The Pandyas of Madurai were one of the longest-lasting dynasties in Indian history, patrons of Tamil literature (the legendary Sangams met at their capital), and at their 13th-century peak a major naval power trading with Marco Polo's world.
The Pandya kingdom lost its capital Madurai to the Madurai Sultanate, founded by Jalal ud-Din Ahsan Shah in 1333 CE; the last major Pandya dynasty was effectively displaced by 1345 CE, though Tenkasi Pandyas survived as a tributary rump state under Vijayanagara until the late 16th century.
The atlas holds 6 border frames for Pandya Kingdom — the shape you scrub through changes in 300 BC · 600 · 750 · 1040 · 1311 · 1399.
Covers the ancient Pandyas in context of the Tamil Sangam polities.
Polo's late-13th-century account describes the Pandya kingdom of 'Maabar' at its naval and commercial peak — a contemporary eyewitness source for the era the blurb highlights.
The epic's heroine Kannagi is a Pandya-associated figure and part of the story unfolds in Madurai, the Pandya capital, fitting the blurb's note on Pandya patronage of Tamil literature.