- c. 30,000 BCE- Paleolithic industries in north Tamil Nadu
- c. 8000-3000 BCE-Pre-pottery microlithic industries
- c. 3000-1000 BCE- Neolithic and fine microlithic industries
- c. 1000-100 BCE- Megalithic age
- c. 250 BCE- Asoka's inscription recording the four tribes ( Chera, Cholas, Pandya and Satyaputra) of the Tamil country
- c. 200 BCE- Elara, a Tamil prince and contemporary of Dutte Gamini, rules Lanka
- c. 150 BCE- Kharavela of Kalinga records his conquest of a federation of Tamil kings in his Hathigumpha inscription
- c. 100 BCE-Tamil Brahmi prevalent as the Tamil script
- c. 100 BCE-200 CE- Sangam age during which the books of Sangam Literature were created
- c. 130- Chera king Udayanjeral rules in the Chera country
- c. 175-195- Gajabahu I of Lanka a contemporary of Chera Senguttuvan and Karikala Chola
- c. 190- Chera Kadukko Ilanjeral Irumporai rules in the Chera country
- c. 200-Writing becomes widespread and vattezuttu evolved from the Tamil Brahmi becomes a mature script for writing Tamil
- c. 210- Pandya Neduncheliyan rules in Madurai and defeats his enemies at the battle of Talaiyalanganam
- c. 300-590- Kalabhras invade the Tamil country and displace the traditional rulers
- c. 300-500-Post Sangam period, Tamil epics such as Silappatikaram written
- c. 560-580- Pallava Simhavishnu overthrows the Kalabhras in Tondaimandalam
- c. 560-590- Pandya Kadungon rules from Madurai and displaces the Kalabhras from the south
- c. 590-630-Pallava Mahendravarman I rules in Kanchipuram
- c. 610- Saiva saint Tirunavukkarasar (Appar) converts Mahendravarman from Jainism
- c. 628- Chalukya Pulakesi II invades the Pallava kingdom and lays siege on Kanchipuram
- c. 630-668 Pallava Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla) rules in Tondaimandalam
- c. 642-Pallava Narasimhavarman I launches a counter invasion into the Chalukya country and sacks Vatapi. Pulakesi is killed in battle
- c. 670-700 CE-Pandya Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman rules in Madurai
- c. 700-728-Pallava Rajasimha builds the Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram and many of the shore temples in Mamallapuram
- c. 700-730-Pandya Ranadhira (Koccadayan) expands the Pandya kingdom into the Kongu country
- c. 731-Succession crisis in the Pallava kingdom. Council of ministers select Nandivarman II (Pallavamalla) (731-796) as the Pallava king
- c. 731-765-Pandya Maravarman Rajasimha aligns with the Chalukya Vikramaditya II and attacks the Pallava king Nandivarmam
- c. 735-Chaluka Vikramaditya II invades the Pallava country and occupies the capital Kanchipuram
- c. 760-Pallava Nandivarman II invades and defeats the Ganga kingdom at the battle of Villande
- c. 765-815-Pandya Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan (Varaguna Pandyan) rules in Madurai
- c. 767-Pandya forces defeat the Pallavas on the south banks of the Kaveri
- c. 800-830-Varagunan I becomes Pandya king and extends his empire upto Tiruchirapalli by defeating the Pallava king Dandivarman
- c. 830-862-Pandya Sirmara Srivallabha rules in Madurai
- c. 840-Srimara invades Lanka and captures the northern provices of the Lanka king Sena I
- c. 850 -Rice of Vijayalaya Chola in Tanjavur
- c. 846-869-Pallava Nadivarman III leads an invasion against the Pandya kingdom and defeats the Pandyas at the battle of Tellaru. Pallava kingdom extnds up to the river Vaigai
- c. 859-Pandya Srivallaba defeats the Pallavas at a battle at Kumbakonam
- c. 862-Sinhala forces under Sena II invade the Pandya coutry and sack Madurai. Srimara is killed in battle
- c. 903 - Aditya Chola defeats the Pallava king Aparajita
- c. 949 -Battle of Takkolam. Rashtrakuta Krishna III defeats the Chola army
- c. 985 -Accession of Rajaraja Chola I
- c. 1010 -Rajaraja completes the Brihadisvara Temple
- c. 1012 -Accession of Rajendra Chola I
- c. 1023 -Rajendra's expedition to the Ganges
- c. 1025 -Chola navies defeat the king of Srivijaya
- c. 1041 -Rajendra invades Lanka
- c. 1054 -Rajadhiraja Chola dies in the battle of Koppam against Western Chalukyas
- c. 1070 -Accession of Kulothunga Chola I
- c. 1080 - Kamban writes hisRamavatharam in Kulothunga Chola II's court
- 1251 -Accession Jatavarman Sundara Pandya
- 1279 -End of the Chola dynasty with the death of Rajendra Chola III
- 1268-1310 - Maravarman Kulasekhara Pandya rules in Madurai
- 1308 - Malik Kafur a general of Allaudin Khilji invades Devagiri en route to Tamil Nadu
- 1310 -Sundara Pandya, son of Kulasekara Pandya kills his father and becomes king. In the ensuing civil war he is defeated by his brother Vira Pandya.
