This army, very exotic and interesting to play, is not mine but to my son Quentin.
This is normally an army of the second DBA list book (because this kingdom spans a very long time). However, I chose to classify it in the category "high middle ages" because it is a late version (late Xth-XIth centuries AD), that of the greatest king Chola:
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| The Chola Army in Big Battle Version |
Rajaraja Chola I (Tamil: சோழன சோழன்} born Arulmozhi Cholan) is an important ruler of the Tamil dynasty Chola, from 985 to 1014
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| Rajaraja Chola |
His uncle Uttama Chola, the unpopular king, was to give him the throne in 985. Rajaraja resumed the policy of conquest after the troubled times of previous kings and restored power Chola from the extreme south to Orissa East and Quilon and Coorg to the west. He destroyed the Chera fleet near Trivandrum, invaded the country of Chera, that of the Pandya, then Ceylon, whose capital Anuradhapura he plundered in 993.
He annexed the country Karnataka, then allied with the king Chalukya of the east Vimaladitya, Help to conquer the country Andhra. Finally, he temporarily annexed the Kedah (Malaysia) and the Maldives and then devoted himself to the administration of his States. In 1001 he had a large census of his territories carried out. In 1003 he undertook the construction of the temple of Brihadesvara in Tanjavûr and favored the cult of Shiva while being tolerant with the other cults, Buddhist in particular.
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| Rajaraja Chola |
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| Tribal warbands |
The Empire of the Chola, thalassocracy of the medieval Indies ...
The Chola Empire is a thalassocratic empire of South Asia (and South India) that developed in the 9th-10th and 11th centuries under the leadership of the Chola princes (Dravidians, Tamils) South of India (where it gave its name, in Tamil Nadu, to the coast of Coromandel, after Chola mandalam, the country of the Chola), and in a part Of the eastern Indian Ocean. As such, it is the only real period of maritime power in the history of India.
As early as the 9th and 10th centuries, the State of Chola had destroyed the power of the Pallava and Pandya rulers of the southern sub-continent. Under the king Rajaraja Chola I (about 985-1015), the Chola had resumed their policy of conquest, against the Chera and conquering part of Karnataka and northern Ceylon. Then, under King Rajendra Choladeva (around 1015-1045) they will complete the conquest of Ceylon, waging war in Orissa and Bengal.
As early as the eleventh century, they were present in northern Sumatra in Indonesia. Territories to which King Rajendra Choladeva will send (in 1025) an expedition against the kingdom of Sriwijaya (the present Palembang, in the south-east of Sumatra, a state which then controlled the maritime traffic of the Strait of Malacca ...) The conquest of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and even sending (in 1033) an ambassador to the emperor of China.
Thereafter, King Rajendra Kulottunga Chola I (1070-1118) will for a time unite the kingdoms Chola and Chalukya, regaining control of the rebellious Kalinga, but nevertheless losing Ceylon and their overseas colonies. The Chola dynasty then entered into decay. And the Chola kingdom, once again reduced to its original zone, was eventually absorbed (in the 14th century) by the Hindu kingdom near Vijayanâgara.
Source: Ronan Blaise, Published on 14/06/2007 on centerblog
