Chera

The major pre-Pallava polities of southern India — ruled by the Cheras, Pandyas, and Cholas — appear to have displayed a rudimentary state structure. Early Tamil literature, known as the Sangam texts, and extensive classical Graeco-Roman accounts are the major sources of information about the early historic Cheras. Other corroborative sources for the Cheras include Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions, silver portrait coins with Tamil-Brahmi legends, and copper coins depicting the Chera symbols of the bow and the arrow on the reverse. With the close of the early historical period, between the third and fifth centuries CE, the Cheras witnessed a substantial decline in power.