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Picture: An early silver coin of Uttama Chola found in Sri Lanka showing the Tiger emblem of the cholas

The Chola dynasty  was a Tamil dynasty which was one of the longest-ruling in some parts of southern India. The earliest datable references to the dynasty are in inscriptions from the 3rd century BC left by Asoka, a northern ruler; the dynasty continued to reign over varying territory until the 12th century AD.

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Picture: Coin of Shahi Kings of Kabul & Gandhara : Spalapati Deva , circa 750 AD -900 AD. Obv: Recumbent bull facing left, trishula on bulls rump, Devnagari Legends: Sri Spalapati Deva. Rev: Rider bearing lance on caparisoned horse facing right.

 The Shahi (Devanagari शाही), Sahi, also called Shahiya dynasties was one of the Middle kingdoms of India which ruled portions of the Kabul Valley (in eastern Afghanistan) and the old province of Gandhara (northern Pakistan) from the decline of the Kushan Empire in third century to the early ninth century. The kingdom was known as Kabul-shahan or Ratbel-shahan from (565 – 670 CE) when the capitals were located in Kapisa and Kabul, and later Udabhandapura (also known as Hund) for its new capital.

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The Gurjara Pratihara Empire (Hindi गुर्जर प्रतिहार Gurjara Pratihâra), also known as Gurjar Parihars, formed an Indian dynasty that ruled much of Northern India from the 6th to the 11th centuries. At its peak of prosperity and power (c. 836–910), it rivaled the Gupta Empire in the extent of its territory.

Picture: Varaha (the boar-headed Vishnu avatar), on a Pratihara coin. 850-900 CE. British Museum

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The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This dynasty is sometimes called the Kalyani Chalukya after its regal capital at Kalyani, today’s Basavakalyan in Karnataka and alternatively the Later Chalukya from its theoretical relationship to the sixth century Chalukya dynasty of Badami.

The dynasty is called Western Chalukyas to differentiate from the contemporaneous Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, a separate dynasty. Prior to the rise of these Chalukyas, the Rashtrakuta empire of Manyakheta controlled most of deccan and central India for over two centuries.

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