Chola dynasty

The Chola dynasty was one of the Tamil dynasties in southern India. At its height, it ruled over an expansive maritime empire known as the Chola empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE during the reign of Ashoka of the Maurya empire. The Chola empire was at its peak and achieved imperialism under the Medieval Cholas in the mid-9th century CE. As one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera and Pandya, the dynasty continued to govern over varying territories until the 13th century CE. The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. They ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the beginning of the 13th century. They unified peninsular India south of the Tungabhadra River, and held the territory as one state for three centuries between 907 and 1215 CE. Under Rajaraja I and his successors Rajendra I, Rajadhiraja I, Rajendra II, Virarajendra, and Kulothunga Chola I, the empire became a military, economic and cultural powerhouse in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The power and the prestige the Cholas had among political powers in South, Southeast, and East Asia at its peak is evident through their expeditions to the Ganges, naval raids on cities of the Srivijaya Empire based on the island of Sumatra, and their repeated embassies to China. The Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian maritime capacity. Around 1070 the Cholas began to lose almost all of their overseas territories, but the later Cholas (1070–1279 CE) continued to rule portions of Southern India. The Chola empire went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall. The Cholas succeeded in building the greatest thalassocratic empire in the history of India, thereby leaving a lasting legacy. They established a centralized form of government and a disciplined bureaucracy.

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