New Kings And Kingdoms

The 'agricultural life' of Chola period was very prosperous. River Kaveri flowing frequently, disposed fertile soil on the fields. In many areas two crops were grown in a year. In many areas crops were watered artificially and a variety of methods were used for irrigation.

Chahamanas later came to be known as the Chauhan Rajputs, ruled over the region around Delhi and Ajmer. They made attempts to expand their control to the west and the east, where they were opposed by the Chalukyas of Gujarat and Gahadavalas of western Uttar Pradesh. Prithviraja III was the best known Chahamana ruler. He defeated Sultan Muhammad Ghori, an Afghan ruler, in the first battle of Tarain in 1191 but was defeated by the Afghan ruler, the very next year in the second battle of Tarain in 1192.

Chola rulers were active patrons of art. Chola temples were centre of craft production. Amongst the arts associated with temples, the making of bronze images was the most distinctive. The beautiful Nataraja figure was first conceived during the Chola empire. Chola bronze images are considered amongst the finest in the world. While most images made by the craftsmen were of deities, sometimes images of devotees were also made by them. Chola craftsmen created large bronze images to be carried outside the temple to participate in daily rituals, processions and temple festivals.