← Explore on the interactive map
Chola Naval Galleys
Oared warships and dual-purpose merchant-warship types used by the Chola Empire in the 9th-13th centuries, known for multi-oared longships, high side…
Timeline
- 1014–1044Nagapattinam · Tamil NaduRajendra I organized a large oared fleet for expeditions to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia; the warships could carry infantry and fire-attack devices, forming a Chola maritime power system combining commerce and warfare.
- 1051–1060Bay of Bengal · Bay of BengalIn the 1050s the Chola navy maintained oared warship patrols in the Bay of Bengal, protecting ports such as Nagapattinam and the Sri Lanka route, and contesting coastal sea control with local powers, providing transport and fire support for subsequent military operations against Sri Lanka.
- 1150–1279Coromandel Coast · Tamil NaduIn the 12th-13th centuries the Chola navy shrank with the empire's fiscal and political decline; oared warships were still used for coastal defense and trade escort, but could no longer match the splendor of the early expeditionary era.
Sources
- The Colas — K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (1955)
- Trade and Politics on the Coromandel Coast: Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries — S. Arasaratnam (1986)