Tondaimandalam

At the beginning of the historical period, the kottams were mostly pastoral.later,The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the legendary kingdom of Athondai Chakravarti.

[3]: 188, 203 In today's terms, Toṇḍaimaṇḍalam covers the Nellore, Chittoor, North and South Arcot and Chingleput districts of the Andhra and Madras states.

[6][7] In the 3rd century CE, Tondai Nadu was ruled by Ilandiraiyan, the first king with the title "Tondaiman", whom P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar identifies with a Pallava prince.

The medieval Pallavas ruled Andhra and Northern Tamil Nadu, from the 4th to the 9th centuries, with their seat of capital at ancient Kanchipuram.

Large hilly tracts and dense forests broke the countryside up into smaller pockets of farmland, which could only support relatively small, dispersed settlements.

The main source on Toṇḍaimaṇḍalam's geography during this early period is the Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai, a poem written c. 190-200 CE and counted as part of the classical Sangam literature.

On the other hand, Pallava-era inscriptions frequently mention cattle, either as gifts to temples or as the target for raids, indicating that a significant proportion of the local population was engaged in animal husbandry.

These grants were "invariably accompanied by irrigation works" and involved "elaborate arrangements for their upkeep by sabhās or Brahmin assemblies".

Inscriptions from this period record details like demarcation of land boundaries, provision of desilting or repair works for irrigation facilities, and the number and type of crops to be grown.

Once implemented, the agricultural innovations that were originally intended to sustain large populations in brahmadeyas and temple centres were expanded to other villages not affiliated with any sort of grant because there was a major economic incentive to do so.

[19] It was formally annexed by the British East India Company as per the Doctrine of Lapse after the death of Ghulam Muhammad Ghouse Khan.