Chola Maritime Expansion

The Chola kings of Tamil Nadu, from about 985 to 1050 CE, built ships as tall as houses and sailed far across the eastern sea. Their sailors travelled to Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and even faraway islands like Sumatra and Java.

They carried Tamil traders, temple builders, spices, silk and stories with them. Everywhere they went, they left behind coins, prayers and grand temples.

This was the age when a south Indian kingdom became one of the great sea-powers of the world.

Under Rajaraja Chola I (985–1014 CE) and his son Rajendra I (1014–1044 CE), the Chola kingdom of Tamil Nadu became a dominant naval power in the Bay of Bengal. Their navy could carry troops long distances and defend a growing web of maritime trade.

In 1025 CE Rajendra I launched a bold naval expedition across the sea to attack the Srivijaya kingdom in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, one of the earliest examples of a large Indian power projecting force overseas. Tamil merchant guilds, especially the Ainnurruvar (the Five Hundred), operated as far as Guangzhou in China, and Chola-style temples appeared across Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

At home, this age produced the great temples of Brihadeeswarar at Thanjavur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram, both today UNESCO World Heritage Sites, along with the beautiful Chola bronze sculptures of Nataraja Shiva.