Home Region: Southern India (South Asia)

Early Cholas

300 BCE 300 CE

D G SC

New SEA in_cholas_1

Preceding Entity: Add one more here.

1200 BCE 300 BCE Deccan - Iron Age (in_deccan_ia) [None]

Succeeding Entity:

No Polity found. Add one here.

Displayed:

Learn more about polity border choices. Map Modern Map only Opacity Year Play rate (y/s)
Hit enter after changing the year or setting the play rate.

General Description

The Early Cholas were a northern kingdom in Tamil Nadu and part of the three ruling kingdoms of Early Cholas, Chera and Pandya who ruled over Tamilakam in the late last millennium BCE and early first millennium CE. ^[1] The Early Cholas had their capital at Uraiyur and their main trading port at Kaveripumpattinam. ^[2] The Early Cholas practiced Hinduism and it is said that the Chola king Kochchenganan built 70 temples in honour of Shiva. ^[3] ^[4] The Early Cholas had important trade connections that linked through all of Tamil Nadu and coins from this period also reveal trade links with the Romans. ^[2] ^[5] Sometime in the 3rd century CE, the three kingdoms of the Early Cholas, Chera and Pandya declined and were succeeded by the Kalabhra dynasty. ^[6]

[1]: (Abraham 2003) Abraham, Shinu A. 2003. ‘Chera, Chola, Pandya: Using Archaeological Evidence to Identify the Tamil Kingdoms of Early Historic South India’. Asian Perspectives 42 (2): 207–23. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MIRRQD2C/

[2]: (Singh 2008, 384) Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. London: Pearson Education. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/UJG2G6MJ/collection

[3]: (Agnihotri 1988, 350) Agnihotri, V.K. 1988. Indian History. New Delhi: Allied Publishers Pvt. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/PNX9XBJQ/collection

[4]: (Ramachandran 2018, 204) Ramachandran, R. 2018. A History of Hinduism: The Past, Present and Future. New Delhi: Sage. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/XBIURS7C/collection

[5]: (Raman 1976, 55) Raman, K.V. 1976. ‘Archaeology of the Sangam Age’. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol 37. Pp 50-56. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/M3ZPI56I/collection

[6]: (Srinivansan, 2021) Srinivasan, Raghavan. 2021. Rajaraja Chola: Interplay Between an Imperial Regime and Productive Forces of Society. Mumbai: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/UGD5HUFP/collection

General Variables

Identity and Location

1 Utm Zone

1 Original Name

1 Capital

3 Alternative Name

Temporal Bounds

1 Duration

Political and Cultural Relations

1 Succeeding Entity

1 Polity Succession

Language

2 Linguistic Family

2 Language

Religion

3 Religious Tradition

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale

Hierarchical Complexity

1 Settlement Hierarchy

1 Military Level

1 Administrative Level

Professions

Bureaucracy Characteristics

Law

1 Professional Lawyer

1 Formal Legal Code

Specialized Buildings: polity owned

1 Market

1 Irrigation System

1 Food Storage Site

1 Communal Building

1 Utilitarian Public Building

1 Knowledge Or Information Building

Transport Infrastructure

1 Road

1 Port

Special-purpose Sites

1 Special Purpose Site

1 Burial Site

Information / Writing System

1 Written Record

1 Script

1 Phonetic Alphabetic Writing

1 Non Phonetic Writing

Information / Kinds of Written Documents

1 Sacred Text

1 Religious Literature

1 Practical Literature

1 Calendar

Information / Money

1 Precious Metal

1 Indigenous Coin

1 Foreign Coin

Information / Postal System

Information / Measurement System

1 Weight Measurement System

1 Time Measurement System

1 Length Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications

Military use of Metals

Projectiles

Handheld weapons

Animals used in warfare

Armor

Naval technology

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods) Coding in Progress.

Religion Variables Coding in Progress.

Crisis Consequence Cases Coding in Progress.

Power Transitions

14 Power Transition

Instability Events Coding in Progress.

General Variables

Identity and Location Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Utm Zone	44 P	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Original Name	Early Cholas	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Capital	Uraiyur	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Alternative Name	Sangam Period	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Alternative Name	Choda	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Alternative Name	Cola	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Temporal Bounds Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More
Duration	[300 BCE ➜ 300 CE] Disputed
Loading...

Political and Cultural Relations Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Succeeding Entity	Kalabhra Dynasty	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Preceding Entity 1200 BCE 300 BCE	Deccan - Iron Age (in_deccan_ia) [None]
Loading...

Language Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Linguistic Family	Dravidian	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Linguistic Family	Indo-European	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Language	Old Tamil	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Language	Prakrit	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Religion Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Religious Tradition	Hinduism	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Religious Tradition	Buddhism	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Religious Tradition	Jainism	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Social Complexity Variables

Social Scale Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Hierarchical Complexity Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Settlement Hierarchy	[3 to 5]	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Military Level	[3 to 5]	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Administrative Level	[7 to 9]	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Professions Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Bureaucracy Characteristics Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Law Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Professional Lawyer	Absent Inferred	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Formal Legal Code	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Specialized Buildings: polity owned Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Market	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Irrigation System	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Food Storage Site	Present Inferred	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Communal Building	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Utilitarian Public Building	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Knowledge Or Information Building	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Transport Infrastructure Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Road	Present Inferred	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Port	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Special-purpose Sites Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Special Purpose Site	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Burial Site	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Information / Writing System Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Written Record	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Script	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Phonetic Alphabetic Writing	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Non Phonetic Writing	Absent	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Information / Kinds of Written Documents Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Sacred Text	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Religious Literature	Present Inferred	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Practical Literature	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Calendar	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Information / Money Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Precious Metal	Present Inferred	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Indigenous Coin	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Foreign Coin	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Information / Postal System Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Information / Measurement System Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)
Weight Measurement System	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Time Measurement System	Present	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Length Measurement System	Present Inferred	300 BCE 300 CE
Loading...

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)

Fortifications Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Military use of Metals Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Projectiles Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Handheld weapons Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Animals used in warfare Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Armor Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Naval technology Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Economy Variables (Luxury Goods)

Religion Variables

Moralizing Supernatural Punishment and Reward Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More

Human Sacrifice Early Cholas (in_cholas_1)

Variable	Coded Value / Certainty Tags	Year(s)	See More