ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHOLA EMPIRE

GOVERNMENT

The Chola kings ruled their kingdom with the help of a council of ministers and of officers who were in charge of various branches of administration. Local self-government was a remarkable feature of Chola administration. The village was the basic unit of administration. Chola officials participated more as advisors and observers. The villages had a village assembly or council known as the Ur or Sabha. Villagers who owned land or belonged to the upper castes were chosen by lot to the councils.

The council was often divided into a number of small committees and each committee would look after an aspect of the village administration. The revenue of the Chola kingdom came from two sources-taxes on land and taxes on trade. Often a part of revenue was assigned to a temple.

ADMINISTRATION

The Cholas had an excellent system of administration. The emperor or king was at the top of the administration. The extent and resources of the Chola Empire increased the power and prestige of monarchy. The big capital cities like Tanjore and Gangaikondacholapuram, the large royal courts and extensive grants to the temples reveal the authority of the king. They undertook royal tours to increase the efficiency of the administration.

The Chola Empire was divided into mandalams and each mandalam into valanadus and nadus. In each nadu there were a number of autonomous villages. The royal princes or officers were in charge of mandalams. The town was known as nagaram and it was under the administration of a council called nagarattar.

Councils usually met in the temple or under a tree and passed resolutions. The number of committees and ward members varied from village to village.