Sunga Empire

The Sunga Empire (Sanskrit: ) or Shunga Empire was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled vast areas of the Indian Subcontinentfrom around 18 to 8 !"#$ The dynasty was established by %usyamitra Sunga& after the fall of the Maurya #m'ire$ Its ca'ital was %atali'utra& but later em'erors such as !hagabhadra also held court at !esnagar& modern (idisha in #asternMalwa$)1* %ushyamitra Sunga ruled for +, years and was succeeded by his son -gnimitra$ There were ten Sunga rulers$ The em'ire is noted for its numerous wars with both foreign and indigenous 'owers$ They fought battles with the .alingas&Satavahanas& the Indo/0reeks& and 'ossibly the %anchalas and Mathuras$ -rt& education& 'hiloso'hy& and other forms of learning flowered during this 'eriod including small terracotta images& larger stone scul'tures& and architectural monuments such as the Stu'a at !harhut& and the renowned 0reat Stu'a atSanchi$ The Sunga rulers hel'ed to establish the tradition of royal s'onsorshi' of learning and art$ The scri't used by the em'ire was a variant of !rahmi and was used to write the Sanskrit language$ The Sunga #m'ire 'layed an im'erative role in 'atroni1ing Indian culture at a time when some of the most im'ortant develo'ments in 2indu thought were taking 'lace$ %atan3ali4s Mahabhasya was com'osed in this 'eriod$ -rtistry also 'rogressed with the rise of the Mathura school of art$ Thereafter& there was a downfall of the dynasty and .anvas succeeded around + !"#$

Kanva dynasty
The Kanva or Kanvayana 5ynasty re'laced the Sunga dynasty in Magadha& and ruled in the #astern 'art of India from 6 !"# to +7 !"#$ The last ruler of the Sunga dynasty& 5evabhuti& was overthrown by (asudeva of the .anva dynasty in 6 !"$ The .anva ruler allowed the kings of the Sunga dynasty to continue to rule in obscurity in a corner of their former dominions$ Magadha was ruled by four .anva rulers$ Their dynasty was brought to an end by the ruler of the Satavahana 5ynasty or 8-ndhra bhritya8 dynasty in -maravati& -ndhra %radesh$)1* Rulers[edit] (asudeva (c$ 6 9 c$ ,, !"#) !humimitra (c$ ,, 9 c$ 6: !"#) ;arayana (c$ 6: 9 c$ <7 !"#) Susharman (c$ <7 9 c$ +7 !"#)

Satavahana dynasty
The tavhana Empire was a royal Indian dynasty based from-maravati in -ndhra %radesh as well as =unnar (%une) and %rathisthan (%aithan) inMaharashtra$ The territory of the em'ire covered much of India from :+7 !"# onward$ -lthough there is some controversy about when the dynasty came to an end& the most liberal estimates suggest that it lasted about <67 years& until around ::7 "#$ The Satavahanas are credited for establishing 'eace in the country& resisting the onslaught of foreigners after the decline of Mauryan #m'ire$ S>tav>hanas started out as feudatories to the Mauryan dynasty& but declared inde'endence with its decline$ They are known for their 'atronage of 2induism and!uddhism which resulted in !uddhist monuments from #llora (a ?;#S"@ Aorld 2eritage Site) to -maravati$ The S>tav>hanas were one of the first Indian states to issue coins struck with their rulers embossed$ They formed a cultural bridge and 'layed a vital role in trade as well as the transfer of ideas and culture to and from the Indo/ 0angetic %lain to the southern ti' of India$ They had to com'ete with the Sungas and then the .anvas of Magadha to establish their rule$ Bater& they 'layed a crucial role to 'rotect a huge 'art of India against foreign invaders like the Sakas& Cavanas and %ahlavas$ In 'articular their struggles with the Aestern .shatra'as went on for a long time$ The great rulers of the Satavahana 5ynasty 0autami'utra Satakarni and Sri Ca3na

S>takarni were able to defeat the foreign invaders like the Aestern .shatra'as and sto' their eD'ansion$ In the +rd century "# the em'ire was s'lit into smaller states$

