At the beginning of the 4th century AD, the Puducherry area was part of the Pallava Kingdom of Kanchipuram. During the following centuries different southern dynasties controlled Puducherry: in the 10th century AD. the Chola of Thanjavur took over, only to be replaced by the Pandya Kingdom in the 13th century. After a brief invasion by the Muslim rulers of the North, who established the Sultanate of Madurai, the Vijayanagar Empire took control of almost all the South of India, with their power lasting until 1638, when the Sultan of Bijapur began to rule over Gingee.
