Thanjavur Marathi (Marathi: तंजावूर मराठी), also spelled as Tanjore Marathi, is a dialect of Marathi spoken by Thanjavur Maharashtrians who migrated south, along with Shivaji's half brother Venkoji, to the areas surrounding the city of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, India back in the 17th century.

History

The history of Maratha rulers in South India possibly begins with Shahaji's attempt at setting up an independent kingdom in the Deccan plateau and his subsequent defeat in battle by Shahjahan around 1636. Shahaji made peace with Shahjahan and was posted in the deep south so as not to pose any challenge to the Mughals. He finally became one of the top generals in Adilshah's army, accepting a Jagir in his court, being based in Bangalur (Present day Bangalore in Karnataka). Shahaji had two sons by Jijabai, Sambhaji and Shivaji and one son Venkoji (aka Vyankoji or Ekoji) by his second wife, Tukabai. Venkoji later ruled over the independent Maratha kingdom of Thanjavur which came to be known as the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. Maharaja Serfoji I was one of the most famous Marathi kings of Tanjore.

Scripts

Historically Modi, Devanagari, Telugu and Tamil scripts have been used to write this dialect as found in old historical documents.

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