Early Cholas

levels. Three levels mentioned in the consulted sources. It is possible to infer the likelihood of towns and hamlets due to the presence of capital, city, and villages.:1. Capital : “The principality of the Cholas in the lower Kaveri valley corresponded roughly to modern Tanjore and Trichinopoly districts of Tamil Nadu, and had its capital at Uraiyur.” ^[1] ::2. City :: “Kaveripumpattinam (also known as Pumpuhar or Puhar) was the premier Chola port in early historical times. Classical accounts refer to it as Kahberis or Camara. An entire Sangam collection-the Pattinappalai- is devoted to a description of this place. There are references to its two bustling markets laid out between the two sectors of the city, guarded by officers of the king, and to its inhabitants who spoke different languages.” ^[2] :::3. Town (inferred) ::::4. Village :::: “The land settlement in the Marudam [low land] region had the village form. Hence the village was primarily a settlement of peasants and the settlement remained a continuous process even in the medieval times.” ^[3] :::::5. Hamlet (inferred)

[1]: (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

[2]: (Singh 2008, 402) 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]: (Kavitha 2011, 227) Kavitha, M. 2011 ‘Types of Land and Ownership Pattern in the Medieval Tamil Country- An Overview’ In History of People and Their Environs: Essays in Honour of Prof. B.S. Chandrababu. Edited by S. Ganeshram and C. Bhavani. Chennai: Indian Universities Press. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/UTKHZNBJ/collection

levels. Three levels mentioned in the consulted sources. Highly likely there were more specific levels.:1. King : “The military administration was efficiently organized and a regular army was associated with each ruler.” ^[1] ::2. Military Commanders :: “During the Sangam period, hereditary monarchy was the form of government. The king was assisted by a wide body of officials who were categorized into five councils. They were ministers (amaichar), priests (anthanar), envoys (thuthar), military commanders (senapathi), and spies (orrar).” ^[1] :::3. Army soldiers ::: “The military administration was efficiently organized and a regular army was associated with each ruler.” ^[1]

[1]: (Jankiraman, 2020) Jankiraman, M. 2020. Perspectives in Indian History: From the Origins to AD 1857. Chennai: Notion Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/N3D88RXF/collection

levels. Seven levels specifically mentioned in the consulted literature. More levels might be present :1. King (Vendar) : “The Chera, Chola, and Pandya kings were the vendar (crowned kings). These great kings had their special insignia of royalty such as the staff, drum, and umbrella. They also had specific emblems of power-the tiger, bow and fish were the emblems of the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas respectively.” ^[1] ::2. Minisiters :: “During the Sangam period, hereditary monarchy was the form of government. The king was assisted by a wide body of officials who were categorized into five councils. They were ministers (amaichar), priests (anthanar), envoys (thuthar), military commanders (senapathi), and spies (orrar).” ^[2] :::3. Priests ::::4. Envoys :::::5. Military Commanders ::::::6. Spies :::::::7. Chieftains (Velir) :: “Apart from the vendar, there were a number of chieftains known as velir. Internecine conflict was a feature of the politics of the time. Kings and chieftains also often fought against each other by forming alliances. The lesser rulers no doubt had to pay tribute to their more powerful counterparts.” ^[1]

[1]: (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

[2]: (Jankiraman, 2020) Jankiraman, M. 2020. Perspectives in Indian History: From the Origins to AD 1857. Chennai: Notion Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/N3D88RXF/collection

In the below quote, Rocher argues that professional lawyers did not exist in India for much of its history. Unhelpfully, Rocher does not provide dates or much in the way of temporal boundaries. However, the use of the word “ever” in the sentence “no written source allows us to draw the conclusion that the experts on legal matters ever developed into a professional group whose regular activities consisted in representing parties in the court” may perhaps be taken to mean that professional lawyers did not exist in India before the colonial era.

“Thus, we believe that at an early date—let us roughly say at the time of the dharmasutras—professional lawyers or, to be more precise, specialized dharmasastrins could not exist. The Indian sage in those days was a specialist in all of the texts related to a particular Vedic school. His specialized knowledge concentrated on a specific version of the Vedic samhita and all its related texts: brahmana, aranyaka, upanisad, srautasutra, grhyasutra, dharmasutra, etc. There were no specialists on dharmasastra, and, a fortiori, no specialists on law that were part of it.

“But the situation changed. The texts on dharma grew away from the Vedic schools. Gradually there may have come into being a specialized group of learned men whose main interest was dharma, and the various dharmasastras as such.

