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South Indian kingdom (848 CE–1070 CE)
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The Chola Empire (Tamil: [t͡ʃoːɻɐɾ, soːɻɐɾ]), which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence in southeast Asia.
The power and the prestige the Cholas had among political powers in South, Southeast, and East Asia at its peak is evident in their expeditions to the Ganges, naval raids on cities of the Srivijaya Empire on the island of Sumatra, and their repeated embassies to China. The Chola fleet represented the peak of ancient Indian maritime capacity. Around 1070, the Cholas began to lose almost all of their overseas territories but the later Cholas (1070–1279) 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 the Chola's downfall.
The Cholas established a centralized form of government and a disciplined bureaucracy. Their patronage of Tamil literature and their zeal for building temples resulted in some of the greatest works of Tamil literature and architecture. The Chola kings were avid builders, and regarded temples in their kingdoms as both places of worship and of economic activity. A prime example of Chola architecture is Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which the Rajaraja commissioned in 1010. They were also well known for their patronage of art. The development of the sculpting technique used in Chola bronzes of Hindu deities that were built using a lost wax process, was pioneered in their time. The Chola tradition of art spread, and influenced the architecture and art of Southeast Asia.
Vijayalaya, a descendant of the Early Cholas, reestablished resp. founded the Chola Empire in 848 CE. Vijayalaya took an opportunity arising out of a conflict between the Pandya and Pallava empires in c. 850, captured Thanjavur from Muttarayar, and established the imperial line of the medieval Chola dynasty. Thanjavur became the capital of the Imperial Chola empire.
Under Aditya I, the Cholas along with the Pallavas defeated the Pandyan dynasty of Madurai in 885, occupied large parts of Kannada country, and had marital ties with the Western Ganga dynasty. Later, Aditya I defeated the Pallavas and occupied the Tondaimandalam. In 925, Aditya's son Parantaka I conquered Sri Lanka, which was then-known as Ilangai. Parantaka I also defeated the Rashtrakuta dynasty under Krishna II in the Battle of Vallala. Later, Parantaka I was defeated by Rashtrakutas under Krishna III and the Cholas' heir apparent Rajaditya Chola was killed in the Battle of Takkolam, in which the Cholas lost Tondaimandalam region to Rashtrakutas.
The Cholas recovered their power during the reign of Parantaka II. The Chola army under the command of crown prince Aditha Karikalan defeated the Pandyas and expanded the kingdom to Tondaimandalam. Aditha Karikalan was assassinated in a political plot. After Parantaka II, Uttama Chola became the Chola emperor and was followed by Raja Raja Chola I, the greatest Chola monarch.
Under Rajaraja I and Rajendra I, the Chola Empire reach its Imperial state. At its peak, the empire stretched from the northern parts of Sri Lanka northwards to the Godavari–Krishna river basin, up to the Konkan coast in Bhatkal, the entire Malabar Coast (the Chea country) in addition to Lakshadweep and the Maldives islands. Rajaraja Chola I was an energetic ruler who applied himself to the task of governance with the same zeal he had shown in waging wars. He integrated his empire into a tight, administrative grid under royal control and strengthened local self-government. In 1000, Rajaraja conducted a land survey to effectively marshall his empire's resources. He built Brihadeeswarar Temple in 1010.
Rajendra conquered Odisha and his armies continued north and defeated the forces of the Pala dynasty of Bengal, and reached the Ganges river in northern India. Rajendra built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram to celebrate his victories in northern India. Rajendra I successfully invaded the Srivijaya kingdom in Southeast Asia, which led to the decline of the empire there. This expedition left such an impression on the Malay people of the medieval period his name is mentioned in the corrupted form as Raja Chulan in the Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu. Rajendra also completed the conquest of the Rajarata kingdom of Sri Lanka and took the Sinhala king Mahinda V a prisoner; he also conquered Rattapadi—territories of the Rashtrakutas, Chalukya country, Talakkad, and Kolar, where Kolaramma temple still has his portrait statue—in Kannada country. Rajendra's territories included the Ganges–Hooghly–Damodar basin, as well as Rajarata of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged Chola suzerainty. Diplomatic missions were sent to China in 1016, 1033, and 1077.
