But, there were many smaller local rulers. By the 15th century they had a separate language, Malayalam language, now the language of the Indian state of Kerala.Īfter 16th century no major rulers emerged to rule Tamil lands. The people living there developed their own language and culture. By the 13th century, the Cholas and the Pandyas had lost control over these areas. Over a period of time, western parts of Tamil lands were developing in a separate manner. The Pandya dynasty came to an end by the 16th century. However, by that time Muslim rulers invaded Tamil lands. By the 12th – 13th centuries, the power of the Cholas had declined. They also had a strong trading links with China. They had a strong navy, That reached Thailand, Burma and Sumatra. By the 10th century, the Cholas had established a big empire, covering most of south India and Sri Lanka. In the 9th century, the Cholas and the Pandyas defeated Pallavas. Later The Pallavas also encouraged the worship of Shiva and Vishnu and built large temples. Only later pallava period is mentioned during the 6th century, they became powerful after they drove the kalapirars. Historical records of ancient Tamil rulers have been destroyed on purpose. This dark phase ended with the rise of the Pandyas and Pallava dynasty again. They are the Jewish Invaders from Western coast of Karnataka and Kerala with help of the local Telugu tribal's who lived in the jungles of Western ghats and chambal. For Tamil people, this was a dark period of their history called kalapiraras. People from northern parts of India invaded the lands of the Tamil people. The classical period ended at around 2nd century. These items included black pepper, pearls, ivory, silk, diamonds, sapphires, and tortoiseshell. He had detailed the items exported by the Tamil people. Archaeologists have also found Tamil writings in broken pieces of pottery in the Red Sea, where Tamil Merchants settled there and became one of the Acestor the Romani people, as DNA studys shows.Īn unnamed traveler from ancient Greece had described in Greek language ports of the Pandya as "The land of Punt" and Chera kings.
The Pandyas sent at least two ambassadors to the Roman Emperor Augustus. In Karur (Tamil Nadu), archaeologists found a large number of coins of Ancient Rome and Egypt. They even traded with many other countries, including places in Europe. Three royal families emerged in the lands of the Tamil people: the dynasties of the Cholas, Cheras, and the Pandyas.Īt that time, agriculture and trading were two main economic activities of Tamil people. Archived at the Wayback Machine The classical period Recent excavations at these sites have also provided samples of early Tamil writing, dating back to at least 5000 BC ( The Hindu, 2005). The style of burials is same as described in classical Tamil literature. Archaeologists have found many burial places of megalithic era. In Tamil Nadu, the earliest presence of Tamil people dates back to around 10000 BC on wards. Historians confirmed with the scripts and names of towns of Indus that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization were Tamil. Some connect them with the Elamite people of ancient Iran. No one is sure about the exact origins of the Tamil people. The history of Tamil people has three broad time periods as described below. 1.3 The imperial and post-imperial periods.They now also include descendants of Tamil speaking people even when they no longer speak Tamil language. In recent times, they have broadened the definition of Tamil people. Tamil people identify themselves with their language, Tamil and their rich culture and literature. Tamil people, are not closely related to people in the Middle East and Europe, except the Romani people. Some of them are Brahui people, Kannadigas, Malayalis, Telugu people and Tuluvas. Other peoples are related to the Tamil people by language, culture, and ancestry. The remaining Tamil people live in many other places.
Of that, there are about 63,000,000 in India about 3,600,000 live in Sri Lanka about 2,900,000 live in Malaysia and about 430,000 live in Singapore. The Tamil people number around 74 million in the world. Traditionally, they have been living in the southern parts of India, and the northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia.