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Overview of the Chola Empire (9th-13th Centuries) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Areas under direct control of the Chola Empire, 1030 CE. The Chola Empire rose to power in the 9th century in the Tamil speaking districts of Southern India. ...

History of the Indian Subcontinent
Paleolithic Era	1MYA - 10,000 BCE
Mesolithic Era	10,000-7000 BCE
Mehrgarh Culture	7000-3300 BCE
Indus Valley Civilization	3300-1500 BCE
Localization Era	1900-1300 BCE
Vedic Civilization	1900-500 BCE
Kuru Dynasty	1200-316 BCE
Maha Janapadas	700-321 BCE
Magadhan Empire	684-321 BCE
Middle Kingdoms	600 BCE - 1279 CE
Mauryan Empire	321-184 BCE
Gupta Empire	240-550 CE
Chola Empire	848-1279 CE
Islamic Sultanates	979-1596
Hoysala Empire	1040-1346
Delhi Sultanate	1210-1526
Vijayanagara Empire	1336-1565
Mughal Era	1526-1707
Maratha Empire	1674-1761
Colonial Era	1757-1947
Republic of India	1947 onwards
General Histories India · Pakistan Bangladesh · Sri Lanka Nepal · Bhutan
Regional Histories South India · Assam Pakistani Regions · Punjab · Bengal
Specialized Histories Economy · Military Dynasties · Timeline

Areas under direct control of the Chola Empire, 1030 AD.

The Chola Empire rose to power in the 9th century in the Tamil speaking districts of Southern India. Although the Chola Dynasty existed since at least 100 B.C., it was during the 9th Century that it began its rise into a major world power. Under Rajaraja Chola (Rajaraja The Great) and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose as a notable military, economic and cultural power in Asia. The Chola Empire stretched from southern Maldives as far north as the Himalaya Mountains and West Bengal in North India. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, and annexed parts of Sri Lanka by defeating the Pandyas. Rajendra Chola went beyond, occupying coastal Burma, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya in South East Asia and Pegu islands with his fleet of ships. He defeated Mahipala, the king of Bihar and Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital called Gangaikonda Cholapuram. Tamil Chola armies exacted tribute from Thailand and Cambodia and even defeated Mahmud of Gazhni in what is now western Uttar Pradesh. The power of the Cholas declined around the 13th century. The Cholas were the first Indian empire to engage in naval conquest overseas. This article is about the History of South Asia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Taj-Mahal-thumbnail. ... // Pleistocene Humans lived in South Asia during the Pleistocene Epoch. ... The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. ... (Pleistocene, Paleolithic – 10th millennium BC – 9th millennium BC – other millennia) Beginning of the Mesolithic, or Epipaleolithic time period, which is the first part of the Holocene epoch. ... The mesolithic record in South Asia is generally better preserved than the paleolithic. ... 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Chola Navy

The Cholas are attributed to be amongst the earliest kingdoms to posses a powerful navy that could threaten neighbouring countries. The first of these was Karikalan who attacked the nearby island of Ceylon and defeating the army. He was also instrumental in occupying the Lakshadweep islands. Another King with many more maritime victories was Raja Rajan Cholan who is arguably responsible for leading the 2nd Golden Age of Tamil Nadu. After his decisive victories over the Cheras and Pandias, he turned his attention to the Sinhalese King Mahinda V. He assembled the navy and sent it on a conquest of Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands. The Chola Navy defeated King Mahinda. After the military victory Raja Rajan built a Hindu temple there in Polonnaruva. In the period 984-1042 CE, his sons also despatched great naval expeditions against the empire of Srivijaya. These expeditions occupied parts of Burma, Malaya, Java, Sumatra, and the Andoman & Nicobar islands, while suppressing piracy in Southeast Asia. Lakshadweep (Malayalam:ലക്ഷദ്വീപ്) is the smallest Union Territory of India. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A Hindu (archaic Hindoo), as per modern definition is an adherent of philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural system of the Indian subcontinent and the island of Bali. ... The Akshardham Hindu temple, Delhi, India The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Enyu of Japan Emperor Kazan ascends to the throne of Japan Births Deaths Categories: 984 ... Events April 18/April 19 - Emperor Michael V of the Byzantine Empire attempts to remain sole Emperor by sending his adoptive mother and co-ruler Zoe of Byzantium to a monastery. ... Srivijaya (200s-1400) was an ancient Malay kingdom on the island of Sumatra which influenced much of the Malay Archipelago. ... The Federation of Malaya, or in Malay Persekutuan Tanah Melayu, was formed in 1948 from the British settlements of Penang and Malacca and the nine Malay states and replaced the Malayan Union. ... Map of Java Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest part of Indonesia. ... The Flag of 18th Century pirate Calico Jack Piracy is robbery committed at sea, or sometimes the shore, by an agent without a commission from a sovereign nation. ...

Apart from the royal navy, a consortium of powerful Chola merchants known as the Nootruvar Kuzhaam (Group of One Hundred) were allowed by the king to operate their own navy in order to protect their merchant vessels from pirates.

The Capital cities of the Cholas

Thanjavur was the capital of the Chola Empire from the 9th-11th Centuries. After which, Gangaikonda Cholapuram became the capital from the 11th-13th Centuries, by which time the empire had declined and shrunk to the Cauvery delta. It was taken over by the medieval Pandyan kingdom. Thanjavur, formerly known as Tanjore, is a city in Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. ... Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram Gangaikonda Cholapuram is a village in the inland Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu, India. ...

Legacy of the Medieval Cholas

The Great Chola Empire which spanned most of South and South East Asia led to a flowering of Tamil Hindu architecture, dance, music, literature, religion and arts throughout the littoral of the Indian Ocean. It's legacy can be seen in the monumental temples of the Chola heartland, the deep South of India, and the Hindu festivals and temples of Bali, Malaysia and Indonesia.

See also

• Cholas

Areas under direct control of the Chola Empire, 1030 CE. The Chola Empire rose to power in the 9th century in the Tamil speaking districts of Southern India. ...

External links

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chola Wikipedia's more comprehensive page on the Cholas with images galore.
• http://tamilnation.org/culture/architecture/thanjavur.htm Architecture of the Chola Empire.
• http://tamilnation.org/culture/cholabronze.htm Chola Bronze sculptures.
• http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=250 UNESCO World Heritage sites constructed by the Chola Empire.