Iatavarman Sundrara Pandya I succeeded Maravarman Sundara Pandya II in 1251 and ruled till 1268. He converted the Pandyan kingdom into the Pandyan Empire which extended from Nellore and Cudappah in the north to the Cape in the south.

The Cholas disappeared from the history of the Tamil country; the Hoysalas retreated to the Mysore highlands; Kingu Nadu became a province of the Pandyan kingdom; Ceylon was conquered and held; and Kerala paid tribute. He then assumed the title Emmandalamum Kondaruliya.

One of the earliest achievements of this monarch was to have conquered the Chera country. He brought the Chola Empire to an end and dislodged the Hoysalas from cannanur. The remaining Hoysalas paid tribute. He besieged Sendamangalam and captured it reducing Kopperunjinga to subordination. He reduced the Banas, defeated and slew the Telugu Choda chieftain Vijayaganda Gopala and captured Kanchi; he defeated the Kakatiya Ganapathi and captured Nellore where he crowned himself.

In fact he was a great conqueror and easily the greatest among the imperial Pandyas. He endowed liberally to the greatest Saiva temple, i.e., at Chidambaram and the greatest Vaishnava temple i.e., at Srirangam. He provided the Nataraja shrine in Chidambaram with gold tiles and constructed the west tower of that temple. He seized a garland of emeralds from Kopperunjinga and presented it to lord Ranganatha. He also endowed Jaina Pallis.

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He installed his son Maravarman Kulasekhara I as his crown prince. Two rulers Jatavarman Virapandya and Jatavarman Vikrama Pandya are mentioned as joint rulers over parts of the Pandyan kingdom. The inscriptions give royal titles to all of them and it is difficult to distinguish their real position.