Madura is a district were the centre of the Pandya kingdom and its capital city of Madurai was flourishing ever since the Sangam period.
In the 10th century AD, the region was conquered by the rising Chola power.
The Pandyas governed as subordinate from the 10th to the 13th century AD when they asserted their independence and established their supremacy over the declining Cholas.
The region was ruled by the Madurai Sultanate for some time before it was conquered by the Vijayanagar Empire.
The Vijayanagar kings were succeeded by the Madurai Nayak kingdom whose demise in 1736 left behind a huge void.