An interesting anectode from history that puts the Game of Thrones to shame.

In 1169, there was a family fued in the Pandya Dynasty with regards to who would be the king. One one side there was Parakrama Panya and on the other, there was Kulasekara Pandya.

Now only one of them could be king and magnanimity was not a quality in either of the contendors. As there was no Mano - e - mano type contest to decide who is the winner, Kulasekara laid seige to Madurai, where Parakrama Pandya was there.

As Parakrama was not strong enough to fight Kulasekara, he asked the Sri Lankan king, Parakramaprabhu for help. The name might just be a coincidence.

Seeing this as a golden chance to get one up on South India, the Sri Lankan king sent an army under his general LankaPura.

By the time the Sri Lankan army had landed in Rameshwaram, Kulasekara had killed Parakrama pandya. However, the Sri Lankan Parakrama, instructed his general to make Indian Parakrama's minor son, Vira Pandya, as a puppet ruler.

When Kulasekara heard the news about the Lankan landing, he asked Chola king, Rajadhiraja for help.

As he also wanted to seize Madurai, he sent a force to fight the Sri Lankans

However the Parakrama² force, defeated the Chola-Kulasekara Pandya force, twice, and entered Madurai.

Lankapura installed Vira Pandya as the puppet king and could have lived happily ever after

But no, he attacked the Chola territories of Tondi. And This time Rajadhiraja, didn't mess around. He sent a bigger force under Genral Perumanambi, to screw the Lankans, six ways to Sunday

Which Perumanambi gladly did. Not only did he destroy the Lankan Army, he also cut the head off LankaPura and nailed it to the gates of Madurai as a warning.

Virapandya got the message and ran away, and Kulasekara Pandya was made king.

War over and soldiers went home? No..

When the Sri Lankan Parakrama got the news Head of his General nailed to Madurai news, he decided to again invade India.

But this time Rajadhiraja was warned. So he incited Parakrama's brother Vallabha, and then sent an army, for a pre emptive strike on Parakrama.

And Chola's tucked into the Sri Lankan army like a Piranha tucks into livestock in Amazon. Totally defeated, Parakrama had one last card to play.

He sent a lot of money to Kulasekara, the same Kulasekara who the Chola's installed as Madurai king, to attack the Cholas.

And the ingrate went and cut the branch that he was sitting on. He attacked the Cholas.

However Cholas turned it around, drove off the invaders, killed Kulasekara.

They searched the Vira Pandya, the same Vira Pandya who had fought the Cholas some, and made him king.

So to summarize, from 1169 to 1177, Two Pandyas fought for the throne. One went to Sri Lanka, the other went to the Cholas

The Cholas defeat the Sri Lankans and install the Pandya guy who came to them as the king

The same guy then attacks Cholas for 30 mounds of silver

The Cholas defeat him, kill him and install the guy who was first their enemy, as the new King. While invading Sri Lanka on the side.

As I said before, This my friends, is the real Game of Thrones..

Unfortunately the Pandya Kings never learnt. At the end of this civil war, Pandya empire somehow survived.

There was another Civil war in the 14th Century. This time however, Malik Kafur was around.

That civil war not only lead to a Sultanate invasion, it lead to massive temple destruction and violation, mass murder, loot and general pillage, but also the end of the Pandya empire.

Great civilizations don't fall because of external factors, but because of internal decay.