The Great Chola Dynasty

I see most of our guys donno abt the history of our own tamilnadu, once it was a wealthy, prosperous and a powerful territory in INDIA. All these happened in The Great Chola Dynasty.

Actually, the Chola empire s frm 250 BCE–1070 CE.

The Chola Dynasty was a Tamil dynasty that ruled primarily in southern India until the 13th century. The dynasty originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. Karikala Chola was the most famous among the early Chola kings, while Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I were notable emperors of the medieval Cholas.

In the early periods of chola's dinesty, the tamil regions r ruled by pandiyas and pallavas, who were mighty rulers at that time. Little is known of the fate of the Cholas during the succeeding three centuries until the accession of Vijayalaya in the second quarter of the ninth century.

Around 850, Vijayalaya rose from obscurity to take an opportunity arising out of a conflict between Pandyas and Pallavas, captured Thanjavur and eventually established the imperial line of the medieval Cholas.

The Chola dynasty was at the peak of its influence and power during the medieval period. Through their leadership and vision, kings such as Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I extended the Chola kingdom beyond the traditional limits of a Tamil kingdom. At its peak, the Chola Empire stretched from the island of Sri Lanka in the south to the Godavari basin in the north. The kingdoms along the east coast of India up to the river Ganges acknowledged Chola suzerainty. Chola navies invaded and conquered Srivijaya in the Malayan archipelago (the regions were malasiaya, presently now)

The map shows how far the Chola's r v Tamilians went in this world.

The map shows the Territories of Rajendra Chola I, son of Arulmolzhivarman, well known as Rajaraja Chola I.

The chola's dinesty flows like this

Vijayalaya Chola 848-871
Aditya I 871-907
Parantaka Chola I 907-950
Gandaraditya 950-957
Arinjaya Chola 956-957
Sundara Chola 957-970
Uttama Chola 970-985
Rajaraja Chola I 985-1014
Rajendra Chola I 1012-1044
Rajadhiraja Chola 1018-1054
Rajendra Chola II 1051-1063
Virarajendra Chola 1063-1070
Athirajendra Chola 1067-1070
Kulothunga Chola I 1070-1120
Vikrama Chola 1118-1135
Kulothunga Chola II 1133-1150
Rajaraja Chola II 1146-1163
Rajadhiraja Chola II 1163-1178
Kulothunga Chola III 1178-1218
Rajaraja Chola III 1216-1256
Rajendra Chola III 1246-1279


The Hoysalas in the west threatened the existence of the Chola empire. Rajendra III tried to survive by aligning with the two powers in turn. At the close of Rajendra’s III reign, the Pandyan Empire was at the height of prosperity and had taken the place of the Chola empire in the eyes of the foreign observers.

The last recorded date of Rajendra III is 1279. There is no evidence that Rajendra was followed immediately by another Chola prince. The Chola empire was completely overshadowed by the Pandyan empire, though many small chieftains continued to claim the title "Chola" well into the 15th century.

According to Tamil tradition, the old Chola country comprised the region that includes the modern-day Tiruchirapalli District and the Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu. The river Kaveri and its tributaries dominate this landscape of generally flat country that gradually slopes towards the sea, unbroken by major hills or valleys. The river Kaveri, also known as Ponni (golden) river, had a special place in the culture of Cholas. The annual floods in the Kaveri marked an occasion for celebration, Adiperukku, in which the whole nation took part.

Kaverippattinam on the coast near the Kaveri delta was a major port town. Ptolemy knew of this and the other port town of Nagappattinam as the most important centres of Cholas

The Chola kings built temples and endowed them with great wealth. The temples acted not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity, benefiting their entire community.


One of the master piece of Rajaraja Chola I.
Brihadisvara Temple.
well known as Thanjavur Periya Kovil.

Airavateswarar Temple.