The Chola Kingdom
India has always been the land of great
Empires, diverse cultures and different civilizations. The Mauryan, Gupta and
the Mughal Empires have always been the most deeply studied civilizations but many other great ones have not seen as much limelight. The Cholas are one of
them.
Origin
The tripartite struggle between the the
kingdoms of Pala, Rashtrakuta and Pratihara for the capital city of Kanuj lead
to regional instability. In a similar manner around the same time, the Pallavas,
Pandyas and the Cholas also fought for the assertion of dominance in southern
India. In this battle the Cholas emerged victorious.
The Cholas came into existence in about
300-600 BCE along the Kaveri River Delta. From the beginning the Cholas were
dependent on the sea for wealth. In their infancy they were merely a vassal
kingdom in servitude of the Pallavas. The Pallavas due to prolonged conflicts
with the Pandyas were left significantly weaker in the coming years. Taking
advantage of this opportunity King Vijayalaya took the city of Thanjavur from
their Pallavi overlords and marked the beginning of their Imperial Era.
The Golden Age
After their conquest of Thanjavur, for the
next 150 years the dynasty experienced the proliferation of Tamil arts, culture
and language.
The Cholas were known for their masterful
architecture in temple building. They continued the traditions of the Pallavas
who were also known for the same. They also contributed significantly to the
Dravidian temple design. They built number of Shiva temples along the banks of
the river Kaveri.
These temples augmented the cultural presence
of the Cholas. Religious scholars affiliated themselves with these divine
hotspots and revived Hindu literature from its nadir during the Kalabhras. It
was also during this time that the grammarian Buddhamitra wrote a text on Tamil
grammar called Virasoliyam.
Governance and Administration
The hallmarks of large kingdoms were
territorial expansions, but the long lived ones are known for their supremacy
in governance.
There were various reforms during the Imperial
Era. In problem with the status quo (viz. fiduciary system) was that the
regional lords had high upkeep. Moreover the common folk were loyal to the
regional lords rather than the central system as they had no interaction with
them. The Cholas adopted a centralized governance approach. They maintained
extensive records of administrative reports, legal disputes, internal reviews
of misconduct and corruption. Regular large scale surveys and centralized
revenue collection ensured fairness in taxation. Elected officials were
appointed to maintain such records who were subjected to regular auditing.
These reforms made the local feudatories redundant thus consolidating power
into the hands of the center.
Expansion
Rajaraja Chola I and his successor Rajendra
Chola I are considered to be the most powerful Emperors of the Chola Dynasty.
They were the ones who began territorial expansion beyond the Kaveri Delta.
They expanded their territory as north as the Krishna-Godavari basin to Sri
Lanka and the Maldives in the south.
One of King Rajendra's most notable
achievements was conquering the Ganges in 1023 CE. He was crowned the title of
“Gangaikonda Chola” which literally translates to conqueror of the Ganges. To
mark this victory he built a new capital city titled Ganikaikonda Cholapuram.
This remained the capital city of the Cholas for the next 250 years.
The Indian subcontinent lies at the center of
an oceanic trade superhighway known as the maritime Silk Road. For thousands of
years ancient powers moved significant cargo along these routes. This route
connected Europe, Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, to the Malay
Archipelago, Australia and the Tang Dynasty in China.
Control over the maritime Silk Road would
ensure military and administrative dominance along with access to the economic
benefits of providing trading, docking and other services to regular travelers
of the maritime Silk Road.
Shri Vijaya a powerful thalassocracy based in
the Malay Archipelago was actively interfering with trade and damaging chola
interests by putting up naval blockades and forcing travelers to use their
ports and docks.
Foreign Expansion
The trade guilds were strong independent
entities that had strong influence over the day to day affairs of the ports and
docks. They often furnished their own standing armies and had immense wealth
and political influence. When Shri Vijaya saw more success in docking at the Malay
Archipelago, Indian trade guilds suffered losses.
Moreover there was an immediate cause for the
declaration of war; the Shri Vijayan conflict with the Chola ally : The
Cambodia-Angkor Dynasty. The Chola Navy was on the forefront of naval
technology at their time. Rajaraja had imported Chinese and Arab shipbuilders
to design the Chola navy featuring better hulls, more accurate compasses and
flamethrowing weapons mounted at the bow of the ship similar to the byzantine
fleets. With such naval supremacy the Cholas quickly overthrew Shri Vijaya. The
empire disintegrated into smaller kingdoms who accepted Cholas suzerainty.
The Cholas adopted a pseudo colonial approach
and established permanent military garrisons in Shri Vijaya and Angkor. King
Rajendra also married Raja Sangramas daughter. Since then the Malay Royalty has
claimed and continues to claim Chola heritage.
The Decline
After the coming of the 12th century, the
further kings who were named after King Rajaraja and King Rajendra ascended the
throne, were not as capable as the initial holders of their names. Rajendra
Chola III lost control of Vengi to the Western Chalukya and Gangavadi to the
Hoysala Empire. These setbacks despite being temporary was the beginning of the
end. Eventually the Cholas lost significant power following the defeat by
Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II in 1215–16. Subsequently they also lost control
of Sri Lanka with the rise of Sinhala power. A feudatory by the name of
Kopperunchinga I, even held Rajaraja Chola III as hostage for sometime. The
Pandyan resurgence in the region saw the end of the Cholas with Rajendra III as
its last Emperor. Even though the Cholas are forgotten by the bulk of humanity,
their legacy survives in the blood and culture of their descendents in India and
in Southeast Asia.
Credit and References:
Vivek Patil
SY Computer Science (Team Historic Wednesday)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Chola-dynasty
Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa : Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia Foreword / by Shashi Tharoor -- Message / by M.V. Subbiah -- Preface / by K. Kesavapany -- Introduction / by Hermann Kulke
Image references:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Chola_map.png
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