Karur
is one of the oldest towns in TamilNadu and has played a very significant
role in the glorious history and culture of
the Tamils. Its history dates
back to centuries before Christ and has been a flourishing trading
centre even in the early Sangam days. Epigraphical, numismatic, Archaeological
and literary evidences have proved beyond doubt that Karur was the
capital
of early Chera Kings of Sangam age. It was called Karuvoor or Vanji
during Sangam days. There has been a plethora of rare findings during
the archaeological
excavations undertaken in Karur. These include mat-designed pottery,
bricks, mud-toys, Roman coins, Chera Coins, Pallava Coins, Roman
Amphorae, Rasset
coated ware, rare rings etc. Karur has been built on the banks of river
Amaravathi which was called Aanporunai during the Sangam days. The
names of the early Chera kings who ruled from Karur, have been found
in the
rock inscriptions in Aru Nattar Malai close to Karur. The Tamil epic
Silapathikaram
mentions that the famous Chera King Cheran Senguttuvan ruled from Karur.
The Greek scholar Ptolemy has mentioned about “Korevora” which
was a very famous inland trading centre in TamilNadu. After the early
Cheras, Karur was conquered and ruled by Pandyas followed by Pallavas
and later
Cholas. Karur was under the rule of Cholas for a long time. Later the
Naickers followed by Tippu Sultan also ruled Karur. The British added
Karur to their
possessions after destroying the Karur Fort during their war against
Tippu Sultan in 1783. There is a memorial at Rayanur near Karur for
the warriors
who lost their lives in the fight against the British in the Anglo-Mysore
was. Thereafter Karur became part of British India and was first part
of Coimbatore District and later Tiruchirappalli District.
| Formation
of Karur District |
Karur Taluk, which was once a part of Coimbatore district, was merged with
Tiruchirappalli district during 1910. A separate Karur district was formed
on 30th September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. Initially,
Karur District was carved out of the composite Tiruchirapalli district,
consisting of three taluks namely, Karur, Kulithalai and Manaparai. Subsequently
Manaparai Taluk was decoupled and Musiri Taluk was included in Karur District.
Later Musiri Taluk was decoupled from Karur District. At present, Karur
District consists of 4 Taluks i.e., Karur, Kulithalai, Krishnarayapuram,
and Aravakurichi. Karur District includes the following Revenue Divisions,
Taluks and Panchayat Unions / Blocks.
Karur district has 2 Municipalities, 13 Town Panchayats and 158 Village
Panchayats and 203 Revenue Villages. Karur District has 4 Assembly constituencies
of which one is a reserved namely Krishnarayapuram Constituency. Karur
Parliamentary constitutes 6 Assembly constituencies, 2 are from Tiruchirappalli
revenue district, namely Marungapuri and Thottiam and 4 Assembly Constituencies
from Karur.
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