Ayyavole 500 - the merchant guild of the Cholas

Throughout history, military conflicts and political supremacy have dominated our minds, shaping narratives around victories and defeats. However, one aspect of history has quietly influenced the world, forming the backbone of colonisation: traders, merchants, and shopkeepers. These individuals were the backbone of any civilisation, and the vast trade routes across the globe demonstrated that trade and commerce would shape the world as we know it.

Focusing on India, the chronology of trade in the Indian subcontinent can be broadly categorised into four periods:

1. Indigenous Trade Civilisations (until 750-800 AD)
2. Classical and Medieval Mercantile Networks (roughly between 750 to 1500 AD)
3. Colonial Economy (1500 to 1947)
4. Postcolonial and Global Integration (1947 to present)

The major empires and dynasties in Indian history were also champions of trade and commerce. However, we can broadly divide these empires into two groups: one that traded with empires and nations towards Iran, Arabia, and Central Asia, and the other that traded with China and the Southeast Asian realm.

The Mauryas, Guptas, Mughals, and Marathas dealt with the Western world, while the Satavahanas, Cholas, Vijayanagara, Cheras, Pandyas, and others dealt with the Eastern. These trades occurred through independent merchants and traders, as well as guilds of merchants – communities of traders bound by common rules and regulations. These guilds were known by various names, such as Shreni, Shreshthi, Vanik, Anjuvannam, Manigramam, Valanjiyar, Bhatia, Baniya, and so on.

These traders engaged in trade with a diverse range of ethnicities, including Bactrian-Sogdian caravaners, Roman merchants, traders from the Srivijaya Empire of Sumatra and Java islands, Arabs, Persians, and Chinese. This vast and cosmopolitan network became the backbone of a global economy, with Indian empires playing a central role for centuries. 

One such guild, belonging to the mighty Chola Empire (in around the 9th century AD), was the Ayyavole 500 or Disai-Ayirattu-Ainurruvar (திசை-ஆயிரத்து-ஐந்நூறுவர் / ಅಯ್ಯವೋಳು ಐನೂರುವರು).  Some sources suggest they originated from Ayyavole or Aihole (in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka) and would have the literal translation of ‘Five hundred of the thousand directions’. They handled commercials related to temples, gifts, and even contributed to temple construction. One of their branches, Tisai Ayirattu Ainnutruvar, had a network that reached Gangga Negara (in Malaysia), Safarids and Buyrids (in Iran), Bhauttarashtra (the upper Himalayan belt of Nepal and Bhutan), the Lambakannas (in Sri Lanka), and dominated heavily the Indian Ocean waters, locally known as Ratnakara. 

The Ayyavole 500 weren’t just traders; they also had a role in the militia that supported the Chola campaigns against the Srivijaya Empire in Sumatra. The guild maintained an armed escort wing called the Virakodiya, which protected their caravans, ships, and warehouses. Occasionally, they even participated in local conflicts, as evidenced by ancient Tamil inscriptions that record their involvement in guarding port towns.

While there’s a description of the Ayyavole 500’s presence at Lobu Tua village in northern Sumatra (over 700 kilometres from Indira Point on the Car Nicobar Island), there’s no mention of the Virakodiya’s involvement there. Therefore, it’s uncertain whether the correct and accurate location of military posts where the Virakodiyas were involved coincides with this village.

Other places where Chola presence is recorded include Mantai (or Manthottam, Mannar coast in Sri Lanka), Gokanna (Trincomalee, in Sri Lanka), Kadaram (Kedah, in Sumatra, Indonesia), Palembang (the Srivijayan capital on Sumatra island), and possibly a passing harbour at Temasek or modern-day Singapore. However, there’s no concrete proof of any Chola stations here. 

On the mainland of Southeast Asia, certain places are recorded to have been traded with by the Cholas during the medieval era. These include Arimaddanapura (Pagan, Myanmar), Vaisali (near Mrauk-U, Myanmar), Suddhamavati or Sudhammapura (Thaton, Myanmar), possibly Lavapura (Lopburi, Thailand), possibly Vyadhapura (Ba Phnom, Cambodia), and Vijaya (Qui Nhơn or Bình Định, Vietnam). These places have recorded histories of interacting with the Cholas, primarily through maritime landings. However, there isn’t any specific mention of Ayyavole’s 500 guild directly interacting with these places. 

As everything reached its finale, so did the Ayyavole 500 guild. The Cholas’ support for the guild increased their dominance over local authorities. However, the resurrection of Srivijaya over Melaka (Malacca) and the rise of the Pandyas led to the guild’s fragmentation into numerous smaller bodies. By the mid-13th century, the decline of the Chola empire further compounded their difficulties. Heavy incursions and the involvement of Muslim merchants penetrated the subcontinent from the north, while the rise of the Mongol Empire in Iran and Balochistan shifted the trade monopoly westward.  Displaced merchants restored their place within regional merchant communities like the Chettiars, Komatis, and Tamil Muslim groups, while others sought refuge on Sumatra and Sri Lanka. Despite these challenges, the Ayyavole 500 remained a crucial and highly important structure in the administration of the Cholas, helping them endure for several centuries.