Raja Raja Chola I, who came to power in 985 CE, built the Chola empire into the dominant force across South Asia and into Southeast Asia over a reign of nearly three decades. His copper massa coinage circulated through a trade network that stretched from the Malabar coast to Sri Lanka, which he conquered militarily around 993 CE, and eventually into the Maldives and parts of the Malay Peninsula.
Mitchiner's Eastern and Arabian catalogue reference EA#738 places this issue within a broader classificatory framework, though attribution of individual Chola copper types remains contested among specialists due to overlapping dynasties using similar iconographic conventions.
Raja Raja Chola I, who came to power in 985 CE, built the Chola empire into the dominant force across South Asia and into Southeast Asia over a reign of nearly three decades. His copper massa coinage circulated through a trade network that stretched from the Malabar coast to Sri Lanka, which he conquered militarily around 993 CE, and eventually into the Maldives and parts of the Malay Peninsula.
Mitchiner's Eastern and Arabian catalogue reference EA#738 places this issue within a broader classificatory framework, though attribution of individual Chola copper types remains contested among specialists due to overlapping dynasties using similar iconographic conventions.