Medieval Cholas
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Medieval Cholas
Medieval Cholas rose to prominence during the middle of the 9th century CE and established one of the greatest empires of South India. They successfully united South India under their rule and through their naval strength extended their influence in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. They had trade contacts with the Arabs in the west and with the Chinese in the east. Medieval Cholas and Chalukyas were continuously in conflict over the control of Vengi and the conflict eventually exhausted both the empires and led to their decline. The Chola dynasty merged into the Eastern Chalukyan dynasty of Vengi through decades of alliances and later united under the Later Cholas. Early history Vijayalaya Chola was probably a Pallava vassal. Vijayalaya captured Thanjavur in 848, making use of the opportunity during a war between Pandyas and Pallavas. The Cholas under Aditya I captured the Pallavas in the north (c. 869) and subdued the Pandayas and Cheras in the south (c. 903). Parantaka I dro ...
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Pazhaiyaarai
Pazhayarai or Pazhaiyarai or Palayarai (Tamil: பழையாறை paḻaiyāṟai) was an ancient capital of the medieval Chola dynasty in Tamil Nadu. The place is located around from Kumbakonam, a city in Thanjavur district, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of T.Patnam river, one of the tributaries of the river Cauvery. There are a number of villages within the area of historic Pazhaiyarai. The place was called Ayiratalli, meaning a land of thousand temples. The place is referred under various names like Ayiratalli, Pazhayar, Ahavamallakulakalapuram and Minavanaivenkadasolapuram. The place was originally under the rule of Muttaraiyars, the feudatories of Pallava empire when it was called Avanaiapuram. The place attained its fame when it came under the regime of the Cholas. There are a number of inscriptions from the Chola dynasty associating the importance capital during the regime of Sundara (Parantaka II) (957-70). It retained it import ...
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Later Cholas
The Later Chola dynasty ruled the Chola Empire from 1070 C.E. until the demise of the empire in 1279 C. E. This dynasty was the product of decades of alliances based on marriages between the Cholas and the Eastern Chalukyas based in Vengi, and produced some of the greatest Chola emperors such as Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 C. E.). Even though the later Cholas are often referred to as Chalukya Cholas, there were two breaks in the line. Kulothunga Chola II and Rajadhiraja Chola II did not belong to the Chalukya Chola line. Kulottunga II was a grandson of Vikrama Chola and Rajadhiraja Chola II was not the son of Rajaraja Chola II. The extent of the Chola Empire during this period stretched from the island of Lanka to Kalinga in the northeast. The Empire also had active political and trade contacts with the maritime kingdoms of the Malay Archipelago and China. Eastern and Western animosity Towards the last quarter of tenth century C.E., the Deccan in South India was ruled b ...
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Raja Raja Chola
Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South India during his reign and is remembered for reinstating the Chola influence and ensuring its supremacy across the Indian Ocean. His extensive empire included vast regions of the Pandya country, the Chera country and northern Sri Lanka. He also acquired Lakshadweep and Thiladhunmadulu atoll, and part of the northern-most islands of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Campaigns against the Western Gangas and the Chalukyas extended the Chola authority as far as the Tungabhadra River. On the eastern coast, he battled with the Chalukyas for the possession of Vengi.A Journey through India's Past by Chandra Mauli Mani p.51 Rajaraja I, being an able administrator, also built the great Rajarajeshwaram Temple at the Chola capital Thanjavur. The ...
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Uttama Chola
Uttama was a Chola Emperor who ruled from 973 CE to 985 CE in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. According to Tiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra Chola, Madurantaka Uttama Chola's reign is placed after Aditya II. The latter may have been a co-regent of Parantaka II and seems to have died before he could formally ascend the throne. Uttama was the cousin of Parantaka II and was the son of the illustrious Sembiyan Mahadevi and Gandaraditya. Controversial ascension The circumstances under which Uttama ascended the Chola throne is surrounded by controversy and mystery. At the time of Gandarditya's death Uttama must have been a very young child. Due to his young age, his rights to the Chola throne were probably set aside and Gandaraditya's younger brother Arinjaya was crowned king. Arinjaya ruled for a very short time – possibly for less than a year and on his death, his son Parantaka II (Sundara Chola) succeeded him. By the time Maduranthaka was old enough to claim the crown, Sundara ...
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Parantaka Chola II
Parantaka Chola II (Tamil: இரண்டாம் பராந்தக சோழன்) (r. 958 – 973 CE) was a Chola emperor. He is also known as Sundara Chola as he was considered an epitome of male beauty.''Early Chola temples:Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985''''Journal of Indian museums, Volumes 14-16, page 35''''A Topographical List of Inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States: Nilgiris District, Pudukkottai District, Ramanathapuram District, Salem District, page 41'' He was the son of Arinjaya Chola and queen Kalyani, a princess of Vaidumba family. Parantaka II ascended the Chola throne despite the fact that his cousin Madurantaka Uttama Chola, the son of Gandaraditya Chola(the elder brother of Arinjaya Chola) was alive and he had equal if not more claim to the Chola throne. When Parantaka II became king, the Chola kingdom had shrunk to the size of a small principality. The Pandyas in the south had revived their fortunes and had defeated the Chola ar ...
