Southernized World

The death of Virajendra Chola in 1070 AD, and the assassination of his son Athirajendra Chola in the same year, was a turning point in South Indian history, causing the then-rapidly-growing empire to see a quick demise under the reign of later "Chalukya-Chola" kings, allowing the less militaristic Pandya dynasty to take over, which ultimately fell to the Sultanates of the North, ushering in the Indian Middle Ages into the South.

Point of Divergence
Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India: 1070 AD.

Athirajendra Chola of Classical Age India's Chola Empire survives an assassination attempt and succeeds in quelling the unrest within his empire. Determined to prove himself a ruler as great as his predecessors and return honor to the Chola throne after the short rule of his father, Athirajendra begins a series of extensive development projects within Chola territories. In particular, he invests heavily in the province of Sri Lanka to secure Chola rule in the region, making it the most prosperous region of the Chola empire, and possibly the world.

The prosperity of Lanka attracts massive amounts of Tamil settlers into the region, increasing its population and economic importance to the Chola empire.

While Athirajendra Chola would go down as the greatest Chola emperor since Rajendra Chola I, his reign was not without unrest. The rapid Tamil settlement of Sri Lanka was initially met with uproar from the native Sinhala communities. The rebellion from the Shudra community in Southern Tamilakam ended in bloodshed and significant damage to agricultural property. The Chola people are quickly developing the reputation of having a rebellious streak.

Meanwhile, the story of the attempted assassination makes Athirajendra Chola a continent-wide legend, and a combination of several factors results in an interest in non-mainstream religions. The respect for Athirajendra Chola and his assassination, alongside the rebellion and bloodshed in parts of the Chola empire causes people – especially kings – to grow a fear of a a violent populace. The low-caste rebellions across the empire also ignite feelings of disdain against the classical Hindu varna system – together, this results in a rise in interest in Buddhism not only in the North (where it is already prevalent) but also in the Peninsula.

The First Chola Empire
After Athirajendra's death in 1099 AD, his son, Vijayarajendra Chola, inherits the throne. Unlike his relatively pacifistic father, Virajendra Chola embarks on the mission of expanding Chola influence and territories within the Indian subcontinent. It is under his rule that South Indian dynasties expand beyond the backyard of Tamilakam for the first time. He defeats the small Hoysala kingdom and the Kadamba dynasties of Hangal, Nagarkhanda, and Goa, using their small armies to launch a surprise attack on the important coastal areas of the Western Chalukya empire, rendering them toothless against a direct Chola invasion from the South-East.

With their victory against the Chalukyas, the Cholas intimidated the former Chalukya neighbours of Garha-Mandla and the Ratanpur Kalachuris into submission, turning them into Chola puppet states and unifying almost all of Peninsular India for the first time.

While the people of the newly acquired territories are satisfied with Chola rule, resentments are growing within the Chola heartland, who see Vijayarajendra's actions as mindless expansionism at their expense, and several revolts rise. A Sinhala secessionist movement arises in Sri Lanka now that Sinhalas are a minority in their native land, forcing the Cholas to crush it with military might.

The most important of these rebellions is a rebellion by feudal barons centered in Lanka, who are outragedby the increased taxation and lowered concern about legal protection in order to support the Northern wars. They find themselves an unlikely ally: the rapidy-expanding sect of Strotra Buddhism (which emphasises on scriptures) and also Tatva Buddhism (which emphasises the principle of non-violence), specifically which finds itself opposed to the Cholas' spread of Prayoga Buddhism (which argues that some amount of violence is necessary to maintain authority, and that religion is a more private matter, and only one facet of morality) into Lankan (and Chalukya) territories, and outraged that their taxes are being used to spread religious beliefs they do not endorse.

In order to quell the rebellions, the unpopular king is forced to sign a charter known as the Periya Cācaṉam ("Great Charter", short for Cutantiram perum cācaṉam, "Great Charter of Liberties"), promising some religious freedoms, limited taxation and judicial reforms. The Periya Cācaṉam does not ultimately end up effective, however, as Vijayarajendra's descendants do not abide by its limitations.

Decline
The period of Chola peace and expanse does not last. Vijayaraja's grandson, Athirajendra Chola II, ascends the throne in 1129 AD. He is an ambitious ruler who dreams of unifying the entire Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia, and he believes it to be essential to first conquer the fertile plains of the Pala Empire.

