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Thanjavur

Type Object Region South Asia Time c. 850

Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu's Kaveri delta was the Chola Empire's later political and religious capital, famed for the Brihadeeswarar Temple.

Timeline

  1. c. 850–985Thanjavur · Tamil NaduThanjavur sits in the fertile Kaveri delta and was already a regional agricultural and religious center before the rise of the Chola dynasty; after Rajaraja I took the throne he gradually elevated it to the heart of the empire.
  2. c. 985–1010Thanjavur · Tamil NaduRajaraja I made Thanjavur his capital and built the Brihadeeswarar Temple, making the city the political, religious, and economic hub of the Chola Empire.
  3. c. 1011–1020Thanjavur · Tamil NaduIn the 1010s, after Rajendra I's accession, Thanjavur reached its peak as the Chola capital, with court, temples, and merchant communities jointly sustaining the empire and Indian Ocean trade networks.
  4. c. 1100Thanjavur · Tamil NaduAfter the Chola Empire declined, Thanjavur remained an important South Indian city, renowned for its Chola-period temple complexes and Tamil cultural traditions, and is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Sources