Under the Cholas

Tanjore or Tanjapuri as it was called in the ancient times was chosen by the Mutharayar king and later conquered by Vijayalaya Chola. Vijayalaya built a temple for his favourite goddess Nisumbhasudani in the city. Although subsequent emperors made Kanchipuram a subsidiary capital, tanjore maintained its position as the chief city. The great Brihadisvara Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I was completed around 1010 CE. It remained the centre of the Chola administration for many years, channelling the state revenue into a number of civic projects. It also acted as a repository of the empire's records, as the great Rajaraja had its walls covered with numerous inscriptions recording his conquests and his endowments to various charities. The impression we get from the inscriptions is of a wealthy, progressive city, although totally dominated by the temple.

The inscriptions tell us about a number of royal palaces in the city and of the districts where palace servants lived. We also learn the names of a number of streets: the big street of Virasola and the big market of Tribhuvanamadeviyar. During the reign of Rajaraja we learn that the city was divided into two parts: Ullalai (inner) and Purambadi (outer) city. Purambadi could have been an extension to the city built during Rajaraja's reign. Among the new streets built by Rajaraja were two running east to west in front of the Brihadisvara Temple and called Northern and Southern Talichcheries. People who worked in the temple occupied these streets. There were other temples then, such as the Jayabhima temple and Tanjai Mamani found in the inscriptions, which do not exist anymore. There was also a public hospital attached to a Vishnu temple named after Sundara Chola called Sundarachola Vinnagara Salai which was endowed by Kundavai, the sister of Rajaraja CholaThe influence of tanjore began to diminish when Rajendra Chola I built a new city named Gangaikonda Cholapuram and moved his capital there.