Early Cheras

The Chera dynasty, also known as Keralaputra, was one of the three major kingdoms of ancient South India, ruling over parts of present-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Documented as early as the third century BCE, the Cheras were known as one of the "Three Crowned Kings" of Tamilakam, alongside the Cholas and Pandyas. Their country was strategically located for maritime trade, profiting from extensive Indian Ocean networks, with attested exchange of spices like black pepper with Middle Eastern or Graeco-Roman merchants. Their influence extended over central Kerala and western Tamil Nadu until the end of the early historic period, between the third and fifth centuries CE, when they experienced a substantial decline in power.