History. Of chola.

EMPEROR RAJARAJENDRA
CHOLA ...OF CHOLA'S THE OLDEST
ROYAL DYNASTY OF SOUTH INDIA
with more than 1600 years of
Rule , as per today's
records ..while Tamil Sangam
texts speak clearly of Chola rules
spanning more than 2000
years !!!!
Rajendra Chola I (Rajendra
Chola the Great) (Tamil:
முதலாம் இராசேந்திர
சோழன்) was the son of
Rajaraja Chola I and considered
one of the greatest rulers and
military leaders of the Tamil
Chola Empire. He succeeded his
father in 1014 CE as the Chola
emperor. During his reign, he
extended the influences of the
already vast Chola empire up to
the banks of the river Ganges in
the north and across the ocean.
Rajendra’s territories extended
coastal Burma, the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep,
Maldives, conquered the kings of
Srivijaya (Sumatra, Java and
Malay Peninsula in South East
Asia) and Pegu islands with his
fleet of ships. He defeated
Mahipala, the Pala king of Bengal
and Bihar, and to commemorate
his victory he built a new capital
called Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
The Cholas became one of the
most powerful dynasties in Asia
during his reign. The Tamil Chola
armies exacted tribute from
Thailand and the Khmer kingdom
of Cambodia.
The Chola dynasty (Tamil:
சோழர்) was one of the
longest-ruling dynasties in the
history of southern India. The
earliest datable references to
this Tamil dynasty are in
inscriptions from the 3rd century
BCE left by Ashoka, of the
Maurya Empire. As one of the
Three Crowned Kings, the
dynasty continued to govern over
varying territory until the 13th
century CE.
The history of the Cholas falls
into four periods: the early
Cholas of the Sangam literature,
the interregnum between the
fall of the Sangam Cholas and the
rise of the medieval Cholas under
Vijayalaya (c. 848), the dynasty
of Vijayalaya, and finally the
Later Chola dynasty of
Kulothunga Chola I from the
third quarter of the 11th
century.
The heartland of the Cholas was
the fertile valley of the Kaveri
River, but 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. The whole country south
of the Tungabhadra was united
and held as one state for a
period of two centuries and
more.
Under Rajaraja Chola I and his
successors Rajendra Chola I,
Rajadhiraja Chola, Virarajendra
Chola and Kulothunga Chola I the
dynasty became a military,
economic and cultural power in
South Asia and South-East Asia.
The power of the new empire was
proclaimed to the eastern world
by the expedition to the Ganges
which Rajendra Chola I
undertook and by the occupation
of cities of the maritime empire
of Srivijaya in Southeast Asia,
as well as by the repeated
embassies to China.
During the period 1010–1200,
the Chola territories stretched
from the islands of the Maldives
in the south to as far north as
the banks of the Godavari River
in Andhra Pradesh.
Rajaraja Chola conquered
peninsular South India, annexed
parts of which is now Sri Lanka
and occupied the islands of the
Maldives. Rajendra Chola sent a
victorious expedition to North
India that touched the river
Ganges and defeated the Pala
ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala.
He also successfully invaded
cities of Srivijaya of Malaysia
and Indonesia.
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.
The Cholas left a lasting legacy.
Their patronage of Tamil
literature and their zeal in the
building of temples has resulted
in some great works of Tamil
literature and architecture.
The Chola kings were avid
builders and envisioned the
temples in their kingdoms not
only as places of worship but also
as centres of economic activity.
They pioneered a centralised
form of government and
established a disciplined
bureaucracy. The Chola school of
art spread to Southeast Asia and
influenced the architecture and
art of Southeast Asia.
According to the Malay chronicle
Sejarah Melayu the rulers of the
Malacca sultanate claimed to be
descendants of the kings of the
Chola Empire.

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