“Finally, as the amount of textual material increased, we may assume that certain experts, without detaching themselves completely from aspects of dharmasastra and from Hindu learning generally, accumulated a very specialized knowledge of one aspect of dharma: vivada and vyavahara, or, in modern terminology, law. It is very possible that at this stage the nature of legal representation (niyoga) also underwent a certain change. We do not want to exclude the possibility that, at that moment, in a number of cases legal competence played a role in the choice of a representative. We are even willing to accept that Vyasa refers to the very special circumstance in which the representative was paid for his services. However, no written source allows us to draw the conclusion that the experts on legal matters ever developed into a professional group whose regular activities consisted in representing parties in the court. The impression which we gather from the texts is that, even in cases where the representative was chosen because of his special competence on legal matters, and, a fortiori, in all other cases, the necessary condition for a person to represent a party was the existence, between the former and the latter, of a certain form of close personal relationship.” ^[1]

[1]: (Rocher 1969: 399-400) Rocher, L. 1969. "Lawyers" in Classical Hindu Law. Law & Society Review 3 (2/3): 383-402. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/QKMEMIHW/library

Dharmasutras. “The subject matter of the Dharmasutras, therefore, includes education of the young and their rites of passage; ritual procedures and religion ceremonies; marriage and marital rights and obligations; dietary restrictions and food transactions; the right profession for, and the proper interaction between, different social groups; sins and their expiations; institutions for the pursuit of holiness; king and the administration of justice; crimes and punishment; death and ancestral rights. In short, the unique documents give us a glimpse if not into how people actually lived their lives in ancient India, at least into how people, especially Brahmin males, were ideally expected to live their lives within an ordered and hierarchically arranged society.” ^[1]

[1]: (Olivelle 2000, 1) Olivelle, Patrick. 2000. Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Apastamba, Gautama, Baudhayana, and Vasistha. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/RTJ2KC23/collection

“Kaveripumpattinam (also known as Pumpuhar or Puhar) was the premier Chola port in early historical times. Classical accounts refer to it as Kahberis or Camara. An entire Sangam collection-the Pattinappalai- is devoted to a description of this place. There are references to its two bustling markets laid out between the two sectors of the city, guarded by officers of the king, and to its inhabitants who spoke different languages.” ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 402) 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

“At Vanagiri, there are remains of an artificial channel that drew water from the Kaveri into a reservoir for irrigation purposes, probably built in the early centuries CE.” ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 402) 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

The following quote suggests that there might have been a granary present at the site of Tirukkampuliyur. “The excavation in Tirukkampuliyur brought to light a structure built of burnt bricks in the foundations made of brickbats, pebbles and hard earth. Mud plaster was used as the binding medium in construction. The structure consisted of two compartments and a front verandah. This has been identified, though on insufficient grounds, as a granary.” ^[1]

[1]: (Raman 1976, 52) 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

Temples. “Senganan [Kochchenganan], the Chola king famed in legends for his devotion to Siva figures as the victor in battle of Por against the Chera Kanaikkal Irumporai. The Chera king was imprisoned and later released. Senganan Chola is said to have built 70 fine temples of Shiva.” ^[1]

[1]: (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

Markets and irrigation systems. “Kaveripumpattinam (also known as Pumpuhar or Puhar) was the premier Chola port in early historical times. Classical accounts refer to it as Kahberis or Camara. An entire Sangam collection-the Pattinappalai- is devoted to a description of this place. There are references to its two bustling markets laid out between the two sectors of the city, guarded by officers of the king, and to its inhabitants who spoke different languages.” ^[1] “At Vanagiri, there are remains of an artificial channel that drew water from the Kaveri into a reservoir for irrigation purposes, probably built in the early centuries CE.” ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 402) 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

“The expression of Sangam in Tamil literature stands for an academy of arts and letters started and patronised by all the three crowned kings of the Tamil lands, Pandya, Cola and Cera, and especially the Pandya […] The Academy was, then, in the nature of a modern University and the heart-centre of higher learning in all Tamil India. ^[1]

[1]: (Dikshitar 1941, 152-153) Dikshitar, Ranachandra. 1941. ‘The Sangam Age’ Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol. 5. Pp 152-161. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/FG8Q2SFG/collection

The following quote suggests that roads were present in the Early Cholas kingdom during the Sangam period. “During the Sangam period, hereditary monarchy was the form of government. The king was assisted by a wide body of officials who were categorized into five councils. They were ministers (amaichar), priests (anthanar), envoys (thuthar), military commanders (senapathi), and spies (orrar). The military administration was efficiently organized and a regular army was associated with each ruler. The chief source of the state’s income was land revenue while a custom duty was also imposed on foreign trade. The major source of filling the royal treasury was the booty captured in wars. The roads and highways were maintained and guarded to prevent robbery and smuggling.” ^[1]

[1]: (Jankiraman, 2020) Jankiraman, M. 2020. Perspectives in Indian History: From the Origins to AD 1857. Chennai: Notion Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/N3D88RXF/collection

“The premier Chola port was Puhar (also known as Kaveripumpattinam), the major Pandya port was Korkai, while Tondi and Muchiri were important ports in the Chera Kingdom.” ^[1]