- 1311 - Malik Kafur, invades Pandya country and attacks Madurai
- 1327-1370 Madurai under the rule of Madurai Sultanate
- 1370 - Kumara Kampana, the Vijayanagara ruler captures the entire Tamil country
- 1522 -Portugese land on the Coromandal coast
- 1535 -Achyuta Raya of Vijayanagara appoints Sevappa Nayak, who established the Nayak dynasty at Tanjavur
- 1535-1590 -Sevappa Nayak rules as the first independent Nayak ruler in Tanjavur
- 1600-1645 -Ragunatha Nayak, the greatest of the Tanjavur Nayaks
- 1609, the Dutch establish a settlement in Pulicat
- 1639 East India Company purchases Chennapatinam and establishes Fort St.George
- 1675 -Maratha army from Bijapur marches into Tanjavur, Ekoji declares himself king
- 1692 Nawab of Arcot established by Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan, a viceroys of the Moghul Emperor
- 1746 La Bourdonnais of the French East India company attacks and takes Fort St.George
- 1749 British regain Fort St.George through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle arising out of the War of the Austrian Succession
- 1751 Robert Clive attacks Arcot and takes it with only 500 men
- 1756 The British and the French sign the first Carnatic treaty. Mahommed Ali Walajah, was recognized as Nawab of Carnatic
- 1759 French under Thomas Arthur, Comte de Lally,attack Madras
- 1760 Battle of Vandavasi between the British and the French. Birth of Veerapandya Kattabomman
- 1767 Hyder Ali, Sultan of Mysore attacks Madras, but defeated by the British at the Battle of Chengam
- 1773 -British Government passes the Regulating Act. The administration of Madras comes under British Government review
- 1777-1832 - Serfoji rules in Tanjavur
- 1799 -Serfoji cedes the Tanjavur kingdom to the British. Kattabomman executed by British
- 1803 -Bentick appointed governer of Madras
- 1806 -East India Company's Indian soldiers in Vellore mutiny against governer Bentinck. 114 British officers killed and 19 mutineers executed.
- 1909 -British Government passes the Indian Councils Act. Madras Legistlative Council formed
- 1921 -First regional elections held in Madras. Justice party forms government
- 1927 -Madras Congress passes a resolution for 'Full Independence'
- 1928 - Simon Comission visits Madras. mass protests results in several deaths
- 1937 -Congress party under C. Rajagopalachari wins provincial elections and forms government in Madras
- 1938 -E.V. Ramasamy Naicker organises a separatist agitation demanding Dravidanadu consisting of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra pradesh and Kerala
- 1941 -Indian Muslim League holds its congress in Madras. Muhammad Ali Jinnah delivers keynote speech
- 1944 - E.V. Ramasamy Naicker and C.N. Annadurai organises Dravida Kalagam
- 1947 -Madras Presidency, comprising of Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka established
- 1953 -Madras state comes into being along linguistic lines
- 1968 -Widespread agitations in response to the Federal Government's directive of Hindi being the National Language
- 1968 -Madras state becomes Tamil Nadu (Land of the Tamils)
- Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. A History of South India, OUP, Reprinted 2000
- Historical Atlas of South India-Timeline- http://www.ifpindia.org/Historical-Atlas-of-South-India-Timeline.html (French Institute of Pondicherry)
- A Short History of Lanka-by Humphry William Codrington ( http://lakdiva.org)
- Religious Traditions of the Tamils Prof. A. Veluppillai http://tamilelibrary.org/
- c. 30,000 BCE- Paleolithic industries in north Tamil Nadu
- c. 8000-3000 BCE-Pre-pottery microlithic industries
- c. 3000-1000 BCE- Neolithic and fine microlithic industries
- c. 1000-100 BCE- Megalithic age
- c. 250 BCE- Asoka's inscription recording the four tribes ( Chera, Cholas, Pandya and Satyaputra) of the Tamil country
- c. 200 BCE- Elara, a Tamil prince and contemporary of Dutte Gamini, rules Lanka
- c. 150 BCE- Kharavela of Kalinga records his conquest of a federation of Tamil kings in his Hathigumpha inscription
