The city of Trivandrum literally split into"Tiru","Anantha""puram" means "The town of Lord Anantha". The statement is quite appropriate since the temple is at the heart of the town. The city and its several other districts emerged in ancient tradition, folklore and literature. The Ays were the leading political power till the beginning of the 10th century A.D. The disappearance of the Ays as a major political power synchronized with the emergence of the rulers of Venad. In 1684, during the regency of Umayamma Rani, the English East India Company tried to have control at Anchuthengu on the sea coast about 32 km's north of Thiruvananthapuram city, with a view to erecting a factory and fortifying it. Modern history begins with Marthanda Varma, who is generally regarded as the Father of modern Travancore (1729-1758 AD). Thiruvananthapuram was known as a great center of intellectual and artistic activities in those days. The accession of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal (1829-1847 AD) ushered in an epoch of cultural progress and economic prosperity. In the year 1834, started the beginning of English education by opening an English school at Thiruvananthapuram. In 1836, an observatory and a charity hospital were established at Thiruvananthapuram. During the reign of Ayilyam Thirunal (1860-1880), a fully equipped Arts College was started besides several English, Malayalam and Tamil schools. In 1904, the Shri Moolam Assembly came into being. The activities of the Indian National Congress echoed in Thiruvananthapuram and other parts of Kerala during the reign of Shri Moolam Thirunal. In 1938, a political conference of the Congress was held in the city under the presidency of Dr. Pattabi Sitaramaiah. | 
