Tanjore district was one of the districts in the erstwhile Madras Presidency of British India. It covered the area of the present-day districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam and the Aranthangi taluk of Pudukkottai district in Tamil Nadu. Apart from being a bedrock of Brahminism, Tanjore was a centre of Chola cultural heritage and one of the richest and most prosperous districts in Madras Presidency.