Tamilakam
Tamiḻakam or the Ancient Tamiḻ country refers to the Sangam period (3rd century BCE - 4th century CE) territory of old South Indian kingdoms covering modern Tamil Nadu, Kerala and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka. Historians use the term synonymous with South India to refer to the Tamil-speaking regions of India, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Tamilakam was mentioned as Dravida in the ancient Sanskrit and Prakrit literatures.
Traditional accounts referred these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and culture of all people. Archaeological data from protohistoric Kerala and Tamil Nadu "appears to challenge the notion of a separate culture region."
During the Sangam period Tamil culture began to spread outside Tamiḻakam.
Etymology
"Tamiḻakam" is a portmanteau of two words from the Tamil language, namely Tamiḻ and akam. It can be roughly translated as the 'homeland of the Tamils'. According to Kamil Zvelebil, the term seems to be the most ancient term used to designate Tamil territory in the Indian subcontinent. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea referred it Damirica.