depicting
Richard Temple-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos being greeted by
Visakham Thirunal, with
Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore looking on, during Buckingham's visit to Thiruvananthapuram in early 1880 is the richest temple in the world.
Pre Historic Period Thiruvananthapuram is a relatively modern 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.
Ancient Period The southern region of present-day Kerala state (The coastal belt between Thiruvananthapuram and
Alappuzha) was under
Ay dynasty, who was more related to the
Pandya dynasty of
Madurai. The early rulers of the city were the
Ays.
Vizhinjam, which is now a region in the present-day Thiruvananthapuram, was the capital of the Ay dynasty. Vizhinjam was an important port city from as early as the second century BC. During the Ay dynasty's rule, Thiruvananthapuram witnessed many battles in which the
Chola and
Pandyan dynasties attempted to capture the port town.
Middle Ages After the death of king
Vikramaditya Varaguna in 925 AD, the glory of the Ays departed and almost all their territories became part of the
Chera dynasty. A branch of the Ay family, which had controlled the
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, merged with the
Kingdom of Venad in the 12th century. drawn by Homann Heirs in 1733. At that time, Travancore was only a small territory wedged between
Kollam and
Kanyakumari, as shown in the map (Present-day districts of
Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari only).
Early Modern Period It was in the later half of the 18th century, that Travancore inherited the kingdoms up to
Cochin and became a powerful kingdom, and Thiruvananthapuram became a major city of Kerala. Present-day Thiruvananthapuram city, district, and
Kanyakumari district, were parts of the
Ay dynasty during ancient and
medieval ages, in the southernmost part of the Indian subcontinent. Ay kingdom had experienced attacks and conquests by
Cholas and
Pandyas in various periods. Then,
Marthanda Varma who inherited the Kingdom of Venad expanded the kingdom by conquering the kingdoms of Kayamkulam, Kottarakara, Kottayam, Changanassery, Meenachil, Poonjar and Ambalapuzha. In 1729,
Marthanda Varma founded the princely state of
Thiruvithamkoor and Thiruvananthapuram was made the capital in 1795 after shifting the capital from
Padmanabhapuram in
Kanyakumari district. Thiruvananthapuram became a prominent city in Kerala under
Marthanda Varma. As a result of the annexation of neighbouring
chiefdoms, the artists and scholars from these places migrated to Thiruvananthapuram, turning it into a cultural center. Marthanda Varma gave patronage to different temple art forms including
Koothu,
Padhakam,
Kathakali,
Thullal, and
Koodiyattam. Noted artists such as
Ramapurathu Warrier and
Kunchan Nambiar amongst others served as his court poets. Travancore became the most dominant state in Kerala by defeating the powerful
Zamorin of
Kozhikode in the battle of
Purakkad in 1755.
Contemporary Period The early 20th century was an age of tremendous political and social changes in the city. The
Sree Moolam Popular Assembly, established in 1904, was the first democratically elected legislative council in any Indian state. Despite not being under the direct control of the
British Empire at any time, the city featured prominently in
India's freedom struggle. The
Indian National Congress had a very active presence in Thiruvananthapuram. A meeting of the
Indian National Congress presided by Dr
Pattabhi Sitaramaiah was held here in 1938. built-in 1915 was the official residence of the
Travancore Royal Family. The Thiruvananthapuram Municipality came into existence in 1920 as the first municipality in the
Travancore region. The municipality was converted into a corporation on 30 October 1940, during the period of
Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, who took over in 1931. The city witnessed multi-faceted progress during his period. The promulgation of the "
Temple Entry Proclamation" (1936) was an act that underlined social emancipation. This era also saw the establishment of the
University of Travancore in 1937, which later became
Kerala University.
Modern Period With the end of British rule in 1947, Travancore chose to join the Indian union. The first popularly elected ministry, headed by
Pattom Thanu Pillai, was installed in office on 24 March 1948. In 1949, Thiruvananthapuram became the capital of
Thiru-Kochi, the state formed by the integration of Travancore with its northern neighbour, the
Kochi. The king of
Travancore,
Chitra Thirunal Bala Rama Varma, became the
Rajpramukh of the
Travancore-Cochin Union from 1 July 1949 until 31 October 1956. When the state of
Kerala was formed on 1 November 1956, Thiruvananthapuram became its capital. With the establishment of
Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in 1962, Thiruvananthapuram became the cradle of India's ambitious space programme. The first Indian space rocket was developed and launched from the
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in the outskirts of the city in 1963. Several establishments of the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) were later established in Thiruvananthapuram. A significant milestone in the city's recent history was the establishment of
Technopark—India's first IT park—in 1995. Technopark has developed into the largest IT park in the geographical area, employing around 62,000 people in 450 companies. == Geography==