Tailapa II

Tailapa
Ahavamalla
Old Kannada inscription dated c. 991 of Tailapa II
Founder of Western Chalukya Empire
Reign	c. 973 – c. 997 (24 years)
Predecessor	Karka II
Successor	Satyashraya
Issue	Satyashraya, Dashavarman
Dynasty	Chalukya

Tailapa II (r. c. 973-997), also known as Taila II and by his title Ahavamalla, was the founder of the Western Chalukya Empire in peninsular India. Tailapa claimed descent from the earlier imperial Chalukyas of Vatapi (Badami), and initially ruled as a Rashtrakuta vassal from the Tardavadi-1000 province in the present-day Vijayapura district of Karnataka. When the Rashtrakuta power declined following an invasion by the Paramara king Siyaka, Tailapa overthrew the Rashtrakuta emperor Karka II, and established a new dynasty.

Tailapa spent several years consolidating his control over the western Deccan region between the Narmada and the Tungabhadra rivers. Gradually, several former Rashtrakuta feudatories, including the Shilaharas, acknowledged his suzerainty. Tailapa successfully resisted Chola and Paramara invasions, and imprisoned and killed the invading Paramara king Munja. His general Barapa captured the Lata region in present-day Gujarat, establishing the Lata Chalukya line of chiefs. Tailapa's successors continued to rule the western Deccan region until the 12th century.