The Palas, however, have militarily strengthened in anticipation of a Chola invasion, successfully crushing the Sena and Varman rebellions in Bengal. The Cholas underestimate the strength of the Palas and send insufficient supplies to their troops, expecting a quick victory against the Eastern Indian empire.

While most Chola troops are busy fighting the war in the North-East, the Pandya dynasty re-emerges in the far South, acquiring large parts of the original Chola heartland in OTL Tamil Nadu and cutting off the prosperous region of Lanka from the mainland empire via land. This obstructs the passage of supplies into the war in the North-East, causing the Cholas to lose significant territories to the Palas.

The Cholas attempt to re-capture the Pandyan territories -- however, their troops are exhausted and undernourished, and many of their soldiers defect to the enemy's side due to ancestral ties with the Pandyans, causing the Cholas to lose even more territory to the West of the Cardamom Hills.

On the other hand, the Palas sack the former Chola regions they've acquired, using the resources to absorb the kingdoms to their West.

While the Cholas and Pandyas continue to war, the Chola puppet states, including the historically loyal Vengi (Eastern Chalukyas), unexpectedly unite to declare their independence from the Cholas. Angered by the perpetual war, rebellions break out throughout the empire, and Athirajendra II is assassinated in 1137 AD -- despite the throne's support for it, this state of violence marks the victory of the principles of Prayoga Buddhism in terms of its influence on the other sects. As the king had no sons, his seventeen-year old daughter, Jayarani Chola, ascends the throne but her lack of experience causes tensions among the military generals, and the Cholas lose key territories, including important Eastern ports to the Pandyas.

The alliance of the Chola puppet states was weak, however, and they break out in war among themselves when the Ganga king doubts the loyalty of the Vengis, who were historically submissive to the Chola emperors, and the kingdoms take sides. However, Jayarani's risk aversion prevents the Cholas from taking advantage of the situation, and the Palas fill in the vacuum, conquering the warring kingdoms. Meanwhile, the Solanki kingdom attacks the Chalukyas of Lata, now defenseleess without Chola protection.

The Cholas are now at the risk of losing their entire Eastern coastline, cutting off their shortest naval access to Lanka and the South-East Asian territories. At this point, even though the Pala empire might be larger and more powerful than the Pandyas, the Pandyas are still the bigger threat to Chola control over the coastline, as the Palas only control a thin region along the coast, which can be conquered relatively easily by the Cholas.

Recognising the Palas as an easier target, her advisors encourage the queen to attack the Palas in their southern outgrowth into Chola territory (i.e. at the Northern end of Vengi) to cut off the region from the rest of Pala, making it easy to conquer, thereby re-establishing Chola control over the Andhra coast.

Instead, Jayarani orders a conventional attack from the South. The Palas send nearly all of their military into the region, farsightedly risking the rest of their territory as they hope to end Chola control over the coastline, therefore weakening them until the Palas can acquire all of Chola territory. Indeed, the Cholas are defeated badly, and are forced to cede nearly half the coastline to the Palas, but are able to capture large unguarded Pala regions elsewhere. Recognising the instability back in India, the South-East Asian colonies rebel against Chola rule, and the Cholas withdraw entirely from the region.

Beginnings
Recap: the Indian sub-continent's geography is defined by three empires wrestling for dominance: the Cholas, the Pandyas, and the Palas. Although the Chola dynasty is the most economically powerful, it is falling, and its survival rests on its control over the single tiny port of Maadras (short for Maadarasanpattanam, OTL Chennai) which connects its mainland empire to the prosperous and densely populated Tamil settlement of Tamiḻtīvu (OTL Sri Lanka). Buddhism is the prevalent religion across the continent, although it's quite divorced from its original -- perhaps not too pragmatic -- principles. The Brahmin community continues to hold on to various ancient Hindu sects (which are increasingly being seen as similar -- much like in OTL, but for different reasons) leading to their persecution.

The once-mighty Chola Empire is crumbling in the wake of the Second Chola-Pala war, and its queen of three years, Jayarani Chola, is blamed for its fall. Amidst the growing resentments, an old war hero returns to public light. Retired military general Kavi Alupendra, born in what is now the Pandyan territory of Tulu nadu, had lead the Cholas to victory against the Chalukyas. Popular among the masses and within the military, he stages a coup and overthrows Jayarani, sending her into exile and establishing himself as king.

