Mayiladuthurai

In medieval times, Mayiladuthurai was ruled by the Chola Dynasty. It was subsequently part of the Pallavas, Pandiyas, Vijayanagara Empire, Thanjavur Nayak kingdom, Thanjavur Maratha kingdom, and eventually the British Empire. Mayiladuthurai was a part of the erstwhile Tanjore district until India's independence in 1947, Thanjavur district until 1991, and subsequently a part of the newly formed Nagapattinam district until 2020. Mayiladuthurai was carved out of Nagapattinam district and inaugurated as the 38th district of Tamil Nadu on 28 December 2020.

Mayiladuthurai is administered by a town panchayat established in 1866. In 1949, it was upgraded to a selection-grade municipality, and in 2023 it was upgraded to special-grade municipality status. As of 2025, the municipality covered an area of 11.27 km2 (4.35 mi2). Mayiladuthurai is within the Mayiladuthurai constituency of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and elects its member once every five years. It is part of the Mayiladuthurai constituency of the national assembly and elects its Member of Parliament (MP) also once every five years.