A major road and railway hub in the state, the city is served by the Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ) which operates direct flights to the Middle East (Dubai, Saudi Arabia) and Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia).

[18] The shortened forms "Trichy" or "Tiruchi" are used in everyday speech and the full name Tiruchirapalli appears in official use by government and quasi-government offices but seldom used by the general public.

[21][22] Orientalists Henry Yule and Arthur Coke Burnell have speculated that the name may derive from a rock inscription carved in the 16th century in which Tiruchirappalli is written as Tiru-ssila-palli, meaning "holy-rock-town" in Tamil.

[27] The world's oldest surviving dam, the Kallanai (Lower Anaicut) about 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Uraiyur,[28] was built across the Kaveri River by Karikala Chola in the 2nd century AD.

[citation needed] The medieval history of Tiruchirappalli begins with the reign of the Pallava king Mahendravarman I, who ruled over South India in the 6th century AD and constructed the rock-cut cave-temples within the Rockfort.

[40] The Vijayanagar Empire ruled the region from 1378 until the 1530s, and played a prominent role in reviving Hinduism by reconstructing temples and monuments destroyed by the previous Muslim rulers.

[44][50] He ruled the kingdom from 1736 to 1741, when he was captured and imprisoned by the Marathas in the siege of Trichinopoly (1741) led by general Raghuji Bhonsle under the orders of Chhattrapati Shahu.

[53] When the Nawab of the Carnatic Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah was dethroned by Chanda Sahib after the Battle of Ambur (1749), the former fled to Tiruchirappalli, where he set up his base.

[58][59] Tiruchirappalli was invaded by Nanjaraja Wodeyar in 1753 and Hyder Ali of the Mysore kingdom in 1780, both attacks repulsed by the troops of the British East India Company.

[62] The Carnatic kingdom was annexed by the British in July 1801 as a consequence of the discovery of collusion between Tipu Sultan—an enemy of the British—and Umdat Ul-Umra, son of Wallajah and the Nawab at the time, during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.

[101] The land immediately surrounding the Kaveri River—which crosses Tiruchirappalli from west to east—consists of deposits of fertile alluvial soil[102] on which crops such as finger millet and maize are cultivated.

[146][147] Covering 18 square kilometres (6.9 sq mi), the municipality of Tiruchirappalli was inaugurated under the Town Improvements Act 1865 on 1 November 1866;[155] it originally consisted of two ex-officers and nine nominated members.

[158] Covering 167.23 square kilometres (64.57 sq mi),[a][159] the municipal corporation comprises 65 wards and four administrative zones; these are Srirangam, Ariyamangalam, Golden Rock and Abhishekapuram.

[161][162] The executive wing has seven departments—general administration, revenue, town planning, engineering, public health, information technology and personnel—and is headed by a City Commissioner.

[199] In a 2016 survey conducted by the Ministry of Urban Development, as a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign, Tiruchirappalli was ranked third in the list of cleanest cities in India.

[200] Under the ease of living index 2018 published by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Tiruchirappalli was ranked twelfth in India and first in Tamil Nadu among the 111 cities considered.

[216] A high-pressure boiler manufacturing plant was set up by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), India's largest public sector engineering company, in May 1965.

[220] As of 2011,[update] the Tiruchirappalli division employed about 10,000 people,[220] and is supported by a number of ancillary industries producing almost 250,000 tonnes (250,000,000 kg) of fabricated materials.

It is one of the biggest private sector distilleries in Tamil Nadu and produced 13.5 megalitres (3.0 million imperial gallons) of spirit alcohol between December 2005 and November 2006.

[230] In 1990, the Indian government launched a scheme to increase employment by boosting the production of American diamonds and training local artisans in semi-automated machinery and technology.

[231][232] As a result, in 1996, Tiruchirappalli district was selected to be involved in the National Child Labour Project and in the running of special schools to educate working children.

[236][237] Set up by the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu, the park occupies an area of 59.74 hectares (147.6 acres) and constitutes a Special Economic Zone.

As part of the Pongal celebrations, Jallikattu, a bull-taming village sport played on the last day of the festival,[245] is occasionally held on the outskirts of the city.

[258] Composers, poets and vocalists such as G. Ramanathan, T. K. Ramamoorthy,[259] Vaali and P. Madhuri, who have made significant contributions to Tamil film music hail from the city.

Because of the santamarutham, eight kodumudigal (parts) fell from kailasam into eight different places which are Thirugonamalai (Trincomalee, Sri Lanka), Thirukalahasti, Thiruchiramalai (Rock fort), Thiruenkoimalai, Rajathagiri, Neerthagiri, Ratnagiri, and Swethagiri Thirupangeeli.

[281] Considered to be among the 108 Divya Desams (Holy shrines of Lord Vishnu),[282] the temple is believed to house the mortal remains of the Vaishnavite saint and philosopher Ramanujacharya.

[311] 64 self-financing colleges which offer courses in engineering, architecture, management and computer applications in the districts of Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Perambalur, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur are affiliated to Anna University.

[326][327] Notable people who were either born or educated at Tiruchirappalli include C. V. Raman,[328] A. P. J. Abdul Kalam,[329] Sujatha, Vaali, G. N. Ramachandran, and former President of India R.

[382] As of 2013,[update] approximately 328,000 two-wheelers, 93,500 cars and 10,000 public transport vehicles operate within the city limits,[190] apart from the 1,500 inter-city buses that pass through Tiruchirappalli daily.

It serves as a gateway to immigrants from South-east Asian countries[395] There are regular flights to Chennai,[396] Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Colombo,[397] Dubai, Kuala Lumpur,[398] and Singapore.