Kavi recognises that the future of the Cholas rests in Tamiltivu and its trade with India through the port of Maadras, as the Indian wars are a drain on their economy. He moves the capital to Kolamba (OTL Colombo, Sri Lanka) and withdraws as many military troups as possible from all over continental India, concentrating them in Tamiltivu and Maadras

The Palas are too slow to capture the low-hanging fruit, as their military is concentrated on the Andhra coast after their battle with the Cholas, and the Pandyas quickly and peacefully capture much of the territory left by the Cholas, becoming the dominant power within India.

During the next few decades, the map of South Asia sees several changes as most of the subcontinent is unified under two dynasties: the Pandyas and the Palas, as the Cholas are confined primarily to Tamiltivu.

The Cholas adopt Strotra Buddhism as their official religion, which emphasises reading the scripture, and their society sees several changes, such as increasing literacy and scientific advancement. They have also been experiencing large amounts of immigration from the rest of the subcontinent, slowly changing their language and culture to the extent that it can be observed to be quite distinct from the Tamil of the Pandyas. Their navy is the most advanced in the world, but their soldiers are few, and the Cholas are under the constant threat of being conquered by the Pandyas. After all, no two Tamil empires have co-existed for long.

To their fortune, however, in the late 1190s, the Pandya empire is on the verge of crumbling, and they cannot afford an invasion of Chola. Their finances have been bankrupted from supporting the Chauhans in their successful wars against the Ghurid Empire. The Northern provinces, in particular, feel culturally dis-united from the Southern rulers, and by 1200, the Pandyas have been confined to the Eastern part of Tamilakam, with several kingdoms, including the Cheras, ruling the rest of the peninsula.

However, the Pandyas' legacy cannot be ignored. The Chauhan victory against the Ghaznavids would not have been possible without the financial support of the Pandyas, and ended Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent. Even though their empire collapsed, they created cultural unity between South and Central India that had been unheard of since the Mauryan Empire. The independence movements from the Pandya Empire were also largely based on linguistic lines, and the borders of India would be perturbations on these for years to come.

The Pala emperor has adopted pacifist means like Ashoka once had. Under his reign, the Pandas spread the products of modern civilisation to the North-Eastern and Himalayan lands, integrating them into the Indian environment. However, his pacifism has lead to several secessionist movements succeeding within the empire, and his popularity is declining.

With several playwrights and writers bemoaning the North's backwardness relative to Southern India (even Pala is being dominated by the South, causing many in Bengal to feel like colonies), Gahadavala and Chauhan are undergoing a renaissance: renaissance scholars in Gahadavala believe that Gahadavala's downfall is a result of the loss of Maurya-Gupta culture, and seek to reinstate it. At the same time, the movement extols femininity and the supposed virtues it associates with it. Renaissance ideals spread to the rest of Northern India, reaching as far as Gujarat.

Over the next several decades, the two kingdoms of Gujarat (the Northern "Dwaraka kingdom" and the Southern "Surat kingdom") develop powerful navies rivalling that of the Cholas, and trade extensively with the Arabs and South-East Asians. Meanwhile, the Himalayans and North-Easterners unite under the banner of the Ahom kingdom.

The Chauhans suffer a major defeat at the hands of the Mongol Empire, and are forced to retreat from Persia even after the independence of the Ilkhanates from the Mongols. On the other hand, the Ahoms expand Eastward, unifying much of Mainland South-East Asia.

Continued squirmishes with the Mongols result in the Chauhans ultimately being vanquished in 1265, and the Mongols make inroads into India to the terror of Indian kingdoms. However, the Mongol forces are occupied in the conquest of China, which they believe would be easier to keep, and temporarily cease their expansion into India. By the 1290s, the Mongol Empire has split into five Khanates:
 * the Golden Horde in Europe
 * the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia
 * the Ilkhanate in the Middle-East
 * the Yuan Dynasty in China
 * the Ambaghai Dynasty in India, headed by one of Genghis's youngest sons, Ambaghai.

The Ambaghais adopt Islam as the state religion, and re-brand several Chauhan/Rajput achievements as their own, conquering many key territories in India.

The Ambighais have a significant effect on the Gujarati kingdoms, and some of the Western regions are Islamised, although the recently conquered eastern territories resist.

The Ambighais continue their expansion Southwards, but are not able to conquer too much of the kingdom of Ghadvala, who force them into a peace treaty by threatening to close dams and end water supply to Bihar.

