."[28][29][30][31] which conform to the descriptions of funerals in classical Tamil literature.[32]
Various legends became prevalent after the 10th century CE adproded to the antiquity of the Tamil people by claiming tens of thousands of years of continuous literary activity during three Sangams.[33]
Ancient Tamils had three monarchical states, headed by kings called "Vendhar" and several tribal chieftainships, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination "Vel" or "Velir".[34] Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called "kizhar" or "mannar".[35] The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other mostly over territorial hegemony and property. The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority; they were centres for distribution of resources. Ancient Tamil Sangam literature and grammatical works, Tolkappiyam; the ten anthologies, Pattuppu; and the eight anthologies, Euttokai also shed light on ancient Tamil people.[36] The kings and chieftains were patrons of the arts, and a significant volume of literature exists from this period.[37] The literature shows that many of the cultural practices that are considered peculiarly Tamil date back to the classical period.[37]
Agriculture was important during this period, and there is evidence that networks of irrigation channels were built as early as the 3rd century BCE.[38] Internal and external trade flourished, and evidence of significant contact with Ancient Rome exists.[39] Large quantities of Roman coins and signs of the presence of Roman traders have been discovered at Karur and Arikamedu.[39] There is evidence that at least two embassies were sent to the Roman Emperor Augustus by Pandya kings.[40]Potsherds with Tamil writing have also been found in excavations on the Red Sea, suggesting the presence of Tamil merchants there.[41] An anonymous 1st century traveller.[42]
The classical period ended around the 4th century AD with invasions by the Kalabhra, referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions.[43] These invaders are described as evil kings and barbarians coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country.[44] This period, commonly referred to as the Dark Age of the Tamil country, ended with the rise of the Pallava dynasty.[43][45][46] According to Clarence Maloney, during the classical period Tamils also settled the Maldive Islands.[47]
Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu
Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BC, Tamil Nadu
Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century B.C. Tamil Nadu:, Vpuka? M?var?).[48] Later, they are mentioned in the Mauryan Empire's Pillars of Ashoka (inscribed 273-232 BCE) inscriptions, among the kingdoms, which though not subject to Ashoka, were on friendly and allied terms with him.[49][50] The king of Kalinga, Kharavela, who ruled around 150 BCE, is mentioned in the famous Hathigumpha inscription of the confederacy of the Tamil kingdoms that had existed for over 100 years.[51] The Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras, and Pallavas were followers of Hinduism, though for a short while some of them seem to have embraced Jainism and later converted to Hinduism.[52] After the fall of the Mauryan Empire, the Tamil kingdoms were allied with the Satavahana Dynasty.
These early kingdoms sponsored the growth of some of the oldest extant literature in Tamil. The classical Tamil literature, referred to as Sangam literature is attributed to the period between 200 BCE and 300 CE.[53][54]"). Although the Pallava records can be traced from the 2nd century AD, they did not rise to prominence as an imperial dynasty until the 6th century.[55] They transformed the institution of the kingship into an imperial one, and sought to bring vast amounts of territory under their direct rule. The Bhakti movement in Hinduism was founded at this time, and rose along with the growing influence of Jainism and Buddhism.[56] The Pallavas pioneered the building of large, ornate temples in stone which formed the basis of the Dravidian temple architecture..[57] Pallava Narasimhavarman however reversed this victory in 642 by attacking and occupying Badami temporarily.[58] However a later Chalukya King Vikramaditya II took revenge by repeated invasions of the territory of Tondaimandalam and his subsequent victories over Pallava Nandivarman II and the annexation of Kanchipuram.[59] The Pallava dynasty was overthrown in the 9th century by the imperial Kannada Rashtrakutas who ruled from Gulbarga..[60]
Under Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas became dominant in the 10th century and established an empire covering most of South India and Sri Lanka.[61]The empire had strong trading links with the Chinese Song Dynasty and Southeast Asia.[62][63] The Cholas defeated the Eastern Chalukya and expanded their empire to the Ganges. They conquered the coastal areas around the Bay of Bengal and turned it into a Chola lake. Rajendra Chola improved his father's fleet and created the first notable marine of the Indian subcontinent. The Chola navy conquered the Sri Vijaya Empire of Indonesia and Malaysia and secured the sea trade route to China.[61] Cholas exacted tribute from Thailand and the Khmer Kingdom of Cambodia. The power of the Cholas declined around the 13th century and the Pandyan Empire enjoyed a brief period of resurgence thereafter during the rule of Sundara Pandya.[61] The Pandyan Dynasty reached its peak in the 13th century during the reign of Sadayavarman Sundara Pandyan I and Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I. and 16th century the Vijayanagara Empire became the dominant power of South India. After the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1646, Tamil Nadu was dominated by small states like the Madurai Nayaks.
The western Tamil lands became increasingly politically distinct from the rest of the Tamil lands after the Chola and Pandya empires lost control over them in the 13th century.[64] They developed their own distinct language and literature, which increasingly grew apart from Tamil, evolving into the modern Malayalam language by the 15th century..[67][68] Yet according to another theory cultural diffusion, rather than migration of people, spread the Tamil language from peninsular India into an existing Mesolithic population, centuries before the Christian era.[69].[70]
The indigenous Veddhas of Sri Lanka are ethnically related to tribal people of South India.[71] BCE and 2nd century AD.[72][73] Cultural similarities in burial practices in South India and Sri Lanka were dated by archeologists to the 10th century BC..[74]
South Indian type Black and Red ware potsherds found in Sri Lanka and dated 1st to 2nd century AD. Displayed at the National Museum of Colombo, Sri Lanka..[75] Tamil Brahmi inscribed potsherds have also been excavated in the south of the island in Tissamaharama..[76] Historical records establish that Tamil kingdoms in modern India were closely involved in the island's affairs from about the 2nd century BC.[77][78] In Mahavamsa, a historical poem, ethnic Tamil adventurers such as Elara invaded the island around 145 BC.[79] Tamil soldiers from what is now South India were brought to Anuradhapura between the 7th and 11th centuries CE in such large numbers that local chiefs and kings trying to establish legitimacy came to rely on them.[80] By the 8th century CE there were Tamil villages collectively known as Demel-kaballa (Tamil allotment), Demelat-valademin (Tamil villages), and Demel-gam-bim (Tamil villages and lands).[81]
In the 9th and 10th centuries AD, Pandya and Chola incursions into Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island, which lasted until the latter half of the 11th century AD.[80][82][83][84]
During the rule of the great Chalukya King Vikramaditya VI, in the late eleventh to early twelfth century, the Western Chalukyas convincingly defeated the Cholas on several occasions, weakening their empire.[85][86] The eventual decline of Chola power in South India in the 12th century was also due to the rise of Hoysala power in the region.[87][88][89].[90][91] Hoysala Vira Narasimha II's son Vira Someshwara earned the honorific "uncle" (Mamadi) from the Pandyas and Cholas. The Hoysala influence spread over the Pandya kingdom from whom they gained tribute.[92] The Chola decline in Sri Lanka was followed by the restoration of the Polonnaruwa monarchy in the late 11th century AD.[93] In 1215, following Pandya invasions, the Tamil-dominant Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty established an independent Jaffna kingdom[94] on the Jaffna peninsula and parts of northern Sri Lanka. The Arya Chakaravarthi expansion into the south was halted by Alagakkonara