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| Location: | Indian state of Tamil Nadu |
| Capital: | Pudukkottai |
| Official Language(s): | Tamil, English |
| Demonym: | Pudukkottaian |
| Leadership: | First ruler: Ragunatha Raya Tondaiman (1680–1730) Last ruler: Rajagopala Tondaiman (1928–1947) |
| Year of foundation: | 1680 |
| Year of accession: | 1947 |
| Area claimed: | 3,051 km² (1,178 sq mi) |
| Population: | 380,440 (1901 census) |
| GDP: | Rs. 11,28,00 (revenue in 1903–1904) |
| Currency: | British Indian rupee, and local Amman kasu coins |
| Subdivisions: | The state had one town (Pudukkottai) and 377 villages |
| Status: | Kingdom (Subordinate to Ramnad until 1800). Princely state under the paramountcy of the British Raj (1800–1947). |
| Wiki article: | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudukkottai_state |
The world's oldest and longest living micronation was probably the Indian princely state of Pudukkottai.
From the 6th to the 14th century AD, Pudukkottai was successively ruled by the Pallavas, the Cholas, and the Pandyas. When the Pandya kingdom was conquered by Malik Kafur, Pudukkottai came under the rule of Muslim sultans, who held power for about 50 years before being vanquished by the Vijayanagar kings.
When the Vijayanagar kingdom disintegrated, Raghunatha Kilavan wrested the country from them in 1680, and appointed Raghunatha Tondaiman, his brother-in-law, as viceroy. Pudukkottai thus came under the rule of the Madurai Nayak Dynasty.
After the death of Raghunatha Kilavan, Raghunatha Tondaiman became the ruler of Pudukottai. Thus the Thondaiman Dynasty took root and flourished. The princely state of Pudukottai was created by Raghunatha (Raya) Tondaiman. In later centuries the Thondaiman rulers, while nominally being feudatories of the Ramnad state, often pursued an independent foreign policy (just like any micronation would do today), a trend common in all parts of India at that time.
The kingdom initially did not have fixed boundaries, and was called "Thondaiman country" (after the Thondaiman rulers) until the end of 18th century. The kingdom started to have fixed boundaries in the early 19th century. It extended for 52 miles from east to west and 41 miles from north to south, and encompassed an area of 1,178 square miles.
The Thondaimans provided military aid to the British and the Nawabs of Arcot in the 1752 siege of Tiruchirapally, against Haidar Ali and Tippu Sultan, and finally against the Palaiyakkarars. This act by the Thondaiman rulers spared the kingdom from being assigned zamindari status, and Pudukottai was instead assigned as a Princely State (also called Native or Indian State).
Marthanda Bhairava Tondaiman declared, in 1888, that Pudukkottai had become an independent kingdom, and in 1889 issued an Amman cash coin (Amman kasu). That was the only coin ever issued by the Kingdom of Pudukkottai.
Pudukkottai remained the only princely kingdom to maintain its independence in the whole of Tamil Nadu. The kingdom eventually acceded to the independent Dominion of India in August 1947, and merged with the Madras state in the following year. Rajagopala Tondaiman, ninth and last ruler of the princely state of Pudukkottai, died in 1997 at the age of 75.