Tamil Nadu Timeline

CultureEast India Company rule

Death of Serfoji II of Thanjavur

· Thanjavur

Death of Serfoji II of Thanjavur
Unknown author, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Serfoji II, Thanjavur's scholarly ruler who had handed its administration to the Company in 1799, passed away.

The Maratha principality of Thanjavur had its last sovereign ruler in Serfoji II. A treaty in 1799 saw him hand the government of the kingdom to the East India Company while he retained the fort of Thanjavur and the area around it. He was celebrated for his patronage of scholarship and the arts: he enlarged the Saraswathi Mahal Library, established a printing press, and supported Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. After his death on 7 March 1832, his son Shivaji, who would be the last Raja, took his place.

Related events

  1. 1805

    1. 1805ThanjavurCulture

      Serfoji II sets up a Devanagari press at Thanjavur

      At Thanjavur, Serfoji II founded the Nava Vidya Kalasala press, the first in South India to print Devanagari.

  2. 1827

    1. 1827ThanjavurCulture

      Death of composer Syama Sastri

      Syama Sastri, the eldest of the Trinity of Carnatic music, died in 1827.

  3. 1832

    1. 17 Mar 1832ThanjavurPolitics

      Shivaji II becomes Raja of Thanjavur

      Shivaji, son of Serfoji II, was crowned at the Durbar Hall of Tanjore Fort and became the last Raja of Thanjavur.

  4. 1855

    1. 29 Oct 1855ThanjavurGovernance

      Thanjavur annexed under the Doctrine of Lapse

      After Raja Shivaji died without a male heir, the Company annexed the titular Maratha principality of Thanjavur.

  5. 1917

    1. 1917ThanjavurCulture

      Abraham Pandithar publishes Karunamirdha Sagaram

      Abraham Pandithar published Karunamirdha Sagaram, a large study of the history and theory of Tamil music.

  6. 2010

    1. 26 Sep 2010ThanjavurCulture

      Millennium celebrations of the Thanjavur Big Temple

      Thanjavur marked 1,000 years of the Brihadisvara Temple with cultural events, including a performance by 1,000 Bharatanatyam dancers.

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