தர்மபுரி HISTROY

The earliest known chief or leader who ruled Tagadur i.e. present Dharmapuri is Adigaman Naduman Anji. He ruled during the Sangam era. In the 8th century the northern parts of Salem District were under the Pallavas regime. The Western Gangas are mentioned as having ruled Baramahal during the end of the 8th century.

In the beginning of 9th Century, the Rashtrakutas gained power and influenced the history of the district. It continues till the next two centuries. During this period, the other happenings were like this. The Cholas rose to power in the south and Aditya-I conquered the Kongunadu in 894 A.D. During 949-950 A.D., the Cholas suffered a defeat from the Rastrakuttas whose decline started later after the death of their king Krishna-III. Subsequently, the entire area in Salem District came under the rule of the Cholas. The Gangavadi was then took over to the Chola territory and placed in charge of an Adigaman Tagadur.

In the 12th century the decline of the Chola Empire took place when the Hoysalas rose to power and routed the Cholas from Gangavadi. They are said to have captured Kolar, sacked Kotayur and over ran the western parts of Kongunadu as well. The Baramahal and Talaget areas still remained with the Cholas.

The history of the 13th Century experiences the changes between the Hoysalas and the Pandyas. This portion may be added after when the Yadavas attacked them from the North. The Hoysalas retreated towards the South in Kongunadu. It is known that Jatavarman Soundrapandian-I assisted the Yadavas in driving out the Hoysalas king named Vira Someswara. He was from the Chola territory.

In the 14th century the rise of Vijayanagar kingdom was prominent. In 1365-66 A.D., Bukka-I turned his attention towards the south to overthrow the Mohammedan Sultanate of Madurai. One of these campaigns must have brought Salem District under the Vijayanagar kings. They ruled these parts till 1565 A.D. Meanwhile the ascendancy of the Madurai Nayakas reached its zenith during the time of Tirumala Nayak who came to power in 1623 A.D. Ramachandra Nayaka, one of his poligars was incharge of Talaimalai. This was a hill overlooking the Cauvery in the south Namakkal taluk. The Namakkal Fort is said to have been built by them. The Gathi Mudaliars were incharge of the most dangerously exposed province of the Nayak Kingdom with Kaveripuram on the right bank of the Cauvery. Their strategic capital beginning from the principal passes to the Mysore plateau.

Kantirave Narasa Raja of Srirangapatinam took several places in Coimbatore from Gathi Mudaliars in 1611 A.D. After 11 years, of this happening he seized Baramahal including Viralahadradurg, Pennagaram, Dharmapuri and Denkanikotta. In 1654 A.D., he took over Hosur from Chandra Sankar Dodda Devaraju. He was the king of Mysore wrested Omalur from the Gathi Mudaliars and thus erased them out of political scene. The behavior of Marathas however checked the power of the Mysore Kings. For a time Baramahal and Talaghat passed into the hands of Marathas. In 1688-89 A.D., Chikka Deva Raya king of Mysore felt strong enough once again to invade Baramahal and wrested Dharmapuri, Manukonda, Omalur Paramathi, Kaveripatinam and Attur. Chika Deva Raya retrieved all these and the whole district of Salem came under his control before his death in 1704 A.D. Meanwhile Abdul Nabikhan of Nawab of Cuddapah extended his possession towards South and by 1714 A.D., he made himself master of the Baramahal.

By about 1750 A.D., Hyder Ali was in power in Mysore Baramahal came under his influence in 1760 A.D. By 1767 A.D., the British Government at Madras planned an attack on Hyder Ali and seized Kaveripattinam without serious opposition. Krishnagiri was attacked at that time. Meanwhile, reinforcement was brought by Hyder Ali and they drove away the British. Thus, Kaveripattinam was recaptured. Some months later the British made another invasion on the Baramahal. Further, South Dharmapuri, Salem, Attur, Sendamangalam and Namakkal were surrendered to the British without serious difficulties. The victory, however, was short-lived because Hyder Ali soon recaptured Dharmapuri, Denkanikota, Omalur, Salem and Namakkal. During the period of second Mysore war, Salem District was under the control of Hyder Ali.

Tippu Sultan succeeded Hyder Ali and proved to be a formidable power. The British made an alliance with the Marattas and the Nizam and started the third Mysore war in 1790 A.D. It happened in order to control the power of Tippu Sultan. A wing of the British forces stationed itself fully reinforced at Kaveripattinam. Even though Tippu Sultan rushed to this spot with his full force, he could not dislodge the British. A number of alternations took place between the commanding forces in the Baramahal area. In 1791, Hosur, Anjetti, Nilgiri and Ratnagiri came under the British Royakotta and many other small forts fell without much resistance. In 1791 Tippu sent a force from the South along the Tippu pass. In the battle at Pennagaram they surrendered to the British. In 1792 A.D., a peace treaty was signed between Tippu and English. According to this, a half of the dominion of Tippu was taken away. The whole of Salem District except the Balaghat and a portion of Hosur came into the hands of the British. The first British Collector had is headquarters at Krishnagiri on strategic consideration as well.

The last Mysore war in 1799 added up several places in Hosur Taluk like Nilgiri, Anjetti, Durgam, Ratnagiri and Kelamangalam, which were recaptured by British. After the fall of Srirangapattinam in which Tippu Sultan lost his life, the Balaghat area was also added to Salem District.

The present Dharmapuri district was then a part of the Salem district. During the British rule in the country and even till 1947 Dharmapuri was one of the Taluks of Salem District. The Dharmapuri district was formed as a separate district on 2nd October 1065. It has its headquarters at Dharmapuri. Thiru G.Thirumal I.A.S was the first Collector of Dharmapuri district. The Dharmapuri district was again bifurcated into Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts on 9th February 2004.