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The Chola Navy was composed of ships used for transporting the land army overseas. [ 1 ] : 251 The Cholas did not have a standing navy in the modern sense. The maritime force of Cholas was formed by using ships used for trade, as they did not have a dedicated ship for naval combat.
Imperial Coin of Chola King Rajaraja I (985-1014 CE). Uncertain Tamilnadu mint. Legend "Chola, conqueror of the Gangas" in Tamil, seated tiger with two fish. Imperial Seal of Rajaraja I. Before the reign of Rajaraja I, portions of the Chola territory were ruled by hereditary lords and princes who were in a loose alliance with the Chola rulers. [65]
Rajaraja Chola I created a powerful standing army and a considerable navy, which achieved even greater success under his son Rajendra Chola I. The prominence given to the army from the conquest of the Pandyas down to the last year of the king's reign is significant and shows the spirit with which the king treated his soldiers.
Chola soldiers used weapons such as swords, bows, javelins, spears, and steel shields. [72] Several Chola weapons utilized Wootz steel. [73] The Chola navy was the zenith of ancient India sea power. [66] It played a vital role in the expansion of the empire, including the conquest of the Sri Lanka islands and naval raids on Srivijaya. [74]
The battle of Kandalur salai (c. 988 CE), also spelled Kanthaloor salai, was a naval engagement of the Cholas under Rajaraja I (985—1014 CE) against the "salai" at Kandalur in Trivandrum Kerala.
According to the Malay chronicle Sejarah Melayu, the rulers of the Malacca sultanate claimed to be descendants of the kings of the Chola empire. [80] [full citation needed] Chola rule is remembered in Malaysia today as many princes there have names ending with Cholan or Chulan, one such being Raja Chulan, the Raja of Perak.
These developments were to slowly but surely weaken the Chola kingdom, though there was a minor revival during the fairly steady rule of Kulothunga III (1178–1218). In as much as the cholas during his time were dominant militarily is noted by some literature that mention Raja Raja's conquest and his innovative management initiatives.
Rajaraja Chola III succeeded Kulothunga Chola III on the Chola throne in July 1216 CE. Rajaraja came to the throne of a kingdom much reduced in size as well as influence. With the rise of the Pandya power in the south, the Cholas had lost most of their control of the territories south of the river Kaveri and their hold on the Vengi territories in the north was slipping with the emergence of ...