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{{Short description|Indian medieval merchant guild}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
'''Ainnurruvar''' is a medieval [[merchant guild]] originating in the [[Karnataka]] region of [[India]] between the 8th and 13th centuries. In this period, organised merchant guilds exerted considerable power and influence. ''Ainnurruvar'' was one of the most prominent of these guilds.<ref name="anon">Sastri 1955, p. 299-300</ref> During the [[Chola Empire]] they were regarded as the elite amongst the South Indian merchant organizations.<ref name="Hall2003">{{cite book|author=Kenneth R. Hall|title=Trade and Statecraft in the Ages of Colas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5RQcLXd595kC&pg=PA150|access-date=26 February 2012|date=1 June 2003|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-120-1|pages=142, 150}}</ref>

The [[Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavolu|Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavole]] were a merchant [[guild]] from [[Aihole]] that provided trade links between trading communities in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Karnataka]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]]. They have been mentioned in inscriptions from the 9th century CE.<ref name=HI120>''A History of India'', by [[Burton Stein]] and David Arnold, p.120</ref> Aihole was formerly a major city of the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukyas]] of [[Badami]] and a place with many temples and [[brahmin]]s, some of whom seem to have become involved in the trading activities of the Five Hundred.<ref name=HI120 /> But most of the Ayyavolu Lords were merchants, especially those engaged in long-distance trade. Their inscriptions between the 9th and 14th centuries record their endowments made to temples and throw light on their trading activities or commodities.<ref name=HI120 />

The Five Hundred guild, known as ''Ayyavole in Kannada, Ayyavolu in Telugu, Aryarupa in Sanskrit, and Ainuruvar in Tamil'', operated in Southern India and Southeast Asia. They became more powerful under the [[Chola Dynasty|Cholas]].<ref name="Suvarnadwipa p.181">''Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: reflections on Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia'' by [[Hermann Kulke]], K. Kesavapany and Vijay Sakhuja, p.xviii and p.181</ref> They were protectors of the Veera-Banaju-Dharma, that is, law of the heroic or noble merchants. The Bull was their symbol which they displayed on their flag; and they had a reputation for being daring and enterprising.<ref name="Melaka p.3">''Peranakan Indians of Singapore and Melaka: Indian Babas and Nonyas--Chitty Melaka'', by Samuel Dhoraisingam, p.3</ref>

==Origins==

A [[Tamil language|Tamil]] inscription of 1088 A.D. found in [[Sumatra]], Indonesia refers to the "Nagara Senapathi Nattu cettiar" as belonging to the Ainnurruvar group.<ref>[http://ismaili.net/Source/0104c.html "The medieval Tamil-language inscriptions in Southeast Asia and China"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231084823/http://ismaili.net/Source/0104c.html |date=31 December 2016 }}. First Ismaili Electronic Library and Database, accessed 25 November 2011.</ref> By the twelfth century, the Ainnuruvars' had encompassed other trading guilds to arise as a dominating force. For instance the Manigram Nagarattam states itself to be a subsidiary group.<ref name="Hall2003"/>

An inscription in [[Piranmalai]] makes references to "cetti"s as "flourishing" and as "being integral to the Tisai Ayirattu Ainnurruvar organization and occupying 18 pattinams, 32 valarpurams (major trade centres) and 64 Kadigai valams.<ref name="Hall2003"/> Significantly the number 18 resembles the name of one of the seven geographical divisions (Pathinettu uur vattahai) and 32 plus 64 equate to the legendary count of 96 Villages of the [[Nattukkottai Chettiar|Nattukkottai Chettiars]]. The Piranmalai inscriptions (13th century) also speak of the Ainnurruvar, the Manigrammam of [[Kodumbalur]] (near Pudukkottai) and [[Nagarathar|Nagarathars]] as far away as from Kerala and Sinhala (Refer the "Kerala Singa Vala Nadu" phrase in Nagarathar marriage settlements (Isaikkudimanam) coming together to donate huge funds for the temple.(The Trading world of the Tamil merchant: Evolution of merchant capitalism in the Coramandal By Kanakalatha Mukund).

