Thanjavur, formerly Tanjore, is an important center of religion, art, and architecture.

The city first rose to prominence during the reign of Medieval Cholas when it served as the capital of the Chola Empire. After the fall of Cholas, the city was ruled by various dynasties like Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayakas and Marathas.

Most of the Chola Temples, which are UNESCO World Heritage Monuments, are located in and around Thanjavur. The foremost among these are the Brihadeeswara Temple. Built in the 11^th century by the Chola king Raja Raja Chola I, the temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. An enormous Nandi (second largest in India), carved out of a single block of granite, guards the entrance of the sanctuary.   The walls of the sanctum are covered with wall paintings from the Chola and Nayaka periods. It is replicated in the Gangaikonda Cholesvarar Temple constructed by Raja Raja’s son Rajendra Chola I.

Thanjavur is home to Tanjore painting, a painting style unique to the region. Thanjavur painting dates back to early 17^th century, the period of Nayakas of Thanjavur, who encouraged art, classical dance, music, literature. The Saraswati Mahal Palace was started by the Nayakas of Madurai around 1500 AD, but was completed by the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur.

Many epigraphs, inscriptions, coins etc belonging to different kings have been discovered from here.

2.One of the Gopuram 3.Shrine of Ganapathy 4.Main Gopuram 5.Mural painting 6.Shiva Lingam at the temple 7.Statue of Rajaraja Chola Chola I 8.Rajaraja mural 9.Painting on the roof of brihadeeswarar temple 10.One of the 108 dance postures

1. Brihadeeswara Temple Entrance Gopurams 2.Tamil writings and sculptures at right side of Thanjavur Brihadeeswara Temple Gopuram.

(2) Talakad / Talakadu

(3) Talikota

It is situated near Mysore in Karnataka acoss the river Krishna. It is famous for the Battle of Talikota (26 January 1565), which was a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Confederacy of the Deccan sultanates, resulted in a rout of Vijayanagara, and ended the great Vijayanagara Empire in South India.

• Ter, ancient Tagara, today in the Osmanbad district was an international marketing centre as early as the 1st century A.D. Of great value is the famous ivory figure of Shree Laxmi. It was important emporium of trade during Saka- Satvahana period and lay on the route which carrie commodities ffrom eastern Deccan to Broach via Paithan and Nasik. The urban charter of the place is indicated by the discovery of coin- moulds, coins of sakas and satvahanas, bangle of shells and glass etc. Ivory figurines of female is found. A large brick stupa and an apsidal brick structure with a stupa inside- both dated to the 2nd century AD.
• Tagara was both commercial and religious centre.

• Thatta may be the site of ancient Patala , the main port on the Indus in the time of Alexander the Great. The geographer Strabo (64 BC–24 AD) recorded it.
• The city, formerly commanding the delta of the Indus, was the capital of Lower Sindh from the 14th century onwards. The city was destroyed by Mirza Jani Beg in the 16th century.
• During the ruling period of the Samma dynasty, Thatta was the capital of Sindh for 95 years. Between 1592–1739, it was governed in the name of the Mughal emperors of Delhi. In 1739 however, following the Battle of Karnal, the province was ceded to Nadir Shah of Persia, after which Thatta fell into neglect as the Indus river started to silt up.

• Thiksay Gompa or Thiksay Monastery is a gompa (monastery) affiliated with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is located on top of a hill approximately 19 kilometres east of Leh in Ladakh.
• It is noted for its resemblance to the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet and is the largest gompa in central Ladakh, notably containing a separate set of buildings for female renunciates.
• The monastery is a twelve-storey complex and houses many items of Buddhist art such as stupas, statues, thangkas, wall paintings and swords.

• Thiruvananthapuram is an ancient region with trading traditions dating back to 1000 BCE. It is believed that the ships of King Solomon landed in a port called Ophir (now Poovar) in Thiruvananthapuram in 1036 BCE. The city was the trading post of spices, sandalwood and ivory. However, the ancient political and cultural history of the city was almost entirely independent from that of the rest of Kerala. In the 10th century, the city was taken over by the rulers of Venad.
• The rise of modern Thiruvananthapuram began with accession of Marthanda Varma in 1729 as the founding ruler of the princely state of Travancore (Thiruvithamkoor in the local vernacular). Thiruvananthapuram was made the capital of Travancore in 1745 after shifting the capital from Padmanabhapuram in Kanyakumari district. The city developed into a major intellectual and artistic centre during this period. The golden age in the city’s history was during the mid 19th century under the reign of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal and Maharaja Ayilyam Thirunal.

• Thiruvarur was one of the five traditional capitals of the Chola empire and the history of town revolves around the Thygarajaswamy temple.
• Thiruvarur is mentioned in the saiva canonical work, Tevaram by Thirugnana Sambanthar, Tirunavukkarasar and Sundarar, the foremost Saivite saints of 7th–8th century CE and classified as Padal petra stalam. (275 temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanars in the 6th-9th century CE and are amongst the greatest Shiva temples of the continent).
• The granite structure of the temple was first constructed by Aditya Chola I (871–907 CE) in the 9th century CE and revamped during the reign of Rajaraja Chola I (985–1014 CE). The temple has inscriptions from both the emperors, later Cholas and Pandyas. The temple is believed to be an inspiration for Rajaraja Chola to build the Brihadeeswarar Temple.
• After the fall of Cholas during the reign of Rajendra Chola II in the 13th century CE, the town was caught under a power struggle between Pandyas and Hoysalas. The royal patronage continued and the town flourished as a cultural centre during the rule of the Nayaks, Vijayanagar kings and Marathas.
• During the period of Marathas, the town became a temporary home to the Nataraja of Chidambaram temple.The town was briefly captured by French troops lead by Lally in 1759 CE.

• The city is located on the west bank of the Thamirabarani River; its twin city, Palayamkottai, is on the east bank.
• Tirunelveli has been ruled by the Early Pandyas, the Medieval and Later Cholas, the later Pandyas, the Mabar and Tirunelveli sultanates, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Madurai Nayaks, Chanda Sahib, the Carnatic kingdom and the British.
• The Polygar War, involving Palaiyakkarars led by Veerapandiya Kattabomman and forces of the British East India Company, was waged on the city’s outskirts from 1797 to 1801.
• Tirunelveli has a number of historical monuments, the Nellaiappar Temple of Shiva being the most prominent.

• Tirupati is a major pilgrimage and cultural city in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Tirupati is famous for Tirumala Venkateswara Swamy temple dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, located about 20 kilometres north west of Tirupati in the Tirumala hills.
• The temple of Lord Venkateshwara was maintained and upgraded by various kingdoms like Pallava around 9th Century AD, Chola around 10th century AD and the latest one being Vijayanagara Empire around 14th to 15th century AD. It was during the rule of Vijayanagara Empire that the temple received increased contributions.
  
• The site was an established center of Vaishnavism around 5th century A.D. during which it was praised by Alvars (Vaishnava saints). The temple rites were formalized by the Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya himself, in the 11th century AD.