From the period of Rajaraja, the Cholas engaged in a series of conflicts with the Western Chalukyas. The Old Chalukya dynasty had split into two sibling dynasties, the Western and Eastern Chalukyas. Rajaraja's daughter Kundavai was married to the Eastern Chalukya prince Vimaladitya, who ruled from Vengi. The Western Chalukyas felt the Vengi kingdom was in their natural sphere of influence. Cholas inflicted several defeats on the Western Chalukyas. The frontier mostly remained at the Tungabhadra River for both kingdoms and resulted in the death of king Rajadhiraja.
Rajendra's reign was followed by those of three of his sons in succession; Rajadhiraja I, Rajendra II, and Virarajendra. In his eagerness to restore Chola hegemony over Vengi to its former absolute state, Rajadhiraja I (1042–1052) led an expedition into Vengi country in 1044–1045. He fought a battle at Dhannada and compelled the Western Chalukyan army and Vijayaditya VII to retreat in disorder. Rajendra then entered the Western Chalukyan dominions and set fire to the Kollipaka fort on the frontier between the Kalyani and Vengi territories.
This brought relief for Rajaraja Narendra, who was now firmly in control at Vengi, with Rajadhiraja I proceeding to the Chalukyan capital, displacing the Chalukyan king Someshvara I, performing his coronation at Manyakheta, and collecting tribute from the defeated king, who had fled the battlefield. While the Chalukyans kept creating trouble through Vijayaditya VII, Vengi remained firmly under the control of the Cholas. Someshvara I again launched an attack on Vengi and then the Cholas in 1054.
After Rajadhiraja died, Rajendra II crowned himself on the battlefield. He galvanized the Chola army, defeating the Chalukyas under Someshvara I. The Chalukya king again fled the battlefield, leaving behind his queen and riches in the possession of the victorious Chola army. The Cholas consolidated their hold on Vengi and Kalinga. Although there were occasional skirmishes with the Chalukyas, they were repeatedly defeated by both the Cholas and the Vengi princes, who openly professed loyalty to the Chola Empire. Following the death of Rajaraja Narendra in 1061, another opportunity for the Kalyani court to strengthen its hold on Vengi arose. Vijayaditya VII seized Vengi and with the consent of the Kalyani court, established himself permanently in the kingdom. Meanwhile, prince Rajendra Chalukya, son of Rajaraja Narendra through the Chola princess Ammangai, was brought up in the Chola harem. Rajendra Chalukya married Madhurantakidevi, the daughter of RajendraII. To restore him on the Vengi throne, RajendraII sent his son Rajamahendra and brother ViraRajendra against the Western Chalukyas and Vijayaditya VII. Chola forces marched against Gangavadi and repelled the Chalukyas. Virarajendra then marched against Vengi and probably killed Saktivarman II, son of Vijayaditya VII.
In the midst of this, in 1063, Rajendra II died; because his son Rajamahendra had predeceased him, Virarajendra returned to Gangaikonda Cholapuram and was crowned the Chola king (1063–1070). Virarajendra split the Western Chalukya kingdom by persuading Chalukya prince Vikramaditya IV to become his son-in-law and to seize the throne of Kalyani for himself. When Virarajendra died in 1070, he was succeeded by his son Adhirajendra, who was assassinated a few months later, leaving the Chola dynasty was without a lineal successor in the Vijayalaya Chola line.
Marital and political alliances between the Eastern Chalukyas began during the reign of Rajaraja following his invasion of Vengi. Rajaraja Chola's daughter married Chalukya prince Vimaladitya, and Rajendra Chola's daughter Ammanga Devi was married to the Eastern Chalukya prince Rajaraja Narendra. In 1070, Virarajendra Chola's son Athirajendra Chola was assassinated in a civil disturbance, and Kulothunga Chola I, the son of Ammanga Devi and Rajaraja Narendra, ascended the Chola throne, beginning the Later Chola dynasty.