The association between the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] and the Ainnurruvar has been well established from the number of finds of Ainnurruvar inscriptions. The maximum number of Ainnurruvar inscriptions have occurred during the Chola dynasty that lasted between the 10th and 13th centuries. Most importantly the 1088 inscription of Sumatra (reign of [[Kulottunga I|Kulothunga I]]) and the 1036 A.D.([[Rajendra I]]) inscription in Sri Lanka establish the close association between the Ainnurruvar community and the Cholas beyond doubt.According to Prof.Champakalakshmi, the Ainnurruvar moved in wherever the Cholas had conquered.<ref name="Champakalakshmi1996">{{cite book|author=Radha Champakalakshmi|title=Trade, ideology, and urbanization: South India 300 BC to AD 1300|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGTaAAAAMAAJ|access-date=26 February 2012|year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=328|isbn=9780195638707}}</ref>

There is no clear reference to the end of this guild and there have been some mentions of the tensions between the descendants of this guild and the British Empire. Their total span of existence might have been ten decades.<ref name="MalikStudy1986">{{cite book|author1=Subhash Chandra Malik|author2=Indian Institute of Advanced Study|title=Determinants of social status in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ejgAAAAMAAJ|access-date=26 February 2012|date=1 December 1986|publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study|isbn=978-81-208-0073-1|pages=24, 87, 123}}</ref>

==Organization==
The members of this guild were managed by the "Pancha Sata Vira Sasana" or the edict of five hundred. At various times their headquarters was declared to be in neelampur in [[Erode district]].<ref name="HistoryHistory2007">{{cite book|author1=University of Allahabad. Dept. of Modern Indian History|author2=University of Kerala. Dept. of History|author3=University of Kerala|title=Journal of Indian history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXUPAQAAMAAJ|access-date=26 February 2012|year=2007|pages=15, 17}}</ref>

The Ainnurruvar had their own armies to escort their caravans (The Sri Lankan inscription clearly establishes this) and merchant ships. There are references to a regiment named "Pazhi Ili Ainnurruvar" in the Chola records. While this regiment could have been named after "Pazhi Ili" of the [[Muthuraja|Mutharaiyar]] clan, the occurrence of the term "Ainnurruvar" is curious. These armies were evidently lent in support of the Chola expeditions. Contrary to the earlier view that the purpose of Rajendra's expedition to South East Asia may have been to plunder, the more recent view which is also supported by available evidence is that the raids were conducted to clear piracy from and to gain control over the sea lanes of the Melakka Straits that served as the gateway to the Far East for the Indian merchant ships. A partly Tamil and partly Chinese inscriptions (1281 A.D.) found in China and other references to the Chola emissaries to the Chinese court and vice versa stand testimony to the significant volumes of trade between the Tamil country and the Far East including China.

The guild taxed its members as a percentage of revenues. This tax had to paid in advance to gain membership.<ref name="Schottenhammer2001">{{cite book|author=Angela Schottenhammer|title=The emporium of the world: maritime Quanzhou, 1000-1400|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEhGM6fZeaAC&pg=PA293|access-date=26 February 2012|year=2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-11773-0|page=293}}</ref>
The guild has also been noted to do charity work to develop villages and temples.<ref name="SrinivasanRamesh2004">{{cite book|author1=C. R. Srinivasan|author2=K. V. Ramesh|author3=S. Subramonia Iyer|title=Sri pu?pañjali: recent researches in prehistory, protohistory, art, architecture, numismatics, iconography, and epigraphy : Dr. C.R. Srinivasan commemoration volume|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgduAAAAMAAJ|access-date=26 February 2012|date=1 August 2004|publisher=Bharatiya Kala Prakashan|isbn=978-81-8090-056-3|page=211}}</ref><ref name="AbrahamSüdasien-Institut1988">{{cite book|author1=Meera Abraham|author2=Universität Heidelberg. Südasien-Institut|author3=Max Mueller Bhavan (New Delhi, India)|title=South Asian studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G_xtAAAAMAAJ|access-date=26 February 2012|year=1988|publisher=Manohar Publications|isbn=978-81-85054-48-3|pages=82, 107}}</ref>

