From 9th-12 Century

• The founder of the Chola dynasty was Vijayala, a feudatory of the Pallavas.
• His dynasty rose to high eminence and lasted for more than two centuries.
• Vijayala rose to power near Uraiyar, the capital of the Cholas of the Sangam Age.
• An inscription at Tiruchirapalli district records a gift of land in accordance with the orders of the Parakesari Vijayala Chladeva.
• The titles of Parakesari and Rajakesari were alternately assumed by the Chola sovereigns from the time of Vijayala.
• The ascendancy of Rajraja gave Cholas, the supreme power in India, Rajraja was the most famous and important among the Cholas.
• He very efficiently and successfully carried on the administration of his country from A.D. 985 to 1014
• A successful conqueror, he had defeated the Cheras and the Pandyas.
• He had annexed Mysore and Travancore and had defeated the Chalukyas of Vengi.
• The inscriptions reveal that he had conquered the Simhaldip.
• His conquests established his authority in the Deccan.
• Rajraja was succeeded by his son, Rajendra.
• He was also a brace warrior and a successful ruler.
• He ruled from A.D. 1015-1035.
• After his death, his son, Rajadhiraja, became the ruler.
• He was the last among the Cholas. In 1052, he was killed while fighting with the Chalukyas.

Chola Administration

• The most striking feature of the administrative system of the Cholas was their autonomous village and town administration.
• There was no significant difference between the central and provincial administration of the Cholas and that of any other dynasty of early medieval India.
• But, the administration of Cholas was more centralized than that of the Rashtrakutas or the Chalukyas.

Central Administration:

• The emperor or king was at the apex of the administration.
• He had an udankuttam, immediate attendants, a group of ministers representing all the chief departments of administration to advise him on the disposal of business, besides a chancery (olai).
• Worship at deceased rulers, and construction of temples as tributes to dead kings was a special feature of the Chola period.
• There was an elaborate and complicated administrative machinery or bureaucracy for the Cholas, comprising officials of various grades.
• The officials tended to form a separate class in society, organized in two ranks, an upper perundanam and a lower sirudanam.
• Higher officers were known by the title of adigarigal, while officers of all ranks were usually referred to by the general titles of Karumigal and Panimakkal.
• They were usually remunerated by assignments of land (jivitas) suited to their position.
• Titles of honour and shares in booty taken in war formed other rewards of public service.

Provincial Adminstration

• The empire was divided into principalities (under vassal chiefs) and mandalams (provinces under viceroys who were mostly royal princes) with further division of the provinces into Valanadus (divisions), Nadus (districts) and Kurrams (villages).
• Achievement of Cholas: The Chola empire during Rajaraja I included Tamil Nadu, Goorg, Srilanka and many islands including Laskswadeep and Maldives.
• Rajendra Chola assumed the title of Gangaikonda, after consolidating his territories right upto river Ganga.

Chola art and Literature:

• The Cholas greatly encouraged sculpture, architercute and painting.
• The Cholas established new cities and constructed many palatial buildings.
• They beautifully erected temples served as the conference houses for the assemblies.
• The Shiva temple of Rajrajeshwar at Tanjore is a perfect example of Chola art which is 197 feet high and has thirteen storeys.
• The Brihadesvara temple at Thanjore is the finest specimen of Chola architecture. Literature and culture too witnessed a great progress under the Cholas.
• Culture had reached the height of glory and peak of power.
• Sanskrit and Tamil languages developed to a great extent.
• The Chola kings greatly encouraged the scholarly and the literary minds.

Arab Influence

• On the west coast, the initiative in the trade with the west was gradually passing into the hands of the Arabs.
• Indian Traders were becoming suppliers of goods rather than carriers and communication with the West became indirect, via the Arabs, and limited to trade alone.
• Maritime trade with South East Asia continued.
• There were now three major kingdoms. Kambuja (Cambodia), Champa (Annan) and Shrivijaya (the southern Malay Peninsula and Sumatra), with whom cultural contact increased.
• Pallava architectural styles and the Tamil script were extensively used amongst the local royalty.

The Cheras

•  In ancient time Kerala was known as Cheras.
• The kingdom extended to the districts of Malabar, Travancore, Cochin, etc.
• The Cheras had trade relations with Rome in the first century A.D. the description of the Cheras of early times is found in the edicts of Ashoka, in which they have been called by the name of Kerala Putras.
• Enough historical material about the history of Keralas is not available.
• Some of the important rulers of this dynasty were Perunar, Adan II, and Senaguttavam, etc. who in their reigns fought many battles with other dynasties of the Deccan like the Cholas, the Pandyas, and the Hoyasalas, etc.
• They remained dominant till the 13th century A.D.

