The 

Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-

ruling dynasties in world history. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from
inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE during the reign of Ashoka of the Maurya Empire. As
one of the Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam, along with the Chera and Pandya, the dynasty
continued to govern over varying territories until the 13th century CE. Despite these ancient
origins, the rise of the Chola, as the "Chola Empire," only begins with the medieval Cholas in the
mid-9th century CE.
The heartland of the Cholas was the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. Still, they ruled a
significantly larger area at the height of their power from the later half of the 9th century till the
beginning of the 13th century. They unified peninsular India, south of the Tungabhadra, and held
as one state for three centuries between 907 and 1215 AD.[3] Under Rajaraja I and his
successors Rajendra I, Rajadhiraja I, Rajendra II, Virarajendra, and Kulothunga Chola I, the
dynasty became a military, economic and cultural powerhouse in South Asia and South-East
Asia.[4] The power and the prestige the Cholas had among political powers in South, South-
eastern, and eastern Asia at its peak is evident through their expeditions to the Ganges, naval
raids on cities of the Srivijaya empire based on the island of Sumatra, and their repeated
embassies to China.[5] The Chola fleet represented the zenith of ancient Indian maritime capacity.
During the period of 1010–1153