CChronica Maps

Chennai: History, Former Names & Timeline

Site of Fort St George, the East India Company's first fortress in India.

Map showing Chennai in 1700Chennai
Border map for 1700. See the world in 1700.

Explore Chennai in the interactive map

Former names of Chennai

FromNameNote
1639Madras
1996Chennai

Timeline of Chennai

YearEvent
1639The East India Company is granted land for Fort St George
1746French forces capture Madras

Who ruled Chennai

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–401 BCIron Age megalith cultures
400 BC–324 BCHindu kingdoms
323 BC–201 BCHindu kingdoms and republics
200 BC–2 BCMauryan Empire
1 BC–199Hindu kingdoms
200–299Chola
300–499Hindu kingdoms
500–599Gupta Empire
600–799Pallavas
800–899Pallava state
900–999Pallava
1000–1099Chola Empire
1100–1199Cholas
1200–1491Chola Empire
1492–1649Vijayanagara
1650–1699Golkonda
1700–1782Mughal Empire
1783–1814Madras
1815–1879British East India Company
1880–1944British Raj
1945–todayIndia