==Trade Dynamics==
According to Anthony Reid (Verandah of Violence – the background to the Aceh problem), there are numerous evidences to Tamil mercantile activities in [[Aceh]], northern Sumatra during the early part of the second millennium. He thinks some of the ships that ferried between Tamilakham and Sumatra could have been salt carrying ships.<ref name="Reid2006">{{cite book|author=Anthony Reid|title=Verandah of violence: the background to the Aceh problem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfF8Y9nZE3oC&pg=PP1|access-date=26 February 2012|year=2006|publisher=NUS Press|isbn=978-9971-69-331-2|pages=26, 28}}</ref> They were also known to trade in Areca, Iron, Cotton yarn and perhaps even cloth.<ref name="AbrahamSüdasien-Institut1988"/>

They were known to have Marketing relationships with the traders of Sri Lanka and dominated the trade route between South India and Sri Lanka.<ref name="Wink2002">{{cite book|author=André Wink|title=Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA325|access-date=26 February 2012|year=2002|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-0-391-04173-8|page=325}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[Kanakalatha Mukund]] argues that the period from 900 to 1300 set the stage for evolution of trade into corporate and commercial institutions. She says the apprenticeship practices of the Tamil traders mentioned by Marco Polo, the European traveller, resemble those followed by Nattukkottai Chettiars even today.<ref name="Mukund1999">{{cite book|author=Kanakalatha Mukund|title=The trading world of the Tamil merchant: evolution of merchant capitalism in the Coromandel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tjXdDYChdGsC&pg=PA30|access-date=26 February 2012|date=1 January 1999|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-1661-8|page=30}}</ref>

A Later Chola (reign of [[Sundara Chola]] 957-973 A.D) inscription in Pillayar Patti refers to the formation of a "nagaram" named Raja Narayana Puram by the Ainnurruvar community. Pillayarpatti inscriptions also point to Ainnurruva Perun Theru of "En Karikkudi" (Epigraphical Reference 147-150 of 1935–36 – Page 223 Trade and Statecraft in the Ages of Colas by Kenneth R. Hall). According to soe authors this reference is to the present day city of "Karai Kudi".{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

The present day Nattukottai Chettiars of Tamil Nadu must be the descendants of these "Nattu Cettiar". There are also other indisputable archeological evidences that support this view. The presiding deity of the Mathur Temple (one of the nine of this class that belong to the Nattukkottai [[Chettiar]] Community) is named Ainurreeswarar. {{citation needed|date=May 2017}}

The '''Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavole''' were a merchant [[guild]] from [[Aihole]] that provided trade links between trading communities in [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Karnataka]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]]. They have been mentioned in inscriptions from the 9th century CE.<ref name=HI120/> Aihole was formerly a major city of the [[Chalukya dynasty|Chalukyas]] of [[Badami]] and a place with many temples and [[Brahmin|brahmans]], some of whom seem to have become involved in the trading activities of the Five Hundred.<ref name=HI120 /> But most of the Ayyavolu Lords were merchants, especially those engaged in long-distance trade. Their inscriptions between the 9th and 14th centuries record their endowments made to temples and throw light on their trading activities or commodities.<ref name=HI120 />

The Five Hundred guild, known as
''Ainutruvar in Tamil, Ayyavole in Kannada, Ayyavolu in Telugu and Aryarupa in Sanskrit'', operated in Southern India and Southeast Asia. They became more powerful under the [[Chola Dynasty|Cholas]].<ref name="Suvarnadwipa p.181"/> They were protectors of the Veera-Banaju-Dharma, that is, law of the heroic or noble merchants. The Bull was their symbol which they displayed on their flag; and they had a reputation for being daring and enterprising.<ref name="Melaka p.3"/>

==Description==
The following passage on the guild of Ayyavolu merchants is taken from an inscription dated 1055 CE and summarises their activities and commodities:<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&dq=Ayyavolu&pg=PA120 ''A History of India'', by Burton Stein and David Arnold, p.121]</ref>

