Latest / The Chola Empire: How South India Dominated the Indian Ocean — Fexingo History
The Chola Empire's Temple as Bank: Financing a Dynasty
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the magnificent stone temples of the Chola Empire — like the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur — functioned as financial institutions that powered the economy. Beyond their spiritual role, these temples acted as banks, landholders, and hubs of credit, lending gold, managing endowments, and even underwriting long-distance trade. Lucas explains the system of devadana land grants, how temple treasuries accumulated wealth from donations and taxes, and how they issued loans to merchants and villages. He also shares the story of a remarkable inscription…
The skinny
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