Rise and Resurgence of the Chola Empire: A Powerful Dynasty in Asian History

The Chola Empire is mentioned extensively in the annals of history. Historians say that the Chola dynasty was a dynasty whose empire extended as far as Indonesia. Around the year 850, an unknown king Vijayalaya took advantage of the ongoing conflict between the Pandyas and the Pallavas in South India and captured Thanjavur (Tanjore). With this, the Chola dynasty was founded. In 907, King Parantaka I of the Chola dynasty ascended the throne. He ruled for 48 years, but the subsequent weak Chola kings led to the decline of the Chola dynasty. When Rajaraja Chola I ascended the throne in 985, the Chola dynasty began a resurgence. The Chola Empire, led by Rajaraja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola, became a major military, economic, and cultural power in Asia. At one time, their empire stretched from the Maldives in the south to the Ganges River in Bengal in the north. Richard Eaton wrote in his book India in the Persianate, the Chola dynasty is also remembered by the name'Coromandel of the South '.