Sangam period
Sangam period (Tamil: & Cankakla paruvam ?) is the 'eriod in the history of ancient southern India (known as the Tamilakam) s'anning from c$ +rd century !"# to c$ <th century "#$ It is named after the famous Sangam academies of 'oets and scholars centered in the city of Madurai$ In @ld Tamil language& the term Tamilakam (Tamiakam & Purananuru 1,8$ 18) referred to the whole of the ancient Tamil/s'eaking area& )citation needed* corres'onding roughly to the area known as southern India today& consisting of the territories of the 'resent/day Indian states of Tamil ;adu&.erala& 'arts of -ndhra %radesh& 'arts of .arnataka and northern Sri Banka)1*):* also known as Illam$)+*)<* History[edit] -ccording to southern Indian legends& there were three Sangam 'eriods& namely 2ead Sangam& Middle Sangam and Bast Sangam 'eriod$ 2istorians use the term Sangam 'eriod to refer the last of these& the first two being legendary$ So it is also called Last Sangam period(Tamil: & Kaaiccanka paruvam ?)&)6* or Third Sangam period(Tamil: & Mnm canka paruvam ?)$ The Sangam literature is thought to have been 'roduced in three Sangam academies of each 'eriod$ The evidence on the early history of the southern India consists of the e'igra'hs of the region& the Sangam literature& and archaeological data$ -''roDimately during the 'eriod between +67 !"# to :77 "#& Tamilakam was ruled by the three Tamil dynasties of %andya& "hola and "hera& and a few inde'endent chieftains& the(elir$

Chola dynasty
The Chola dynasty (Tamil: ) was one of the longest/ruling dynasties in the history of southern India$ The earliest datable references to this Tamil dynasty are in inscri'tions from the +rd century !" left by -soka& of the Maurya #m'ire$ -s one of the Three "rowned .ings& the dynasty continued to govern over varying territory until the 1+th century -5$ The heartland of the "holas was the fertile valley of the .averi Eiver& but they ruled a significantly larger area at the height of their 'ower from the later half of the Fth century till the beginning of the 1+th century$ The whole country south of theTungabhadra was united and held as one state for a 'eriod of two centuries and more$)1* ?nder Ea3ara3a "hola I and his son Ea3endra "hola I& the dynasty became a military& economic and cultural 'ower in South -sia and South/#ast -sia$):*)+*The 'ower of the new em'ire was 'roclaimed to the eastern world by the eD'edition to the 0anges which Ea3endra "hola I undertook and by the occu'ation of cities of the maritime em'ire of Srivi3aya& as well as by the re'eated embassies to "hina$)<* 5uring the 'eriod 171791:77& the "hola territories stretched from the islands of theMaldives in the south to as far north as the banks of the 0odavari Eiver in -ndhra %radesh$)6* Ea3ara3a "hola conGuered 'eninsular South India& anneDed 'arts of which is now Sri Banka and occu'ied the islands of the Maldives$ Ea3endra "hola sent a victorious eD'edition to ;orth India that touched the river 0anges and defeated the %ala ruler of %atali'utra& Mahi'ala$ 2e also successfully invaded cities of Srivi3aya$),* The "hola dynasty went into decline at the beginning of the 1+th century with the rise of the %andyas& who ultimately caused their downfall$) *)8* The "holas left a lasting legacy$ Their 'atronage of Tamil literature and their 1eal in the building of tem'les has resulted in some great works of Tamil literature and architecture$ )+* The "hola kings were avid builders and envisioned the tem'les in their kingdoms not only as 'laces of worshi' but also as centres of economic activity$)F*)17* They 'ioneered a centralised form of government and established a disci'lined bureaucracy$ -ccording to the Malay chronicle Se3ahrah Melayu the rulers of the Malacca sultanate claimed to be descendants of the kings of the "hola #m'ire$ )11* !"#!$!" #$"!ST$