- c. 100 BCE-Tamil Brahmi prevalent as the Tamil script
- c. 100 BCE-200 CE- Sangam age during which the books of Sangam Literature were created
- c. 130- Chera king Udayanjeral rules in the Chera country
- c. 175-195- Gajabahu I of Lanka a contemporary of Chera Senguttuvan and Karikala Chola
- c. 190- Chera Kadukko Ilanjeral Irumporai rules in the Chera country
- c. 200-Writing becomes widespread and vattezuttu evolved from the Tamil Brahmi becomes a mature script for writing Tamil
- c. 210- Pandya Neduncheliyan rules in Madurai and defeats his enemies at the battle of Talaiyalanganam
- c. 300-590- Kalabhras invade the Tamil country and displace the traditional rulers
- c. 300-500-Post Sangam period, Tamil epics such as Silappatikaram written
- c. 560-580- Pallava Simhavishnu overthrows the Kalabhras in Tondaimandalam
- c. 560-590- Pandya Kadungon rules from Madurai and displaces the Kalabhras from the south
- c. 590-630-Pallava Mahendravarman I rules in Kanchipuram
- c. 610- Saiva saint Tirunavukkarasar (Appar) converts Mahendravarman from Jainism
- c. 628- Chalukya Pulakesi II invades the Pallava kingdom and lays siege on Kanchipuram
- c. 630-668 Pallava Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla) rules in Tondaimandalam
- c. 642-Pallava Narasimhavarman I launches a counter invasion into the Chalukya country and sacks Vatapi. Pulakesi is killed in battle
- c. 670-700 CE-Pandya Arikesari Parankusa Maravarman rules in Madurai
- c. 700-728-Pallava Rajasimha builds the Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram and many of the shore temples in Mamallapuram
- c. 700-730-Pandya Ranadhira (Koccadayan) expands the Pandya kingdom into the Kongu country
- c. 731-Succession crisis in the Pallava kingdom. Council of ministers select Nandivarman II (Pallavamalla) (731-796) as the Pallava king
- c. 731-765-Pandya Maravarman Rajasimha aligns with the Chalukya Vikramaditya II and attacks the Pallava king Nandivarmam
- c. 735-Chaluka Vikramaditya II invades the Pallava country and occupies the capital Kanchipuram
- c. 760-Pallava Nandivarman II invades and defeats the Ganga kingdom at the battle of Villande
- c. 765-815-Pandya Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan (Varaguna Pandyan) rules in Madurai
- c. 767-Pandya forces defeat the Pallavas on the south banks of the Kaveri
- c. 800-830-Varagunan I becomes Pandya king and extends his empire upto Tiruchirapalli by defeating the Pallava king Dandivarman
- c. 830-862-Pandya Sirmara Srivallabha rules in Madurai
- c. 840-Srimara invades Lanka and captures the northern provices of the Lanka king Sena I
- c. 850 -Rice of Vijayalaya Chola in Tanjavur
- c. 846-869-Pallava Nadivarman III leads an invasion against the Pandya kingdom and defeats the Pandyas at the battle of Tellaru. Pallava kingdom extnds up to the river Vaigai
- c. 859-Pandya Srivallaba defeats the Pallavas at a battle at Kumbakonam
- c. 862-Sinhala forces under Sena II invade the Pandya coutry and sack Madurai. Srimara is killed in battle
- c. 903 - Aditya Chola defeats the Pallava king Aparajita
- c. 949 -Battle of Takkolam. Rashtrakuta Krishna III defeats the Chola army
- c. 985 -Accession of Rajaraja Chola I
- c. 1010 -Rajaraja completes the Brihadisvara Temple
- c. 1012 -Accession of Rajendra Chola I
- c. 1023 -Rajendra's expedition to the Ganges
- c. 1025 -Chola navies defeat the king of Srivijaya
- c. 1041 -Rajendra invades Lanka
- c. 1054 -Rajadhiraja Chola dies in the battle of Koppam against Western Chalukyas
- c. 1070 -Accession of Kulothunga Chola I
- c. 1080 - Kamban writes hisRamavatharam in Kulothunga Chola II's court
- 1251 -Accession Jatavarman Sundara Pandya
- 1279 -End of the Chola dynasty with the death of Rajendra Chola III
- 1268-1310 - Maravarman Kulasekhara Pandya rules in Madurai
- 1308 - Malik Kafur a general of Allaudin Khilji invades Devagiri en route to Tamil Nadu
- 1310 -Sundara Pandya, son of Kulasekara Pandya kills his father and becomes king. In the ensuing civil war he is defeated by his brother Vira Pandya.