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Arinjaya
Arinjaya Chola was a chola ruler of the Chola kingdom. He was the third son of Parantaka I and the younger brother of Gandaraditya Chola, whom he is thought to have succeeded in about 956. Arinjaya Chola was succeeded by his son Sundara Chola as Madurantaka Uttama Chola was not old enough to ascend the throne. Arinjaya seems to have ruled for a very short time. Recent scholarship suggests that Arinjaya was the son of a Chera princess (hence a half-brother to prince Rajaditya). As per the Anbil plates of Sundara Chola, Arinjaya's mother was the daughter of Paluvettaraiyar, therein described as a Kerala prince. Other names Arinjaya is also referred to by the names Arikulakesari, Arikesari, or Arindama. His name is mentioned in some of Gandaraditya's inscriptions as ''Alvar Arikulakesarideva''. Paucity of information There is some confusion regarding whether Arinjaya actually succeeded Gandaraditya. Some historians doubt whether Arinjaya ruled on his own right. There is l ...
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Gandaraditya
Gandaraditha Chola ( ta, கண்டராதித்த சோழன்) succeeded his father Parantaka I and became the Chola king about 955 CE. He was also a Tamil literary poet in the Thiruvisaippa Palandu.''Epigraphy'', by Archaeological Survey of India. Southern Circle, page 11 He had a son named Madurantaka Chola also known as Uttama Chola, who became Chola emperor after his cousin Sundara Chola. Turbulent period From the death of Parantaka I, to the accession of Rajaraja I in 985 CE, Chola history is obscure. During this period of 30 years there were five princes who must have occupied the throne. There are several theories surrounding the rapid ascension to the Chola throne. One was that there were internal feuds among the different members of the royal family. The other is that the effects of the Rashtrakuta invasion, under Krishna III and his brother-in-law Ganga Butuga, and the defeat of the Chola army at Takkolam resulting in the death of heir-apparent Rajaditya ...
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Rajaditya
Rajaditya Chola (''fl.'' mid-10th century AD) was a Chola prince, son of king Parantaka I (r. 907–955) and a Chera/Kerala princess ( the Ko Kizhan AdigalNarayanan, M. G. S. ''Perumāḷs of Kerala.'' Thrissur (Kerala): CosmoBooks, 2013. 96-100.), known for commanding the Chola troops in the battle of Takkolam (948–949).Ali, Daud. "The Death of a Friend: Companionship, Loyalty and Affiliation in Chola South India." ''Studies in History'', vol. 33, no. 1, Feb. 2017, pp. 36–60. The death of prince Rajaditya in the battle is unusually commemorated by the Cholas. The Chola version of the events can be found in Larger Leiden Grant (1006 AD) of Rajaraja I and Tiruvalangadu Plates (1018 AD) of Rajendra Chola. An account of the battle, which differs in some details from the Chola version, is found in the Atakur inscription issued by Krishna III and prince Butuga II (a young underlord of Krishna III) of the Western Ganga family.''Epigraphia Indica'' 6 (1900–01), no. 6c: 53–56 ...
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Gangas
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India, receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna, which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for the bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly river. The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma. It is then joined by the Jamuna, the lower stream of the Brahmaputra, and eventually the Meghna, forming the major es ...
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Rashtrakutas
Rashtrakuta (IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from manapur a city in Central or West India. Other ruling Rashtrakuta clans from the same period mentioned in inscriptions were the kings of Achalapur and the rulers of Kannauj. Several controversies exist regarding the origin of these early Rashtrakutas, their native homeland and their language. The Elichpur clan was a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas, and during the rule of Dantidurga, it overthrew Chalukya Kirtivarman II and went on to build an empire with the Gulbarga region in modern Karnataka as its base. This clan came to be known as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India in 753 AD. At the same time the Pala Empire, Pala dynasty of Bengal and the Prathihara, Prathihara dynasty of Malwa were gaining ...
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Parantaka I
Parantaka Chola I (Tamil : பராந்தக சோழன் I) (873 CE–955 CE) was a Chola emperor who ruled for forty-eight years, annexing Pandya by defeating Rajasimhan II. The best part of his reign was marked by increasing success and prosperity. Invasion of the Pandya kingdom Parantaka I continued the expansion started by his father, and invaded the Pandya kingdom in 915. He captured the Pandyan capital Madurai and assumed the title Madurain-konda (Capturer of Madurai). The Pandyan ruler Maravarman Rajasinha II sought the help of Kassapa V of Anuradhapura who sent an army to his aid. Parantaka I defeated the combined army at the battle of Vellore. The Pandya king fled into exile in Sri Lanka and Parantaka I completed his conquest of the entire Pandya country. Parantaka I spent many years in the newly conquered country reducing it to subjugation, and when he felt he had at last achieved his aim, he wanted to celebrate his victory by a coronation in Madurai in wh ...
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