Rajadhiraja Chola

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Rajadhiraja I.
Family name : Chola
First name : Rajadhiraja I.
Title: Rajakesari
Predecessor: Rajendra I.
Successor: Rajendra II.
Reign: 1044 to 1054;
1018 to 1044 as co-regent
Queen: Trilokyam Udaiyar (titular designation)
Children: Two sons (names unknown)
Father: Rajendra Chola I
Born on the: 1018 AD
Deceased on: 1054 A.D.

Rajadhiraja Chola I (* 1018 ; † 1054 ), with full title Kōpparakēsarivarman Rājādhiraja Chōla I (Tamil: முதலாம் இராஜாதிராஜ சோழன்), ruled over the south of India in the 11th century as King of the Chola .

Life

The expansion of the Chola Empire under Rajadhiraja Chola I

Rajadhiraja Chola I was the successor of his father Rajendra I. He had one older and several younger brothers. Very early on (1018) he was allowed to rule alongside his father, who had preferred him to his older brother. He was married to Trailokyamahadevi and had two sons with her, whose names are not known. The latter were also not taken into account in the line of succession, as Rajadhiraja chose his younger brother (Rajendra II).

During his reign he was able to secure the rule of the Chola dynasty over large parts of Lanka , as well as over Vengi and Kalinga, despite several uprisings. He was also able to preserve relations with overseas Cholas such as the Maldives . Trade contacts with Malaysia and Indonesia remained. He was involved in protracted armed conflicts with the Chalukyas , which ultimately cost him his life in the battle of Koppam (today's Koppal ) in 1054 . (Note: Sen (2013) gives 1052 as the year of death)

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was only temporarily fully ruled by the Cholas for a period of 10 years. The Sinhalese population had withdrawn from the invaders to Rohana in the south of the island. The Sinhalese ruler Vikramabahu (1029 to 1058) in particular became threatening because he not only stopped a 95,000-strong Chola army, but had allied himself with a prince of the Pandya and a prince from northern India and was in turn about to advance north . Rajadhiraja managed to kill the two princes and stop the advance.

Chalukya Wars

In order to curb the growing military strength of the Western Chalukya and restore the influence of the Chola over the Eastern Chalukya in Vengi, Rajadhiraja led a campaign to Telugu in 1046 . He defeated the forces of the Western Chalukya at the Battle of Dannada on the Krishna River and set their bastion there on fire. This campaign was followed by further campaigns in the territory of the Chalukya, with several generals and liege lords of the Chalukya being captured. In Kampali , the Chalukya palace was destroyed. After further fighting, the capital Kalyani was finally captured and sacked. Here Rajadhiraja was crowned Vijayarajendra . The king of Chalukya Someshvara I was exiled.

In 1050 Someshvara I, who had meanwhile stopped paying tribute, succeeded in ousting the viceroy of the Cholas in Kalyani from the throne. He also sent an expeditionary army to Vengi to restore the Western hegemony over the Eastern Chalukya, whose lands they had always considered their own sphere of influence.

After he had anointed his younger brother Rajendra Chola II as co-regent in 1052, Rajadhiraja prepared thoroughly for a new campaign against the Chalukya and in 1054 moved into Chalukya territory. His invasion was at Rattamandalam in southern Karnataka , where he took areas at Uchangi , Nulambavadi , Kadambalige and Kogali .

With this he thoroughly startled Someshvara I, who was just about to use a puppet he liked in Vengi. In order to save his own empire, however, he was now forced to march back as quickly as possible against the pillaging Chola armies. The two armies met in Koppam on Krishna and a battle broke out in which Rajadhiraja fell.

Conclusion

Overall, Rajadhiraja Chola I was a talented Kshatriya who knew how to hold together a great empire that extended beyond the Indian subcontinent.

literature

  • Hartmut Scharfe: The state in Indian tradition . EJ Brill, Leiden 1989, ISBN 90-04-09060-6 .
  • GC Mendis: The early history of Ceylon, and its relations with India and other foreign countries . AMS Press, New York 1975, ISBN 0-404-54851-2 .
  • KA Nilakanta Sastri: The CōĻas (reprinted 1984) . University of Madras, Madras 1935.
  • KA Nilakanta Sastri: A History of South India (reprinted 2002) . OUP, New Delhi 1955.
  • Richard Davis: Lives of Indian images . Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 1997, ISBN 0-691-00520-6 .

Web links

[**] http://www.whatsindia.com/south_indian_inscriptions

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sen, Sailendra: A Textbook of Medieval Indian History . Primus Books, 2013, ISBN 978-93-8060734-4 , pp. 46-49 .
  2. ^ A b Nilakanta Sastri, KA: A History of South India (reissued 2002) . OUP, New Delhi 1955.
  3. ^ Richard Davis: Lives of Indian images . Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ 1997, ISBN 0-691-00520-6 .
personal data
SURNAME Rajadhiraja Chola
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rajadhiraja Chola I (full name); முதலாம் இராஜாதிராஜ சோழன் (Tamil)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian ruler
DATE OF BIRTH 1018
DATE OF DEATH 1054