- 1311 - Malik Kafur, invades Pandya country and attacks Madurai
- 1327-1370 Madurai under the rule of Madurai Sultanate
- 1370 - Kumara Kampana, the Vijayanagara ruler captures the entire Tamil country
- 1522 -Portugese land on the Coromandal coast
- 1535 -Achyuta Raya of Vijayanagara appoints Sevappa Nayak, who established the Nayak dynasty at Tanjavur
- 1535-1590 -Sevappa Nayak rules as the first independent Nayak ruler in Tanjavur
- 1600-1645 -Ragunatha Nayak, the greatest of the Tanjavur Nayaks
- 1609, the Dutch establish a settlement in Pulicat
- 1639 East India Company purchases Chennapatinam and establishes Fort St.George
- 1675 -Maratha army from Bijapur marches into Tanjavur, Ekoji declares himself king
- 1692 Nawab of Arcot established by Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Khan, a viceroys of the Moghul Emperor
- 1746 La Bourdonnais of the French East India company attacks and takes Fort St.George
- 1749 British regain Fort St.George through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle arising out of the War of the Austrian Succession
- 1751 Robert Clive attacks Arcot and takes it with only 500 men
- 1756 The British and the French sign the first Carnatic treaty. Mahommed Ali Walajah, was recognized as Nawab of Carnatic
- 1759 French under Thomas Arthur, Comte de Lally,attack Madras
- 1760 Battle of Vandavasi between the British and the French. Birth of Veerapandya Kattabomman
- 1767 Hyder Ali, Sultan of Mysore attacks Madras, but defeated by the British at the Battle of Chengam
- 1773 -British Government passes the Regulating Act. The administration of Madras comes under British Government review
- 1777-1832 - Serfoji rules in Tanjavur
- 1799 -Serfoji cedes the Tanjavur kingdom to the British. Kattabomman executed by British
- 1803 -Bentick appointed governer of Madras
- 1806 -East India Company's Indian soldiers in Vellore mutiny against governer Bentinck. 114 British officers killed and 19 mutineers executed.
- 1909 -British Government passes the Indian Councils Act. Madras Legistlative Council formed
- 1921 -First regional elections held in Madras. Justice party forms government
- 1927 -Madras Congress passes a resolution for 'Full Independence'
- 1928 - Simon Comission visits Madras. mass protests results in several deaths
- 1937 -Congress party under C. Rajagopalachari wins provincial elections and forms government in Madras
- 1938 -E.V. Ramasamy Naicker organises a separatist agitation demanding Dravidanadu consisting of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra pradesh and Kerala
- 1941 -Indian Muslim League holds its congress in Madras. Muhammad Ali Jinnah delivers keynote speech
- 1944 - E.V. Ramasamy Naicker and C.N. Annadurai organises Dravida Kalagam
- 1947 -Madras Presidency, comprising of Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka established
- 1953 -Madras state comes into being along linguistic lines
- 1968 -Widespread agitations in response to the Federal Government's directive of Hindi being the National Language
- 1968 -Madras state becomes Tamil Nadu (Land of the Tamils)
- Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. A History of South India, OUP, Reprinted 2000
- Historical Atlas of South India-Timeline- http://www.ifpindia.org/Historical-Atlas-of-South-India-Timeline.html (French Institute of Pondicherry)
- A Short History of Lanka-by Humphry William Codrington ( http://lakdiva.org)
- Religious Traditions of the Tamils Prof. A. Veluppillai http://tamilelibrary.org/