''Famed throughout the world, adorned with many good qualities, truth, purity, good conduct, policy, condescension, and prudence; protectors of the '''vira-Bananju-dharma''' [law of the heroic traders], having 32 veloma, 18 cities, 64 yoga-pithas, and asramas at the four points of the compass; born to be wanderers over many countries, the earth as their sack,....the serpent race as the cords, the betel pouch as a secret pocket'',...
''by land routes and water routes penetrating into the regions of the six continents, with superior elephants, well-bred horses, large sapphires, moonstones, pearls, rubies, diamonds,...cardamoms, cloves, sandal, camphor, musk, saffron and other perfumes and drugs, by selling which wholesale or hawking about on their shoulders, preventing the loss by customs duties, they fill up the emperor's treasury of gold, his treasury of jewels, and his armoury of weapons; and from the rest they daily bestow gifts on pundits and munis; white umbrellas as their canopy, the mighty ocean as their moat, Indra as the hand-guard of their swords, Varuna as the standard bearer, Kubera as the treasurer,...''

==Origin and activities==
The Five Hundred were an itinerant group that became a community because of their operations.<ref>''A History of India'', by Burton Stein, p. 126</ref> In comparison to other guilds, they were considered the most flamboyant. Together with another guild of merchants called Manigramam, the guild of Five Hundred were found in ports and commercial centres. They endowed temples, fed Brahmans, and contributed to the maintenance of irrigation works. Their inscriptions dot the entire southern peninsula, tracing an inter-regional and international network of merchants. Some of these merchants were called "''nanadesi''" (or "of many countries), while some were called "''swadesi''" (or "of own country"). These traders were one of the conduits for transporting Indian culture to Southeast Asia.<ref>''A History of India'', by Burton Stein and David Arnold, p.121</ref>

Evidences show that the erection of temples and mathas depended upon royal patronage and mercantile guilds like Ayyavolu, Nakaramu and Komatis who supported temple building activity. Similarly temple building activity also depended upon guilds of architects or the Acharyas of the [[Vishwakarma (caste)|Vishwakarma-Kula]] who also seem to have organised themselves into guilds based on geographical divisions.<ref>''Art of South India'', Andhra Pradesh, by B. Rajendra Prasad, p.85</ref>

===Veera-Balanjas===
The lords of Ayyavolu were called Vira-Balanjas.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Mallampalli Sōmaśēkharaśarma |author2=|title=History of the Reddi Kingdoms (circa. 1325 A.D. to Circa 1448 A.D.)
|volume= |publisher=Andhra University |year=1948|page=397|quote= | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=diYLAQAAIAAJ }}</ref> The term Vira-Balanja in Kannada and Vira-Valanjiyar in Tamil, Vira-Balija in Telugu, all of them mean "valiant merchants".<ref>
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar |author2=|title=Ancient India and South Indian History & Culture: Papers on Indian History and Culture; India to A.D. 1300
|volume= |publisher=Oriental Book Agency |year=1941|page=801|quote=| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3tDAAAAYAAJ }}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=S.S. Shashi |author2=|title=Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh
|volume=106 |publisher=Anmol Publications |year=2000|page=86|isbn=9788170418597|quote= | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wUwAQAAIAAJ }}
</ref> These merchants styled themselves as protectors of Vira Balanja Dharma (''Vira Balanja Dharma Pratipalanulu'') and often figured in the inscriptions of medieval [[Andhra Pradesh|Andhra]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=K. Sundaram |author2=|title=Studies in Economic and Social Conditions of Medieval Andhra, A. D. 1000-1600
|volume= |publisher=Triveni Publishers |year=1968|pages=69–76|quote= | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJFXAAAAMAAJ }}
</ref> There are several epigraphs available on the Veera-Balanjas. One example is an epigraph of 1531 CE from the Anilama village of [[Cuddapah]], which refers to the grant of certain toll-income (Magama) on articles of trade, such as cotton, yarn, cloth, etc., made by the Veera-Balanja merchant guild of Ayyavolu, for the lamp-offerings of God Sangamesvara of that village.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Ravula Soma Reddy |author2=|title=Hindu and Muslim Religious Institutions, Andhra Desa, 1300-1600
|volume= |publisher=New Era |year=1984|page=110|quote=| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aAIYAAAAIAAJ }}
</ref>