While the Ambighais bring unprecedented poverty to India, they also cause a curious case of cultural interaction -- while they attempt to spread Islam to their territories as well as neighbours, the Hinduism of Gujarat (the Dwaraka and Surat kingdoms) and Ghadvala have a stronger influence on their Islam within India.

The Ambighais are an authoritarian and anti-Brahmanic empire, and expel the Brahmins from their empire with the option of converting to Islam. Anti-Brahmanism begins to spread further in Northern India.

Meanwhile, Surat and Dwaraka are colonising South-East Asia.

The next few decades are somewhat axial, while simultaneously being mostly humdrum on their own: the Pala Empire, which has been declining in prosperity for a while, finally collapses, leaving a series of kingdoms in its wake. Meanwhile, the Cholas have been strengthening economically and militarily while their competing Pandyas struggle to stay intact. Gujarati settlers from Dwaraka and Surat are settling South-East Asia in droves. Meanwhile, anti-Brahmanism is on the rise -- even the Cholas have expelled Brahmins from their kingdom, and Pandya and Ghadvala are the most tolerant of the community.

Pala remains I-V and VI-IX remain roughly aligned militarily with one another in order to resist Ambighai invasion. In fact, the states are subjugate to Bengal to the extent that they can be considered politically unified into a mere single entity.

Age of Exploration, Enlightenment
Then in 1389, under the leadership of an explorer from a North-Western city-state by the name of Arjuna Phenduki, in an effort to trade with Europe without being intercepted by the Ambighais, a Dwarakan voyage discovers Papua Island. The existence of Australia is soon confirmed, and the Cholas seek the new world through mercantilism, eager to grab a piece of it and return to regional significance.

By 1422, here's the state of the Indian world:


 * The North and the former Pala states have become rather unprosperous and perhaps even unstable, with the South far more prosperous.
 * The Gujarati kingdoms remain the dominant naval powers and off-Indian empires, but the Cholas and even Marathas are more prosperous.
 * South-East Asia has seen drastic demographic changes, with its population now over one-third Indian, and intermarriages slowly becoming more common.
 * With increased Indian interaction with Africa, Surat has began a Ratnakaarika (Indian Ocean-ic) slave trade to support Indian agriculture.
 * Australia (Arjuna) is being divided up by powerful Indian empires, returning the Cholas back into the continental spotlight.

Arjuna's borders are violatile, particularly with respect to the positition of the Marathas, but the general placement of Chola's and Dwaraka's territories are more or less as shown.

Meanwhile in Peninsular India, an intellectual movement is beginning which will later be known as the Jnaanodaya (Enlightenment). It started with a flurry in scientific advances throughout the peninsula, but particularly in Chola, Pandya, Maratha and the Southern city-states. This was followed by a philosophical movement fundamentally opposed to religious authority. The Chola Enlightenment was particularly radical, advocating for reason and science, individual liberty and political democratisation.

Various governments had differing approaches to the Enlightenment. The movement was brutally suppressed in Dwaraka and Surat, and also opposed by the government in Maratha and several of the un-prosperous (i.e. except Madhavuru) coastal city-states. The Cholas ignored the Enlightenment, while the Pandyan Enlightenment was authoritarian in itself, and therefore ended up in good books with the government.

Over the next few decades, Chola saw a series of conflicts between establishment royalists and parlimentarians, ultimately resulting in parlimentarian victories and the watering down of the power of the monarchy.

The Marathas, who had captured Gondwana (with whom the other Pala states had broke ties due to the perception of being a liability) and large territories from the Ambighais while the latter were occupied conquering Kashmir from the Ahoms, who were in turn occupied capturing Northern Vietnam, now face tribal rebellion in the North-East. The tribes eventually ally themselves and receive support from the Ambighais (who don't want a powerful enemy state threatening to partition their territory into two), and by 1450, a new state has formed in the Deccan. Taking advantage of the Marathas' instability, Andhra conquers the Maratha East Coast, and some southern regions of the kingdom declare independence. The Marathas also lose their territory in Papua.

Meanwhile, the Ambighais lose power through wars with the Timurid empire in the West. Dwaraka, energised by the wealth acquired in South-East Asia and Australia, conquer large territories from the Ambighais, freeing most of the Sindh and Rajasthan regions. However, the Ambighais remain allied with the Gondowana.

The Cholas re-admit the Brahmins. Having been an immigration destination in India for a while, Chola culture has changed significantly. Notably, the government has adopted a form of the Devanagari as the official script for their Sanskritised Tamil language.