The Hoyasalas

• The kingdom of Hoyasalas situated between the kingdom of the Chalukyas on the North-West and that of the Cholas on Their capital was Dwarasamudra.
• The credit of bringing this dynasty into eminence goes to Vishnu Vardhan.
• He improved political position of his kingdom by his victories.
• With the help of his commander-in-chief, Ganga Raja, he defeated the Cheras, the Cholas and the Pandyas.
• He defeated the Gurjaras at Talkad.
• The Chennakesava temple built by Vishnuvardhan at Belur in A.D. 1117 and the Hoyasaleswar temple built in A.D. 1150 at Halesbid are examples of Hoyasala architecture.
• The kingdom of the Hoyasalas made all the progress under Vir Balla II.
• He defeated the Chalukyas and the Yadavas too.
• The last king of this dynasty was Vir Balla III, who was defeated by Malik Kafur, the chief general of Alauddin Khilji in 1311.
• He deposed him from the throne and this, dynasty came to its end.

The Yadavas

• The Yadavas were, at first, under the supremacy of the Chalukyas, became independent and began to gain power.
• They ruled over the region that extended from Nasik to Devagiri.
• Thus, Khandesh territory was under their sway.
• These people acknowledged being chandravansi (Moon race).
• Their great rulers were Bhillama; Simhana Ramachandra, etc.
• Bhillama was the first important king of this dynasty. He reigned from 1187 to 1191.
• He conquered the Hoyasalas and made Devagiri his capital.
• The most prominent king of this dynasty was Simhana who defeated several dynasties, such as, the Hoyasalas, the Andhras, etc.
• He also defeated Arjun Varman, the ruler of Malwa.
• In addition to this, he invaded Gujarat several times and tried to defeat it.
• The last king of this dynasty was Ramachandra who ruled the whole of the region upto the river Narmada.

The Kakatiyas

• The Kakatiyas were under the control of the Chalukya dynasty and after the downfall of Chalukyan they asserted their independent in the territories of Telingana and Warrangal, where they founded their own kingdom.
• Some of the powerful and important kings of this dynasty were Prolaraja, Ganpati Pratap Rudra Deo, etc.
• Prolaraja defeated the Chalukyas and fought many other battles.
• After him Ganpati was another important king of this dynasty.
• He defeated the Cholas, the Yadavas and several other rulers of various families.
• He reaped the full advantage of the disorder and disturbance in the political condition of those regions and extended his rule in all the four corners of his kingdom.
• The fact is that he was the most important king of the Kakatiya dynasty.
• In his reign, the Kakatiya rule was at the height of its power and progress.
• After his reign, the decline and decay of this dynasty started and finally in the reign of Pratapa Rudra Deo, Malik Kafur invaded their kingdom in A.D 1309.
• The Kadambas This dynasty was established by Brahman Mayurasarma in north Karnataka with his capital at Banavasi after defeating Satvahana.
• Mayurasaraman was a champion of Vedic sacrifices and is believed to have performed 18 Ashvamedha sacrifices.
• The kingdom was annexed to the Chalukya kingdom by Pulkesin II.

The ghaznavids

• Towards the end of 9th century Trans Oxiana Khorasan and parts of Iran were being ruled by Samanids who were Iranians by descent. Among the Samanid governor was a Turkish slave Alaptgin who established an independent kingdom with its capital at Ghazni. The Samanid kingdom soon ended and was taken over by Mohamud Ghazanavi.
• Mahmud ascended the throne in 998-1030 A.D. at Ghazni
• Firdausi was the poet laureate at the court of Mahmud.
• A high water mark in the Iranian renaissance was reached with Firdausi’s Shah Namah.
• Mahmud claimed descent from Iranian legendary king ‘Afrasiyab’.
• Mahmud is said to have made 17 raids into India from 1000 A.D. to 1027 A.D. The initial raids were directed against the Hindushahi rulers who had been battling against the Ghanzavids ever since the Time of Mahmud’s father.
• In 1001 A.D. Jayapala was defeated and taken prisoner, but was released. However, he decided to enter the funeral, pyre because the thought he had disgraced himself.
• Mahmuds most daring raids were against Kannauj in 1018 A.D. and against Somnath in Gujrat in 1025 A.D. (15th expedition). It gave him vast treasure and earned him prestige through out the Islamic world.
• Mahmud also posed as a great ‘But Shikan’ or ‘Destroyer of Images’ for the glory of Islam.
• Mahmud had no plan to build a huge empire. His basic aim was  to plunder and amass wealth. He annexed Punjab, Lahore and Multan because this region was important for communication.
• Hindu generals such as Tilak commanded the Ghaznavid armies in which Hindu soliders also were recruited.
• In the Vaccum two new powers rose to prominence-the Khawrizmi empire based on Iran and the Ghurid empire based on Ghur in N.W. Afghanistan.
• The power of Ghurids increased under Sultan Alauddin who earned the Title of “The world burner” (Jahan-soz) because he ravaged Ghazni and burnt it to the ground.

