REVENUE
The land revenue department was well organized. All lands were carefully surveyed and classified for assessment of revenue. The residential portion of the village was called Ur Nattam. These and other lands such as the lands belonging to temples were exempted from tax. The main items of government expenditure were the king and his court, army and navy, roads, irrigation tanks and canals.
Coins
TRADE
Commerce flourished under the Cholas. Trade was carried on with West Asia and China and South-east Asia. Foreign trade provided an additional incentive to an already developing local market.
Trade routes and territories of the Cholas
MILITARY EXPANSION
The Cholas had ruled as chieftains in Tamilnadu since the first century A.D.towards the middle of the 9th century, Vijayalaya (846-871) conquered Tanjore and declared himself the ruler of an independent state. Even more important was Parantaka I (907-955) who conquered the land of the Pandyas but suffered defeat at the hands of a Rashtrakuta King.Chola power became solidly established in the reign of Rajaraja I (985-1014) and his son and successor Rajindra I (1014-1044).
The Cholas maintained a regular standing army consisting of elephants, cavalry, infantry and navy. About seventy regiments were mentioned in the inscriptions. The royal troops were called Kaikkolaperumpadai. Within this there was a personal troop to defend the king known as Velaikkarar.
Rajaraja‘s policy of annexation was influenced by the consideration of trade. He began by attacking the alliance between Kerala, Ceylon and the Pandayas in order to break their monopoly of western trade. The Cholas paid special attention to their navy. The naval achievements of the Tamils reached its climax under the Cholas. They controlled the Malabar and Coromandal coasts.
The Chola Kingdom had exhausted its resources and was on the decline in the 13th century when it succumbed to an attack by the Hoysalas from the west and the Pandyas from the south. The new kingdoms were to last till the Turkish sultans overthrew the existing dynasties in the Deccan in the 14th century.
No comments:
Post a Comment