The naval powers -- Dwaraka, Surat, Madhavuru, Chola and to some extent Kasara -- are able to finance trade expeditions to Europe, and the Europeans never discover the Americas, as opposed to in OTL.

The Third Chola Empire, The Allied States of Arjuna
In 1500, the Enlightenment is in full swing, and the next century and a half is an era of major political and economic changes, perhaps the most important century in human history. Highlighted below:

A great world war breaks out between these Indian colonial powers around 1660-1670.
 * Feudalism and to an extent mercentalism come to an end in Southern and Western India.
 * Economic reforms in Chola leads to the first Industrial Revolution, which is transmitted also to Chola territory in Australia.
 * The Cholas become the world's largest slave traders.
 * Several Chola territories in Australia rebel against the Chola throne, and the Arjuna Sanyuktha Adkaralu (ASA, "Allied States of Arjuna") are founded in 1526, the first democracy/republic in almost two milennnia.
 * An Enlightenment-inspired revolution happens in Maratha, but screws up.
 * Governments in South/Western India gradually adopt some Enlightenment-liberal economic reforms to avoid a violent uprising. Northern lands remain much slower to do so.
 * With their newfound wealth, naval powers compete for power over Europe. The Cholas win, colonising most of Europe and leaving them the ultimate naval power.
 * Dwaraka and Surat, which refuse to exercise liberal reforms, lose control over South-East Asia.
 * The Second Industrial Revolution kicks in in the ASA, which has been expanding across the Australian continent.
 * An Ahom expedition discovers the Americas, and later Antarctica. However, the Ahoms are not powerful enough to secure control over the vast continents, and they fall into the control of several other powers.
 * Slavery is gradually abolished across the Indosphere. However, the world is under Indian colonialism.
 * Pandyanadu -- or Tamilakam, as they simply call themselves -- expands Westwards, capturing several Tamil city-states. Many other city-states in the region
 * The ASA are now the world's largest and most prosperous economy, followed by Chola. The old world -- specifically the old Indian continent -- is viewed here (and to some extent in Chola) with disdain and as a symbol of authoritarianism.

Table of analogies (ATL: OTL)
Timeline -- about 250 years earlier (t: t + 250)

Primary regions Regions Some ancient Governments Races, ethnicities, religions and people Events
 * Australia: America
 * India: Europe
 * New Zealand: Canada
 * Mainland South-East Asia: Siberia
 * Maritime South-East Asia: South America
 * West Papua: Cuba
 * East Papua: Mexico
 * Polynesia: Eastern Carribean
 * Europe: India
 * North America: Australia
 * South America: Maritime South-East Asia
 * Elam: Israel
 * Pakistan: Turkey
 * Kashmir: Caucasus (POK part: Armenia, Jammu and Ladakh: Georgia, Kashmir: Azerbeijan)
 * Tamiltivu: British Isles (Ireland is the hill region)
 * Tamilakam: Germany
 * Malabar: Nordic area -- [ATL North to South]
 * Uttaratata: Belgium
 * Madhavuru/Udupi: Netherlands
 * Kasara (Mangalore): Denmark
 * Kozhikode: Sweden
 * Erna: Norway
 * Tiruvankod: Finland
 * Karnataka (Mysore region plus parts of North Karnataka): Switzerland
 * Maratha: France
 * Dwaraka, Surat: Spain, Portugal
 * Rajasthan and Punjab, Ghadvala (UP): Northern Italy, Southern Italy
 * Magadha (Bihar): Greece
 * West Bengal (Southern): Poland etc.
 * West Bengal (Northern): Baltic nations
 * Bangladesh and the rest of Ahom: Russia
 * Gondwana (Madhya Pradesh): Balkans
 * Northern Odisha: Ukraine
 * Southern Odisha: Belaurus
 * Telangana: Austria
 * Vidarbha: Hungary
 * Andhra: Czechia
 * Rayalaseema: Slovakia
 * ASA: USA
 * Pandya: Prussia
 * Chola: UK
 * Ambighai: Ottoman
 * Buddhism: Christianity
 * Strotraboudha: Protestantism
 * Tatvaboudha: Catholicism
 * Brahmins: Jews
 * White and coloured: Thin and muscled
 * Arjuna Phenduki: Christopher Columbus
 * Periya Cācaṉam: Magna Carta
 * Jnyaanodaya: Enlightenment
 * Kashmiri genocide: Armenian genocide
 * Magadhan genocide: Greek genocide