Copper-plate inscriptions of [[Nellore]] mention that the organisation of Ayyavola, or ''Ayyavola-enumbaru-swamigalu'' were the protectors of the Vira-Balanja dharma (aka Vira-Bananja dharma) and followed the Vira-Banaja-Samaya.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last= |author2=|title= The quarterly journal of the Mythic society (Bangalore) |publisher=Mythic Society |year=1991|pages=88–91|quote=| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXBuAAAAMAAJ }}
</ref> According to an inscription dated 1240 CE found at Chintapalli in [[Guntur district]], the Vira-Balanja Samaya (a trade corporation) consisted of Ubhayananadesis, the [[Gavara]], and the Mumuridandas; and they were the recipients of five hundred hero edicts.<ref>
*{{cite book|editor1-last=T. Venkateswara Rao |author2=|title=Prasasti of The Vira Balanja
|volume=6 |publisher=Itihas|isbn= |year=1978|page=74|quote=A Chintapalli record of S. 1162 mentions that the Ubhaya - Nānādēsi, Mummuridandas and Gavares were the protectors of the Vira - Balanja - Dharma. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwpDAAAAYAAJ }}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=K. Sundaram |author2=|title=Studies in Economic and Social Conditions of Medieval Andhra, A. D. 1000-1600| chapter = The Balanja Merchant Community of Medieval Andhra, (A. D. 1300 - 1600)
|volume= |publisher=Triveni Publishers|isbn= |year=1968|page=72|quote=In one of the early inscriptions of the merchants from Chintapalli in Guntur District of the year A.D. 1240, it is mentioned that Ubhaya Nanadesis, Gavares and Mummaridandas as protectors of Vira Balanja Dharma. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJFXAAAAMAAJ }}
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Vasant K. Bawa |author2=|title=Aspects of Deccan History
|volume= |publisher=Institute of Asian Studies |isbn= |year=1975|page=120|quote=One record from Chintapalli 26 in the Guntur district, dated S. 1162, states the Virabalamja - samaya was composed of the Ubhaya - nanadesi, the Gavares and the Mummiridandas. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i1HRAAAAMAAJ }}
</ref> Of these, the Ubhayananadesis were a unit of merchants derived from all quarters and countries, consisting of Desis, Paradesis and Nanadesis, while the Gavares derived their name as a body of merchants worshipping God Gavaresvara.<ref>
*{{cite book|editor1-last=Mallampalli Somasekhara Sarma |author2=|title=History of the Reddi Kingdoms (circa. 1325 A.D. to Circa 1448 A.D.)
|volume= |publisher=Andhra University |year=1948|page=396|quote=The body of Gavares seems to have derived its name from worshipping god Gavaresvara, one of the gods, referred to in the prasasti of the Vira Balañjyas, as having been worshipped by them Mummuridaṇḍas was another component sect of the Vira Balañjya samaya | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=diYLAQAAIAAJ }}*{{cite book|editor1-last=Kambhampati Satyanarayana |author2=|title=A Study of the History and Culture of the Andhras
|volume=2 |publisher=People's Publishing House |year=1975|page=52|quote=The body of Gavares seems to have derived its name from worshipping God Gavaresvara ... The Mummuridandas, probably, represented the advance guard of the trading caravan". Another body of traders| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zb21AAAAIAAJ }}
</ref>