The andyan or andian dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty& one of the three Tamil dynasties& the other two being the "hola and the "hera)$ #ven though the earliest eDtant Tamil literary works& such as the .aliththokai& mention a Tamil continent called .umari .andam& which was ruled by Pandyas and theCheras)citation needed* for 17&777 years& before getting submerged in the westernIndian @cean& the conventional historical evidences so far& suggest that they ruled 'arts of South India from around ,77 !"# (#arly %andyan .ingdom))6* to first half of 1 th century -5$ They initially ruled their country Pandya Nadu from .orkai& a sea'ort on the southernmost ti' of the Indian %eninsula& and in later times moved to Madurai$ Hish being their flag& %andyas were eD'erts in water management& agriculture(mostly near river banks) and fisheries and they were eminent sailors and sea traders too$ Pandyan was well known since ancient times& with contacts& even di'lomatic& reaching the Eoman #m'ire$ 5uring the 1+th century -5& Marco %olo mentioned it as the richest em'ire in eDistence$),* The %andyan em'ire was home to tem'les including Meenakshi -mman Tem'le in Madurai& and ;ellaia''ar Tem'le built on the bank of the river Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli$ The %andya kings were called either =atavarman or Maravarman %andyan$ Hrom being =ains in their early ages& they became Shaivaits after some centuries of rule$ ) * %illaiyar'atti tem'le is a rock/cut tem'le located in Thiru''atthur& Sivagangai 5istrict$ It was built after viewing a hillock by the early %andiya kings$ The image of %illaiyar'atti %illaiyar and that of a Siva Bingam were carved out of a stone by a scul'tor named #kkattur .oon %eru'aranan who 'ut his signature on a stone inscri'tion& in Tamil Banguage used between the :nd and 6th century -5& found even today in the sanctum$ It can be concluded that the icon of %illaiyar'atti %illaiyar must have been carved around <th century -5$ The %andyas of Southern India are believed to have been founded at least five to siD centuries before the "hristian #ra with a very strong 'ossibility of a more ancient date of establishment$ )8*)F* Their recorded eDistence and mention are found in records dating to as early as 667 !"$ )17* -s recorded by Strabo& #m'eror -ugustus of Eome received at -ntioch an ambassador from a South Indian .ing called andyan o% #ramira$ The country of the %andyas& %andi Mandala& was described as Pandyan Mediterranea in the Periplus and Modura Regia Pandyan by %tolemy$)11* CHER! #$"!ST$ Ch&ra dynasty (C&ra& also called K&rala utra)(Tamil:) is one of the most ancient Tamil dynasties in India& ruling over an area corres'onding to modern/day western Tamil ;adu and central .erala$ Together with the "hIlas and the %>ndyas& they formed the three 'rinci'al warring Iron -ge Tamil kingdoms of southern India in the early centuries of the "hristian #ra$ !y the early centuries of the "hristian #ra& civil society and statehood under the "heras was develo'ed in 'resent day western Tamil ;adu$ The location of the "hera ca'ital is generally assumed to be at modern .arur (identified with the .orura of %tolemy)$ The "hera kingdom later eDtended to the 'lains of .erala 9through the %alghat ga' 9 along the river %erar and occu'ied land between the river %erar and river %eriyar& creating two harbor towns 9 Tondi (Tyndis) and Muciri (Mu1iris) 9 where the Eoman trade settlements flourished$ The "heras were in continuous conflict with neighbouring "holas and %andyas$ Some "hera rules are said to have defeated the combined armies of the %andyas and the "holas and their ally states$ They also made battles with the .adamb>s of !anavasi and the JCavanasJ (the Aesterners) on the Indian coast$ -fter second century -5& the "hera 'ower decayed ra'idly with the decline of the lucrative trade with the Eomans$)1* The Tamil 'oetic collection called Sangam literature describes a long line of "hera rulers dated to first few centuries "#$ It records the names of the kings and the 'rinces& and of the court 'oets who eDtolled them$ The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled& and at 'resent a connected account of the history of the 'eriod cannot be derived$ ?thiyan "heralathan& ;edum "heralathan andSenguttuvan "hera are some of the rulers referred in the Sangam 'oems$ Senguttuvan "hera& the most celebrated "hera king& is famous for the legends surrounding .annagi& the heroine of the Tamil e'ic Silapathikaram$):* The "hera kingdom owed its im'ortance to the trade with the Aest -sia& 0reeks and Eomans$ The geogra'hical advantages& like the abundance of eDotic s'ices& the navigability of the rivers connecting the 0hat mountains with the -rabian sea and the discovery of favourable Monsoon winds which carried sailing shi's directly from the -rabian coast to "hera kingdom& combined to 'roduce a veritable boom in the "hera foreign trade$)1*

The Chera erumals o% 'a((otai ruled from Fth century to 1:th century -5 in modern day .erala$ The %erumal kingdom was a loose federation of local chiefs nominally acknowledging the sovereignty of the "heraman %erumal and su''orting him in defensive wars against the other Tamil 'owers$ It was a !rahmin oligarchy which 'ro''ed u' the %erumal& a member of the old and 'restigious "hera dynasty$ The Chera rulers o% )enadu& based at 'ort Kuilon in southern .erala& traces their relations back to the %erumals of Makkotai$ Eavi (arma .ulasekhara& ruler of (enadu from 1:FF to 1+1<& is known for his ambitious military cam'aigns to former %andya and "hola territories$ )+*