Coimbatore in the context of "Siege of Coimbatore"

South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area (635,780 km or 245,480 sq mi) and 20% of India's population. It is bound by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse, with two mountain ranges, the Western and Eastern Ghats, bordering the plateau heartland. The Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Penna, Tungabhadra and Vaigai rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Kochi are the largest urban areas in the region.

The majority of the people in South India speak at least one of the four major Dravidian languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. During its history, a number of dynastic kingdoms ruled over parts of South India, and shaped the culture in those regions. Major dynasties that were established in South India include the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Rashtrakutas and Vijayanagara. European countries entered India through Kerala and the region was colonized by Britain, Portugal and France.

Mettupalayam is a municipal town and headquarters of Mettupalayam Taluk in the Coimbatore District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the second largest town in the Coimbatore district after Pollachi. It is located to the north of Coimbatore city on the way to Ooty, in the foothills of Nilgiri hills. As of 2011, the town had a population of 69,213. Mettupalayam railway station is the starting point of Nilgiri Mountain Railway and it operates the only rack railway in India connecting Ooty and Mettupalayam. It is a suburban area of Coimbatore City.

Ooty (Tamil: [uːʈ(ː)i] ; officially Udagamandalam (Tamil: [uðɐhɐmɐɳɖɐlɐm]), anglicized: Ootacamund listen, abbreviated as Udagai, Tamil: [uðɐhɐi]) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 86 km (53 mi) northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of Nilgiris district. Situated in the Nilgiri hills, it is known by the epithet "King of all the Hill Stations", and is a popular tourist destination.

Originally occupied by the Toda people, the area came under the rule of the East India Company in the 18th century. It later served as the summer capital of Madras Presidency. The economy is based on the hospitality industry serving tourism and agriculture. The town is connected to the plains by the Nilgiri ghat roads and Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

Coimbatore district is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialised districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educational, information technology, healthcare and manufacturing hub of Tamil Nadu. The region is bounded by Tiruppur district in the east, Nilgiris district in the north, Erode district in the northeast, Palakkad district, Idukki district and small parts of Thrissur district and Ernakulam district of neighbouring state of Kerala in the west and south respectively. As of 2011, Coimbatore district had a population of 3,458,045 with a sex ratio of 1,000 and literacy rate of 84%.

Coimbatore district was part of the historical Kongu Nadu and was ruled by the Cheras as it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the west coast and Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore was in the middle of the Roman trade route that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu in South India. The medieval Cholas conquered the Kongu Nadu in the 10th century CE. The region was ruled by Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century followed by the Nayaks who introduced the Palayakkarar system under which Kongu Nadu region was divided into 24 Palayams. In the later part of the 18th century, the Coimbatore region came under the Kingdom of Mysore and following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the Anglo-Mysore Wars, the British East India Company annexed Coimbatore to the Madras Presidency in 1799. The Coimbatore region played a prominent role in the Second Poligar War (1801) when it was the area of operations of Dheeran Chinnamalai. In 1804, Coimbatore was established as the capital of the newly formed Coimbatore district. The district experienced a textile boom in the early 19th century due to the decline of the cotton industry in Mumbai.

Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai district, which is governed by the Madurai Municipal Corporation established on 1 November 1866. As of the 2011 census, it is the third largest metropolis in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore in terms of population and 27th largest urban agglomeration in India. Located on the banks of Vaigai River, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoongatha Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps".

Madurai is one of the oldest cities in India and South Asia. The third Tamil Sangam, a major congregation of Tamil scholars, is said to have been held in the city. The recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the Mauryan Empire, and Kautilya, a minister of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Signs of human settlements and Roman trade links dating back to 300 BCE are evident from excavations by Archeological Survey of India in Manalur. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Pandyan Kingdom, Chola Empire, Madurai Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Carnatic kingdom, and the British East India Company's British Raj. The city has a number of historical monuments, with the Koodal Azhagar temple, Meenakshi Temple and the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal being the most prominent.

Kongu Nadu (IPA: [koŋɡɯ n̪aːɖɯ]), also known as Kongu Mandalam, is the geographical region comprising the western and north-western part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in some instances, parts of southeastern Karnataka and eastern Kerala. The region covers an area of roughly 60,895 km (23,512 sq mi) with a population of over 27.4 million.

The geography of the region is diverse, with the Western and Eastern Ghats traversing along the Deccan Plateau. The Kaveri, Bhavani, Amaravati and Noyyal rivers are the important non-perennial sources of water. Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Salem are the largest urban areas in the region. The majority of the people in the region speak Kongu Tamil, a variant of Tamil language. While the region is a significant contributor to the economy of the state, disparity remains within various districts in the region.

Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in the state of Kerala. It has an average elevation of 140 metres (460 ft) with a width of 24–30 kilometres (15–19 mi). The pass is located between the Nilgiri Hills to the north and Anaimalai Hills to the south.

The Noyyal River is a small river in Western Tamil Nadu, and a tributary of Kaveri River. It rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, very closer in proximity to Kerala border, and flows through many villages and the cities of Coimbatore, and Tirupur. Then finally, the river drains into the Kaveri River at Noyyal, a village in Karur district named after the river itself. The river's basin is 180 km (110 mi) long and 25 km (16 mi) wide and covers a total area of 3,500 km (1,400 sq mi). Cultivated land in the basin amounts to 1,800 km (690 sq mi) while the population density is 120 people per km (311/mi) in the countryside, and 1000 people per km (2590/mi) in the cities. The area is known for its scanty rainfall and the development of the Noyyal River Tanks System to hold any overflow from the rains plus the water of the Northeast and Southwest monsoon season was ecologically important. Kausika river, which originates along the northern side of Coimbatore district in the Western Ghats along with its consequent streams, lake and pond systems is an important tributary of the river. The 173 km (107 mi) long tributary of the Kaveri River filled 32 tanks. These interconnecting tanks held the water flowing from the Noyyal.