The administrative system of the imperial Cholas of South India (about 9th to 13th centuries CE), noted especially for its developed system of village self-government described in inscriptions at Uttaramerur.
- Major rulers: Rajaraja I (built the Brihadeshwara or Rajarajeshwara temple at Thanjavur) and his son Rajendra I (who led a naval expedition to Southeast Asia and reached the Ganga, taking the title Gangaikonda Chola).
- The empire was divided into mandalams (provinces), then nadus and villages; the king was at the apex of a well-organised revenue and military system.
- Village assemblies provided local self-government: the ur (general assembly of an ordinary village), the sabha or mahasabha (assembly of a Brahmin or agrahara village), and the nagaram (assembly of merchants).
- The Uttaramerur inscriptions (of Parantaka I) describe the kudavolai system, in which members of village committees (variyams) were chosen by drawing lots, with qualifications and disqualifications laid down.
- The Cholas built grand Dravidian temples and were great patrons of bronze sculpture, notably the Nataraja (dancing Shiva) images.
The Uttaramerur inscriptions and the kudavolai (lot) system, the ur-sabha-nagaram distinction, the Brihadeshwara temple, and Rajendra's naval expedition are heavily tested Chola facts.
The ur (ordinary village assembly) versus the sabha (Brahmin village assembly) versus the nagaram (merchant assembly); the Uttaramerur inscriptions describe the sabha's working specifically.
Cholas' developed village self-government (ur, sabha, nagaram) with the Uttaramerur kudavolai lot system; Brihadeshwara temple and Chola bronzes.