Chola Empire · 985-1044

The Cholas: sea kings of southern India

From the Kaveri delta, Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I built an empire that reached Sri Lanka, the Ganges and, by sea, the ports of Srivijaya. Students explore their giant temples, bronze art and fleets.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1000 to AD 1020
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

From the Kaveri delta, Rajaraja I and his son Rajendra I built an empire that reached Sri Lanka, the Ganges and, by sea, the ports of Srivijaya. Students explore their giant temples, bronze art and fleets.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the Chola Empire and its sea routes on the map.
  • Explain how Rajaraja I and Rajendra I built a land and sea empire.
  • Describe Chola achievements in temples, bronze art and village government.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1000

Tamil heartland

Open the map in 1000 and zoom in on the Kaveri River delta in southern India. Why would a rich river delta support a powerful kingdom?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1025

Across the Bay of Bengal

Turn on Trade Routes. Follow the sea route from southern India east to the Strait of Malacca. In 1025 a Chola fleet sailed this way. Why would a king send a fleet so far?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1020

To the Ganges

Around 1020 Rajendra I sent an army north to the Ganges. Follow the east coast of India north from the Kaveri. Which great rivers would the army have to cross?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why would a kingdom on a river delta look to the sea?
  2. The Cholas raided Srivijaya and sent envoys to Song China. Was trade or conquest their main aim?
  3. Some Chola village assemblies chose members by drawing names from a pot. Why might drawing lots be fair?
  4. Chola bronze statues of Shiva as Nataraja, the lord of dance, are famous worldwide. What makes art survive and travel?
  5. How might people in Sri Lanka and Sumatra remember the Chola raids?
4

Game round

10 min

Rule History has no Chola king, so play Genghis Khan, the empire-builder closest in time. Let students take turns ruling. Then compare: what did a land empire on the steppe need, and what did a sea empire like the Cholas need?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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