The Later Chola dynasty was led by capable rulers such as Kulothunga I, his son Vikrama Chola, and other successors Rajaraja II, Rajadhiraja II, and Kulothunga III, who conquered Kalinga, Ilam, and Kataha. The rule of the Later Cholas between 1218, starting with Rajaraja III to the last emperor Rajendra III, was not as strong as those of the emperors between 850 and 1215. Around 1118, the Cholas lost control of Vengi to the Western Chalukya and Gangavadi (southern Mysore) districts to the Hoysala Empire. Immediately after the accession of king Vikrama Chola, the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola I, the Cholas recovered the province of Vengi by defeating Chalukya Someshvara III; the Cholas also recovered Gangavadi from the Hoysalas. The Chola empire, though not as strong as between 850 and 1150, was still largely territorially intact under Rajaraja II (1146–1175) a fact attested to by the construction of the third grand, chariot-shaped Airavatesvara Temple at Dharasuram on the outskirts of modern Kumbakonam. Up to 1215, during the rule of Kulothunga Chola III, Chola administration and territorial integrity was stable and very prosperous, but during his rule, Chola power started declining following his defeat by Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II in 1215–1216. Subsequently, the Cholas also lost control of the island of Sri Lanka and were driven out by the revival of Sinhala power.
The decline of the Cholas was also marked by the resurgence of the Pandyan dynasty as the most powerful rulers in South India. A lack of a controlling central administration in its erstwhile Pandyan territories prompted a number of claimants to the Pandya throne to cause a civil war, in which the Sinhalas and the Cholas were involved by proxy. Details of the Pandyan civil war, and the role played by the Cholas and Sinhalas, are present in the Mahavamsa and Pallavarayanpettai inscriptions.
For three generations, the Eastern Chalukyan princes had married into the imperial Chola family and felt they belonged to it as much as to the Eastern Chalukya dynasty. The Chalukya prince Rajendra Chalukya of Vengi had "spent his childhood days in Gangaikonda Cholapuram and was a familiar favourite to the princes and the people of the Chola country" according to Kalingathuparani, an epic written in praise of him. Following the death of the death of Adhirajendra, Rajendra Chalukya established himself on the Chola throne as Kulottunga I (1070–1122), beginning the Later Chola or Chalukya-Chola period.
Kulothunga I reconciled himself with his uncle Vijayaditya VII and allowed him to rule Vengi for the rest of his life. The Eastern Chalukya line came to an end with Vijayaditya's death in 1075 and Vengi became a province of the Chola Empire. Kulottunga Chola I administered the province through his sons, whom he sent there as viceroys. There was a prolonged fight between Kulottunga Chola I and Vikramaditya VI. Kulothunga's long reign was characterized by unparalleled success and prosperity; he avoided unnecessary wars and earned the admiration of his subjects. Kulottunga's successes resulted in the well-being of the empire for the next 100 years but Kulothunga lost the territories in the island of Lanka and began to lose control of the Pandya territories.
Under Rajaraja Chola III and his successor Rajendra Chola III, the Later Cholas were quite weak and experienced continuous trouble. One feudatory the Kadava chieftain Kopperunchinga I held Rajaraja Chola III as a hostage for some time. At the close of the 12th century, the growing influence of the Hoysalas replaced the declining Chalukyas as the main player in Kannada country but they also faced constant trouble from the Seunas and the Kalachuris, who were occupying the Chalukya capital. The Hoysalas found it convenient to have friendly relations with the Cholas from the time of Kulothunga Chola III, who had defeated Hoysala Veera Ballala II, who had subsequent marital relations with the Chola monarch. This continued during the time of Rajaraja Chola III, the son and successor of Kulothunga Chola III
Text from the Wikipedia article “Chola Empire”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.