Chola Dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in world history.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,157 |
Chola Dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in world history.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,157 |
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.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,158 |
The Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian maritime capacity.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,159 |
Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed part of the Rajarata kingdom in present-day Sri Lanka, and occupied Maldives islands.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,160 |
In 1025, Rajendra Chola successfully invaded the cities of Srivijaya empire, based on the island of Sumatra.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,161 |
The Chola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 13th century with the rise of the Pandyan dynasty, which ultimately caused their downfall.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,162 |
The Chola kings were avid builders and envisioned the temples in their kingdoms not only as places of worship but as centers of economic activity.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,163 |
Commonly held view is that Chola is, like Chera and Pandya, the name of the ruling family or clan of immemorial antiquity.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,164 |
In Tamil lexicon Chola means Soazhi or Saei denoting a newly formed kingdom, in the lines of Pandya or the old country.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,165 |
Two names are prominent among those Chola kings known to have existed who feature in Sangam literature: Karikala and Kocengannan.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,166 |
Chola dynasty was at the peak of its influence and power during the medieval period.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,168 |
At its peak, the Chola Empire stretched from the northern parts of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari-Krishna river basin in the north, up to the Konkan coast in Bhatkal, the entire Malabar Coast in addition to Lakshadweep, and Maldives.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,169 |
Chola integrated his empire into a tight administrative grid under royal control, and at the same time strengthened local self-government.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,170 |
Chola defeated Hoysala generals fought under Veera Ballala II at Karuvur.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,171 |
In 1025, Rajendra Chola launched naval raids on ports of Srivijaya and against the Burmese kingdom of Pegu.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,172 |
Rajaraja Chola's daughter married Chalukya prince Vimaladitya and Rajendra Chola's daughter Ammanga Devi was married to the Eastern Chalukya prince Rajaraja Narendra.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,173 |
Rajendra Chola III who succeeded Rajaraja III was a much better ruler who took bold steps to revive the Chola fortunes.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,174 |
Chola led successful expeditions to the north as attested by his epigraphs found as far as Cuddappah.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,175 |
However, the Chola dynasty seemed to have it survived elsewhere outside of India.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,177 |
Chola was sent by the Maharajah to establish a base for expeditionary forces, but he rebelled and established his own independent rajahnate.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,178 |
The Chola kings built temples and endowed them with great wealth.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,179 |
The Chola Dynasty was divided into several provinces called which were further divided into, which were subdivided into units called or.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,180 |
Chola dynasty had a robust military, of which the king was the supreme commander.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,181 |
The Chola army was spread all over the country and was stationed in local garrisons or military camps known as Kodagams.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,182 |
Chola rulers built several palaces and fortifications to protect their cities.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,183 |
Soldiers of the Chola dynasty used weapons such as swords, bows, javelins, spears and shields which were made up of steel.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,184 |
The Chola rulers issued their coins in gold, silver and copper.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,185 |
The Chola economy was based on three tiers—at the local level, agricultural settlements formed the foundation to commercial towns nagaram, which acted as redistribution centres for externally produced items bound for consumption in the local economy and as sources of products made by nagaram artisans for the international trade.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,186 |
Uraiyur, the capital of the early Chola rulers, was a famous centre for cotton textiles which were praised by Tamil poets.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,187 |
The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the peasantry.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,188 |
Apart from sinking wells and excavating tanks, the Chola rulers threw mighty stone dams across the Kaveri and other rivers, and cut out channels to distribute water over large tracts of land.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,189 |
The Vellalar community was the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola rulers, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the bureaucracy and the upper layer of the peasantry.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,190 |
The encouragement by the Chola court furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations such as the Ayyavole and Manigramam guilds into Southeast Asia and China.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,191 |
The market structure and economic policies of the Chola dynasty were more conducive to a large-scale, cross-regional market trade than those enacted by the Chinese Song Dynasty.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,192 |
Rajendra Chola built a huge tank named Solagangam in his capital city Gangaikonda Solapuram and was described as the liquid pillar of victory.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,193 |
Architectural historian James Fergusson says that "the Chola artists conceived like giants and finished like jewelers".
FactSnippet No. 1,308,194 |
Imperial Chola era was the golden age of Tamil culture, marked by the importance of literature.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,195 |
Chola records cite many works, including the Rajarajesvara Natakam, Viranukkaviyam and Kannivana Puranam.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,196 |
Chola imports into his narration the colour and landscape of his own time; his description of Kosala is an idealised account of the features of the Chola country.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,197 |
Chola rulers took an active interest in the development of temple centres and used the temples to widen the sphere of their royal authority.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,198 |
Kocengannan, an Early Chola, was celebrated in both Sangam literature and in the Shaivite canon as a Hindu saint.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,199 |
Chola pronounced that the great temples of Shiva and the Ranganatha temple were to be the Kuladhanam of the Chola emperors.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,200 |
Chola prayed before him before his embarking on war to regain the territories in and around Kanchi and Arcot from the waning Rashtrakutas and while leading expeditions against both Madurai and Ilam .
FactSnippet No. 1,308,201 |
The work Parpannamritam refers to the Chola king called Krimikanta who is said to have removed the Govindaraja idol from the Chidambaram Nataraja temple.
FactSnippet No. 1,308,202 |