Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I

After a long period in which the Pandya kingdom of Madurai existed in the shadow of Chola power, Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I rebuilt it into an aggressive imperial state during the mid-13th century. He defeated the Hoysala kingdom by around 1257 CE, pushed campaigns into Kakatiya territory to the north around 1261 CE, and led two invasions of Sri Lanka that extended Pandya influence over the island's Jaffna kingdom. He was also a major temple patron: he is credited with commissioning the gilding of the vimana towers of the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple and the Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam with gold plating, a mark of the wealth and confidence of the restored Pandya state. By the time of his death in 1268 CE, the second Pandya empire had reached the height of its territorial extent, a peak from which it would later be overtaken by the Delhi Sultanate's invasions in the early 14th century.