Some trade guilds were based on religious identities, such as the [[Nagarattar|Nakaras]] (a guild) which was a body of Vaisya devotees of Nakaresvara and the Gavares which was a body of [[Balija]] devotees of Gavaresvara (''Sri Gavaresvara divya deva sripada padmaradhakulu'').<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=S.Nagabhushan Rao |author2=|title=Cultural heritage of the Kakatiyas: a medieval kingdom of south India
|volume= |publisher=District Council for Cultural Affairs |year=1993|page=59|quote=| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KG8wAQAAIAAJ }}
</ref> The Mummuridandas were warriors first and merchants next. An inscription of 1177 AD from Kurugodu, Bellary explicitly states that the Mummuridandas were an offshoot of the 'Five Hundred' who were eminent in Aryapura, that is, Aihole or Ayyavole (''srimad aryya nama pura mukhyabhutar enip ainurvarind adavid anvay ayatar'').<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, Pedarapu Chenna Reddy |author2=|title=Brahma Sri: Researches in Archaeology, History, and Culture in the New Millennium : Dr. P.V. Parabrahma Sastry Felicitation
|volume=1 |publisher=Sharada Publishing House |year=2004|page=169|isbn=9788188934164|quote=| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-RtAAAAMAAJ }}
</ref> Trade corporations like Vira-Balanja-Samaya flourished under various empires despite wars and invasions.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Kambhampati Satyanarayana |author2=|title=A Study of the History and Culture of the Andhras: From stone age to feudalism
|volume= |publisher=People's Publishing House |year=1975|page=125|quote= | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bYsBAAAAMAAJ }}
</ref>

==In Tamil sources==
A fragmentary Chera inscription datable to 1000 CE in the reign of Bhaskara Ravi, found on three broken stones in a mosque in Pandalayini-Kollam (near Kozhikode), refers to Valanjiyar and other merchants found in the assembly of Ayyavole-500 trade guild.<ref>''Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: reflections on Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia'' by Hermann Kulke, K. Kesavapany and Vijay Sakhuja, p.163</ref> The Ayyavole-500 were simply called ''Ainuruvar'' in Tamil.

In Visakhapatnam, three inscriptions were found, two in Telugu and one in Tamil. They were on the Ainuttava-perumballi (500 perumballi) in Visakhapatnam and dated to 1090 CE under the reign of the Ganga king Anantavarmadeva.<ref>''Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: reflections on Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia'' by Hermann Kulke, K. Kesavapany and Vijay Sakhuja, p.164</ref> Another Telugu inscription records a similar grant to the same Ainuttava-Perumballi by the Chief Mahamandaleshvara Kulotungga Prithvisvara. The inscriptions suggest that the Anjuvannam people were patronized by the Ayyavole-500 guild and even treated as members of that guild.<ref>''Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: reflections on Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia'' by Hermann Kulke, K. Kesavapany and Vijay Sakhuja, p.165</ref>

It would seem that when the ''Ayyavole-500'' guild became a big overreaching guild of Southern India, most of the existing indigenous and local trade guilds became associated with it. The Manigramam and nanadesi guilds joined the Ayyavole-500. Due to the various Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia and the support provided by the Cholas to the Ayyavole guild, the Ayyavole guild emerged as a maritime power and continued to flourish in the kingdom of [[Srivijaya]] (a dominant thalassocratic city-state based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia). This is well documented in an inscription of the Ayyavole guild of the year 1088 AD found in Barus of West Sumatra, Indonesia. South Indian merchants were also active in Burma and the Thai peninsula.<ref>''Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa: reflections on Chola naval expeditions to Southeast Asia'' by Hermann Kulke, K. Kesavapany and Vijay Sakhuja, p.10-12 [https://books.google.com/books?id=2swhCXJVRzwC&q=ayyavole&pg=PA165]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Trade Guilds of South India]]
*[[Anjuvannam]]
*[[Manigramam]]
*[[Five Hundred Lords of Ayyavolu]]
*[[Valanjiyar]]
* [[Greater India]]
* [[History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Nilakanta Sastri, K.A. (1955). A History of South India, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002) {{ISBN|0-19-560686-8}}.

[[Category:Guilds in India]]
[[Category:Medieval history of India]]
[[Category:Indian merchants]]
[[Category:Economic history of India]]

Ainnurruvar - Revision history

MrBeast at 06:48, 17 March 2026