The 

Chera dynasty (or Cēra), IPA: [t͡ʃeːɾɐ], was one of the Tamil[2] dynasties in and before

the Sangam period history of the state of Kerala and the Kongu Nadu region of Western Tamil
Nadu in southern India.[3][4] Together with the Tamil dynasties of Cholas of Uraiyur
(Tiruchirappalli) and the Pandyas of Madurai, the early Cheras were known as one of the three
major powers (muventar) of ancient Tamilakam[3] in the early centuries of the Common Era.[5][6]
The Chera country was geographically well placed to profit from maritime trade via the
extensive Indian Ocean networks. Exchange of spices, especially black pepper, with Middle
Eastern and Graeco-Roman merchants are attested in several sources.[7][8][3] The Cheras of the
early historical period (c. second century BCE – c. third century CE[3]) are known to have had
their original centre at Kuttanad in Kerala, and Karur in Kongu Nadu and harbours at Muchiri
(Muziris) and Thondi (Tyndis) on the Indian Ocean coast (Kerala). They governed the area
of Malabar Coast between Alappuzha in the south to Kasaragod in the north. This also included
the Palakkad Gap, Coimbatore, Dharapuram, Erode, Salem, and Kolli Hills. The region
around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during the Sangam period between c. 1st and the
4th centuries CE and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade
route between th