Chera dynasty

Chera Kingdom
Monarchy
c. 3rd century BCE–12th century CE (1124)
Extent of Chera kingdom
Capital		Mahodayapuram Quilon Karuvur
Languages		Sanskrit Malayalam Tamil
Religion		Hinduism: Shaivism, Vaishnavism Jainism, Buddhism minority: Christianity, Judaism, Islam
Political structure		Monarchy
History
•	Established	c. 3rd century BCE
•	Disestablished	12th century CE (1124)
Succeeded by Samoothiris
Today part of		India

The Cheras were an ancient Dravidian dynasty of Tamil origin, who ruled parts of the present-day states of Tamil Nadu (Kongu Nadu) and Kerala in India. Together with the Chola and the Pandyas, they formed the three principal warring Iron Age kingdoms of South India, known as Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam.

By the early centuries of the Common Era, civil society and statehood under the Cheras were developed in present-day western Tamil Nadu. The location of the Chera capital is generally assumed to be at modern Karur (identified with the Korura of Ptolemy). The Chera kingdom later extended to the plains of Kerala, the Palghat gap, along the river Bharathappuzha and occupied land between the river Bharathappuzha and river Periyar, creating two harbour towns, Tondi (Tyndis) and Muciri (Muziris), where the Roman trade settlements flourished.

The Cheras were in continuous conflict with the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. The Cheras are said to have defeated the combined armies of the Pandyas and the Cholas and their ally states. They also made battles with the Kadambās of Banavasi and the Yavanas (the Greeks) on the Indian coast. After the 2nd century CE, the Cheras' power decayed rapidly with the decline of the lucrative trade with the Romans.

Sangam literature describes a long line of Chera rulers dated to the first few centuries CE. It records the names of the kings, the princes, and the court poets who extolled them. The internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled, and at present a connected account of the history of the period cannot be derived. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan Chera are some of the rulers referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan Chera, the most celebrated Chera king, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the heroine of the Tamil epic Silapathikaram.