Chola Empire and its influence in Southeast Asia - the Middle Ages

Just before the diversification of Islamic empires in northern India, the stronghold of south India was in the hands of the mighty Chola Empire. If there is one such empire that had its supremacy outside the subcontinent that too through naval means, it was the Cholas. Their influence overpowered another superpower of south-east Asia, the great Srivijaya Empire. The post shall discuss both aspects in brief. 

The Chola Empire was divided into five divisions in its Tamil heartland:

1. Cholamandalam
2. Tondaimandalam
3. Pandimandalam or Pandyamandalam
4. Naduvilnadu
5. Kongumandalam 

Later when it extended over today's Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka and went as far as Sri Lanka, the divisions expanded to a total of eleven. Although the entire regime of Cholas stretched for roughly 430 years, its apex was attained in the 11th century during the reign of Rajendra Chola. The boundaries of the Chola Empire influenced the entire Malay peninsula and parts of Sumatra which was then ruled by the Srivijaya Kingdom. Its influence also stretched out in the Indian subcontinent to regions of Kalinga, which would be today's coastal Odisha. The capital Gangaikondacholapuram is still a village in today's Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu. 

There were series of conquests of the Cholas that showed its might and power over other existing regimes. The Pandyas were conquered in 987 AD, the Lambakannas of Sri Lanka were annexed in 993 AD; the Kulashekhara dynasty of Kerala ended and submerged in 1102 AD, and the Gangas of Karnataka were conquered in 1004 AD. Coming to the Indonesian islands, the city-states of the Srivijaya Empire in today's Sumatra such as Lamuri, Kampe, Panai etc. had ties with the Indian subcontinent through the cities of Nalanda and Nagapattinam in the 9th and 11th centuries. But it was the widespread naval raids of the Cholas in 1025 AD that ultimately weakened the Srivijaya Empire. This was all happening when the Asian corridors were at the brink of Islamisation and Europe was immersed in its early Renaissance period. 

The entire Indochina peninsula was dominated by various Hindu kingdoms, primarily the Shaivite cult. Some of the places with their modern names and locations are listed as follows: 

• Hariharalaya - in Siem Riep province, Cambodia
• Amarendrapura / Indrapura - Banteay Prei Nokor, Cambodia
• Mahendraparvata - about 40 km from Angkor Wat temple complex, Cambodia
• Yasodharapura - Angkor, in Siem Riep province, Cambodia
• Lingapura - Koh Ker, in Siem Riep province, Cambodia
• Vyadhapura - Ba Phnum, in Prey Veng province, Cambodia
• Bhimapura - in today's Cambodia
• Panduranga - Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm, Vietnam
• Vijaya -  Đồ Bàn, Vietnam
• Indrapura - near Đồng Dương, Vietnam
• Sri Deva - in today's Thailand

There were countless such names that were deeply rooted in Hinduism that sprung in the entire Indochina peninsula. But this angle and the Chola raids of Srivijaya was in no way to expand Hinduism or Tamil culture outside the Indian subcontinent but was more linked to competing with the rising trading prowess of Srivijaya. This can be compared to a similar naval conflict between the Ottomans and Portuguese in Indian waters some 400 years later, that would lead to a Portuguese hegemony in the Arabian Sea for almost a century, later to be taken over by the Dutch and finally the British. 

Ultimately, like all empires seal their fate with an end, the Chola Empire declined in the 13th century and with the rise of Islam in the northern heartland of Hindustan, the Deccan would not be seeing another Hindu empire encompassing the entire subcontinent until the 17th century with the arrival of the Marathas. 

Here are the maps of the mighty Chola Empire (chrome) and its influence in Southeast Asia (light crimson).