Rajaraja Chola I

Who was Rajaraja Chola I?

Raja Raja Chozhan I, born Arunmozhi Thevar, popularly known as Raja Raja the Great, is one of the greatest emperors of India who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE. He goes down in history as the harbinger of the Chola glory. It was during his reign that the Chola Dynasty started to emerge as a great Empire. By conquering several kingdoms in India, he expanded the Chola Empire as far as Sri Lanka in the south, and Kalinga in the northeast. Raja Raja Chola was one of the greatest sovereigns of South India, a valiant conqueror and empire builder, an able administrator, a patron of arts and letters and a great builder.

He fought many battles with the Western Chalukya Empire to the north and the Pandyan Dynasty to the south. By conquering Vengi, Rajaraja laid the foundation for the Later Chola dynasty. He launched several naval campaigns that resulted in the capture of Sri Lanka, Maldives and the Malabar Coast.