The South Indian Chola kings had developed a sophisticated maritime enterprise based on sea based commerce with trading contacts in Malaya, Sumatra and China. This had resulted in an ocean going fleet that was dispatched by the Chola King Rajendra Choladeva I against the Srivijaya Kingdom. The essays in this volume reflect on the naval expedition, which is also mentioned in the inscription dated 1030-31 of the big temple of Tanjavur in South India. Perhaps the most significant contribution of this volume to Asian maritime history is the translations of ancient and medieval Tamil and Sanskrit inscriptions relating to Southeast Asia and China and the Chinese Texts describing or referring to the Chola Kingdom as Zhunian.
