Cholas

Overview of the Chola Empire (9th-13th Centuries)

The Chola Empire rose to power in the 9th century in the Tamil speaking districts of Southern India. Although the Chola Dynasty existed since at least 100 B.C., it was during the 9th Century that it began its rise into a major world power. Under Rajaraja Chola (Rajaraja The Great) and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose as a notable military, economic and cultural power in Asia. The Chola Empire stretched from southern Maldives as far north as the Himalaya Mountains and West Bengal in North India. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, and annexed parts of Sri Lanka by defeating the Pandyas. Rajendra Chola went beyond, occupying coastal Burma, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya in South East Asia and Pegu islands with his fleet of ships. He defeated Mahipala, the king of Bihar and Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Tamil Chola armies exacted tribute from Thailand and Cambodia. The power of the Cholas declined around the 13th century. The Cholas were the first Indian empire to engage in naval conquest overseas.

The Capital cities of the Cholas

Thanjavur was the capital of the Chola Empire from the 9th-11th Centuries. After which, Gangaikonda Cholapuram became the capital from the 11th-13th Centuries, by which time the empire had declined and shrunk to the Cauvery delta. It was taken over by the medieval Pandyan kingdom.

Legacy of the Medieval Cholas

The Great Chola Empire which spanned most of South and South East Asia led to a flowering of Tamil Hindu architecture, dance, music, literature, religion and arts throughout the littoral of the Indian Ocean. It's legacy can be seen in the monumental temples of the Chola heartland, the deep South of India, and the Hindu festivals and temples of Bali, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Early Cholas or Sangam Cholas

From the 3rd century, the Cholas' power declined under the pressure of frequent attacks by the Cheras and later the Pallavas and Pandyas, but with the weakening of the Pallavas, they recovered their position by the mid-9th century.

Medieval Cholas

The greatest kings among the Medieval Cholas were Rajaraja Chola I (reigned 985-1014) and his son Rajendra Chola I (reigned 1014-42). Under them, Chola power reached its zenith. Rajaraja conquered Kerala and a part of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Rajendra later completed the conquest of Sri Lanka, crossed the Ganges and marched across Kalinga to Bengal, and sent out a great naval expedition that occupied parts of Burma (Myanmar), Malaya, Java and Sumatra. Later Chola armies also made raids into what is now Cambodia and Thailand.

For 300 years the Chola kingdom supported a flourishing social and economic life, marked by a flowering of Dravidian culture. Rajendra, to commemorate his victory beyond the Ganges, created a new capital and named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram. And it is noteworthy that the Cholas were the first rulers in the Indian subcontinent to maintain a fleet and use it to expand their dominion overseas. By the 13th century, however, the Chola kingdom had exhausted its resources and was on the decline. It succumbed to an attack by the Hoysalas from the west and the Pandyas from the south. The last king of the Medieval Cholas was Rajendra Chola IV (d. 1279).

The emblem of the Chola empire was the tiger, which was featured on the Chola flag, on coins, and in other contexts of political significance.

Chola Navy

List of Medieval Chola Kings