[1]: (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

Burial site. The following quote discusses the archaeological site at Kodumanal which dates from 300 BCE to 200 CE. “There are over 150 burials to the east and north-east of the habitation area at Kodumanal. The earlier ones were secondary burials in which disarticulated remains were interred inside a cist.” ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 402) 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

The following quote discusses the archaeological site at Kodumanal which dates from 300 BCE to 200 CE. “There are over 150 burials to the east and north-east of the habitation area at Kodumanal. The earlier ones were secondary burials in which disarticulated remains were interred inside a cist.” ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 402) 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

“But more interesting and important are the numerous Brahmi Tamil inscriptions and Brahmi script found on pot sherds of the period. They have been found in more or less the same type of script in Arikamedu, Kanchi, Karur, Uraiyur, Korkai etc. i.e., in a vast territory in Tamilnadu.” ^[1]

[1]: (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

The following quote discusses the archaeological site at Kodumanal. “Over 100 inscribed pieces of pottery were also found in the excavations. Most of these were in the Tamil language and Tamil-Brahmi script. A few inscriptions are in the Prakrit language and Brahmi script. Palaeo-magnetic dating of these potsherds has given a rage of c. 300 BCE to 200 CE.” ^[1]

[1]: (Singh 2008, 402) 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

“Prakrit declensions differ from those of Sanskrit mainly through the working of the phonetic rules given above and some others affecting particular inflections […]” ^[1]

[1]: (Woolner 1986, 32) Woolner, Alfred C. 1986. Introduction to Prakrit. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/P5VJ9KME/collection

The following quote suggests that religious literature was likely present. “The popularity and prevalence of the Brahmanical velvi (yajna) the sraddha and pinda to the dead, fasting etc. are well attested to by the Sangam literature. ^[1]

[1]: (Agnihotri 1988, 361) 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

The following quote refers to the Sangam literary work of Tolkappiyam. “The linguistic and philological evidence and the evidence of the picture of social life conveyed by the treaties indulging in several themes of primitive love and marriage customs, as also the picture of the division of land according to the natural regions Kurinimullai, neydal and marudum with indications of different cultures in every such region, these point to the fact that the Tolkappiyam proceeds in point of time to the extant Sangam works, especially Purananuru and Ahananuru.” ^[1]

[1]: (Dikshitar 1941, 155-15) Dikshitar, Ranachandra. 1941. ‘The Sangam Age’ Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Vol. 5. Pp 152-161. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/FG8Q2SFG/collection

“Moreover, in ancient India itself the dominant calendar is known, again through vedic sources, to have been lunar, whereas the 360- day savana year seems only to have functioned in certain contexts as a simplified scheme.” ^[1]

[1]: (Stern 2012, 189) Stern, Sacha. 2012. Calendars in Antiquity: Empires, States, and Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N6QDRSRQ/library

The following quote suggests that precious metals were likely present. “Kanam was a measure of gold (coin?), very small in size. Pons referred to perhaps the same measure as kanam. Kasu was a kind of coin of the size of a margosa fruit and the shape of a lotus bud. In later age kasu generally meant a small copper coin. Silver was called velli and rarely ven pon. Iron was also known as pon. ^[1]

[1]: (Agnihotri 1988, 355) 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

“Coins current in the Chola territory during this period have been discovered at Kaveripattinam. They are big sized square copper coins with the Chola emblem of tiger on one side and an elephant on the other.” ^[1]

[1]: (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

“In regions included in the ancient Chera, Pandya, and Chola Kingdoms have been found large numbers of Roman coins struck chiefly by emperors down to Nero […]” ^[1]

[1]: (Warmington 1928, 63) Warmington, E.H. 1928. The Commerce between the Roman Empire and India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/SJB2W6BB/collection

“Kanam was a measure of gold (coin?), very small in size. Pons referred to perhaps the same measure as kanam. Kasu was a kind of coin of the size of a margosa fruit and the shape of a lotus bud. In later age kasu generally meant a small copper coin. Silver was called velli and rarely ven pon. Iron was also known as pon. ^[1]

[1]: (Agnihotri 1988, 355) 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

“Moreover, in ancient India itself the dominant calendar is known, again through vedic sources, to have been lunar, whereas the 360- day savana year seems only to have functioned in certain contexts as a simplified scheme.” ^[1]

[1]: (Stern 2012, 189) Stern, Sacha. 2012. Calendars in Antiquity: Empires, States, and Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/N6QDRSRQ/library

The quote below discusses general systems of measurement in ancient India suggesting that length measurements were likely present under the Early Cholas. “Though most sources give the krosa (in modern Indian language kos) as 2,000 dandas the Arthasaastra gives it as only 1000; the yojana, which was the commonest measure of long distance in ancient India, would thus be only 4.5 miles (7.2 km.).” ^[1]

[1]: (Kumar 2003, 330) Kumar, Raj. 2003. Essays on Ancient India. New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House Pvt. Limited. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/collections/7F5SEVNA/items/BME9K992/collection