Short essay on the Medieval Kingdoms of the South

The Pallavas:

The Pallavas in the south came into power after the fall of th^e Andhras. They established their independent kingdoms in the third century AD on the ruins of the Andhras.

There were three branches of the Pallavas who ruled from different capitals such as BadH (Vatapi), Vengi and Kanchi. Singhvishnu was the real founder of Pallavas of Kanchi. He defeated the rulers of Chera, Chola Pandya Kingdoms. Mahendravarman succeeded him in 600 AD n was a great builder. He ruled from 600 AD to 625 AD. He succeeded by Narsimhavarman in 625 AD and he ruled upto 64bJ| The Chalukyas annexed Pallavas territories and their kingdoms to an end in 895 AD.

The Chalukyas:

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Another important and famous dynasty which ruled Deccan was that of Chalukyas. There were three branches of the Chalukyas rulers who ruled from three different periods.

Chalukya (Badami):

Jai Singh was the founder of this dynasty. The real founder of this dynasty was Pulakesin I who ruled from 543 to 567 AD. He wrested this Kingdom from the Pallavas. The other powerful ruler of this dynasty was Pulakesin II. He ruled from 608 AD to 642 AD. The last ruler of this dynasty was Kirtivarman II. Chalukya (Badami) ruled from 535 AD to 743 AD.

Chalukya (Kalyani):

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After 743 AD, Chalukya became feudatories of Rashtrakutas. In 973 AD, their chief Tailpa II annexed the kingdom from Rashtrakutas and established his independent kingdom of his own. In 1190 AD, the end came to this dynasty.

Chalukya (Vengi)-Vishnuvardhana founded the Chalukya dynasty of vengi. Vengi was its capital. Vijayaditya III was the ablest king of this dynasty.

The Cholas:

The kingdom of the Cholas included Madras, many other districts of Modem Tamil Nadu. The founder of this dynasty was Vijayalya who ruled from 850 AD to 875 AD. He captured Tanjore from the Pallavas. He fought successful wars against the Pandyas and the king of Cylone. Raja Raja I was the first famous king of this dynasty who ruled from 985 AD to 1014 AD. He maintained a strong navy to defend his territories on the coasts. He was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola (Rajendra I). He defeated the Pala ruler Mahipala of Bengal and conquered Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Malayalam Peninsula. He ruled from 1014 AD to 1044 AD. Rajendra III was the last ruler of this dynasty. This dynasty came to an end in 1279 AD.