A feudal administrative division or province in medieval Indian kingdoms, governed by a local official called a chalukya or samanta.
From Sanskrit and Kannada, related to administrative and territorial terms in South Indian history. The word describes the administrative structure used by the Chalukya dynasty and other medieval Indian kingdoms to organize their territories.
Indian medieval kingdoms used a sophisticated administrative system centuries before European feudalism developed—chalukas were essentially provinces managed by local governors who had to balance loyalty to the central ruler with maintaining their own power bases, creating dynamic political tension!
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