Muhamad of Ghuri

• The Yamini dynasty was overthrown by Muhamad of Ghur toward the close of 12th century. He belonged to the Shansabani dynasty of Ghur. In 1173, Shahabuddin Muhammad (1173-1206 A.D.) also known as Muizzudin Kuhammad bin Sam ascended the throne at Ghazni.
• Entering through Gomal pass he first conquered Multan and Uehh from Karmatia rulers in 1175 A.D. Then he attacked Gujrat in 1178 A.D. but was defeated by Chalukyan rulers. After this he revised his plans and attacked Punjab using Khyber pass.
• A.D. 1179: Mohammad of Ghur occupied Peshwar.
• A.D. 1181: Mohammad established a fortress at Sialkot.
• By 1182 A.D., whole of Sindh was subdued. Next he captured Lahore and deposed Khusraw Malik the Ghazanavid prince.

The Battle of Tarain

• The conflict started with rival claims for Tabarhinda (Bhatinda). In the first battle which was fought at Tarain 1191 the Ghuri forces were completely routed and Muizzudin Muhammad’s life was saved by young Khalji horsemen.
• The second Battle of Tarain in 1192 is regarded as one of the turning point in Indian History.
• The battle was mainly a battle between cavalry. The superior organization skill and speed of movement of Turkish cavalry ultimately decided the issue. Prithviraj escaped but was captured near Saraswati.
• Prithiviraj was allowed to rule over Ajmer for some time, for we have coins of this period giving the date.
• He returned to Ghazni leaving the charge of Indian territories to Qutub-ud-din Aibek, his trusted slave. He captured Delhi, Meerut, Ranthambhor and Koil and then advanced toward Banaras. In the meantime, Sultan returned and defeated Jaichand of Kanauj in battle of Chandwar in 1194 A.D.
• Gwalior fell in 1190 A.D. and next Anhilwara. With conquest of Kalinjar in 1203 A.D. the conquest of upper India was complete.
• Muizzudin lead his last conquest into India in 1206 A.D. in order to deal with Khokar rebellion. But by the time of his assassination in 1206 A.D. Bihar and Bengal were also conquered.

• A number of popular saints called nayanars (Shiva) and alvars (Vishnu) flourished in Tamil area between 6th and 9th century. The writings of these saints which were collected into eleven volumes under the name Tirummais are considered sacred and are looked upon as fifth Veda.
• Kambana who wrote Ramavatrama was one of the greatest figures of Tamil poetry. His Ramayan is known as Kamba Ramayana.
• Pampa, Ponna and Ranna are considered as three gems of Kannada poetry.
• In northern India, this period is considered a period of Stagnation and even of decline. The set back to trade and commerce was due to the collapse of Roman Empire in the west.
• South East Asia – Land of spice grew in Importance.
• With decline of trade and commerce the bodies like srenis and sangas lost their former importance.
• Harisena in his Brihat Katha Kosh describes adventures of sea voyages.
• The chief Indian port for sailing to java, Sumatara etc was Tamralipti in Bengal.
• One of the most prominent feature of this period was growth of feudalism.
• The disabilities from which the lower caste suffered increased during this period.
• Marriages between different castes were frowned upon.
• According to a writer Parasara, eating a Sudra’s food, association with a Sudra sitting on the same seat with Sudra are acts which drag down even the noblest person.
• Women were generally considered to be mentally inferior. Women continued to be denied the right to study the Vedas. The marriage age of girls was lowered thereby destroying their opportunities for higher education.
• Remarriage was allowed under certain conditions, when the husband desereted or was impotant or adapted the life of recluse.
• With the growth of property rights in land, the property rights of women also increased. In order to preserve the property of a family, women were given right to inherit the property of their male relations.
• The practice of Sati was in vogue.
• The Matsya Purana even authorized the husband to beat his erring wife with rope or spilt bamboo.
• Some advance was made in field of Mathematics. The Lilawati of Bhaskar II remained a standard book for long time.