Rajendra I

Rajendra I (b. n.d. ; d. 1044) was king of the medieval-era Chola Empire in southern India from 1012 to 1044 CE. He was the son and successor of Rajaraja I, alongside whom he ruled as regent from 1012 to 1014, before ascending to the throne. He maintained his father’s policy of territorial expansion, launching campaigns in the Deccan against the Western and Eastern Chalukyas, and consolidating power in the Pandya and Chera territories in the south. He also exerted control over eastern India for a brief period, after sending military expeditions to parts of present-day Odisha and Bengal. Outside the subcontinent, he completed his father’s conquest of the northern part of present-day Sri Lanka and launched a military campaign against the kingdom of Shrivijaya, which ruled over the Malay peninsula and parts of present-day Indonesia. In 1018, he appointed his son Rajadhiraja I as regent, who went on to become king in 1044 after his death.