Trade And Diplomacy In South India (800 – 1200 AD)
Maritime Activities
A distinction was made between merchants operating locally (swadeshi) and internationally (nanadeshi). The merchants had their own settlements (nagara) with autonomous institutions of local government. The great ports (pattinam) also had their guilds and autonomous institutions, but they were much more under the control of royal officers.
The great guilds operating in several countries (i.e., nanadeshi) had emerged as an important power factor in south Indian polity as early as the Pallava period. They not only financed local development projects and the construction of temples, but also lent money to the kings. Thus, the rulers did their best to accommodate the guilds because of the benefit which they derived from their trade.
Among the most powerful guilds were the Ayyavole and the Manigramam. The name Ayyavole was derived from Aihole, and it dominated the trade of the Deccan, whereas the Manigramam was based in Tamil Nadu. The influence of the Ayyavole extended to West Asia, while the Manigramam concentrated on trade with South East Asia.
The imperial Cholas tried to enhance their maritime strength by gaining control over all strategically important coastlines. They captured the southwest coast of India and almost the entire Indian east coast up to the mouth of the Ganges. They also seized the Maldives, Sri Lanka and the Andamans. In keeping with this line of policy, they finally took on Sri Vijaya.
All these military activities can be properly understood if we keep in mind the fact that there was increasing competition for trade and trade routes at that time. The Cholas and the South East Asian rulers in particular vied with each other for shares of the market. In 1025, Rajendra I sent his fleet on the famous expedition to Sumatra and Malaya where his army defeated the mighty Sri Vijaya empire and all its tributary princes. The exact reasons for this Chola expedition against Sri Vijaya seem to be more commercial than political. Through these campaigns, the Bay of Bengal virtually became a “Chola Lake”.
Diplomatic Achievements
The expanding maritime activities had a close relationship with the increased diplomatic activity at that time. The South-East Asian states were eager to have good relations with the Cholas as with the emperor of China. Around 1005 the Sailendra king of Sri Vuava endowed a Buddhist monastery at Nagapattinam for which Rajaraja-l provided woman grants. Cambodia also established diplomatic relations with the Cholas in 1012
In 1015 and 1033 Rajendra-I had sent diplomatic missions to China and the Chinese emperor recognised the Chola kingdom as one of the great tributary states, which was a mark of distinction in Chinese eyes. In 1077 the Chola ruler, Kulottunga I, dispatched a mission of 72 merchants to China. In 1089, the ruler of Sri Vijaya sent two ambassadors to the Chola court and Kulottunga reciprocated by reconfirming the donations made to the monastery at Nagapattinam. Suryavarman II, the king of Angkor, and the builder of Angkor Vat, sent a precious jewel to Kulottunga who donated it to the temple of Chidambaram in 1114. All these pieces of information show that the Chola reign was a period of great diplomatic activity which must have enabled the great merchant guilds of south India to prosper in their trading pursuits,