob in Tamil Nadu |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/on-way-to-airport-sri-lankan-pilgrims-attacked-by-mob-in-tamil-nadu/997675/ |access-date=29 November 2013 |newspaper=The Indian Express |date=4 September 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407040619/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/on-way-to-airport-sri-lankan-pilgrims-attacked-by-mob-in-tamil-nadu/997675/ |archive-date=7 April 2013 }}</ref><ref> | |||
{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2756227941.html |title=Our Pilgrimage to Tamil Nadu Ended in Sadness |publisher=[[Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)|Sunday Observer]], accessed via HighBeam Research {{subscription}} |date=10 September 2013 |access-date=29 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610060325/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2756227941.html |archive-date=10 June 2014 }} | |||
</ref> Owing to a series of terrorist attacks in Indian cities since 2000, security has been increased at sites such as [[Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam|Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple]].<ref> | |||
{{cite web |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1561396171.html |title=Terror threat to temples in Tamil Nadu |publisher=The Hindustan Times, accessed via HighBeam Research {{subscription}} |date=25 September 2008 |access-date=29 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610060332/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1561396171.html |archive-date=10 June 2014 }} | |||
</ref> | |||
== References == | |||