The Cholas

A Mighty Cannon of forge-welded Iron. This cannon was built during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak (1600 - 1645CE), and it was located at the defense barricade at the Eastern entrance to the city.After the Cholas the Pandyas conquered the Chola country. Madurai was the Pandya capital and tanjore remained in the background, as a province of Vijaynagar empire.Later in 1535,the Vijaynagar king installed a Nayak king hence the era of Tanjore Nayaks which lasted till mid-17th century, until attacked by the Madurai Nayaks. Later slipped into the hands of Marathas.Tanjore was conquered by the Marathas in 1674 under Venkaji, the half-brother of Shivaji the Great; his successors ruled as rajas of Tanjore. The British first came into contact with Tanjore by their expedition in 1749 with a view to the restoration of a deposed raja of Tanjore Nayak lineage. In this they failed, and a subsequent expedition was bought off. The Maratha rajas held Tanjore until 1799. A Protestant mission at Tanjore was founded in 1778 by the Reverend Christian Friedrich Schwarz. His church dates from 1779.In October 1799, the district was ceded to the British East India Company in absolute sovereignty by Raja Serfoji II, a pupil of the missionary Schwartz. The raja retained only the capital and a small tract of surrounding country. He died in 1833 and was succeeded by his son Sivaji, on whose death in 1855 without an heir the house became extinct.