subject: The Travancore Kings Of Kerala [print this page] The Kingdom of Travancore was a princely state from the Indian subcontinent that was under the rule of the Travancore Royal Family. The capital of erstwhile Travancore was Trivandrum and comprised most of Southern Kerala, the Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of Tamil Nadu. Maharaja Marthanda Varma is generally regarded as the founder of "modern Travancore". The last Maharajah of Travancore was Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.
The Travancore region was under the rule of the Tamil Ay Dynasty between 300 B.C. 600 A.D. The Tamil Venad rulers joined with the Ay Dynasty, leading to the formation of the Venad kingdom. The rulers of Travancore were, in fact, Malayala Kshatriyas who belonged to the Samanthan Nair caste. The Samanthan Nairs adopted a matrilineal system of inheritance.
The rulers of Travancore are descendants of the Cheras of the three South Indian Mandala Kingdoms namely; Chera Mandalam, Pandya Mandalam and Chola Mandalam. The branch of the Chera Family which was settled in the extreme North of Kerala came to be called the Kolathiris while another branch that was deputed to go South to deal with the Pandyan invasions became known as the Kupaka Royal family. The Kupaka royals were the ancestors of the Travancore Royal Family.
Kerala was ruled by Perumals, among whom Cheraman Perumal was the last. Under his rule, the then State of Kerala was divided among his relatives and Nair lords. The 11th century saw the rise of independent Travancore. Ravi Varma Kulasekhara (1299-1314) of Venad conquered the territories of the Pandyas and Cholas and conducted imperial coronations at Madurai and Kanchipuram. The Matriarchal Dynasty of Travancore was founded by Veera Marthandavarma, the son of Ravivarma Kulasekhara Sangramadheeran.
The end of the 17th century witnessed a significant period in the history of Travancore under the rule of Umayamma Rani. Marthanda Varma and Dharma Raja were strong rulers who reestablished monarchy in the state. Swathi Thirunal was one of the most prominent rulers of the 19th century. The regency of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi gave rise to many new revolutionary reforms in the Kingdom, which was continued by Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma.
