Cholas (The Beginning)
Vijayalaya Chola Portrait of Vijayalaya Chola Vijayalaya Chola reign from (847 - 871 C.E.) founded the Chola dynasty. He is one of the descendants of the famous Sangam age Chola king, Karikala Chola. Vijayalaya was succeeded by his son Aditya Chola I who laid the foundation of the Chola Empire. Old Ages of Cholas The ancient Chola kingdom, once famous in Tamil literature and the writings of foreign merchants and geographers faded into darkness after c. 300 CE. Cholas during this period almost completely disappeared from their native land. They have held on to their old capital city of Uraiyur. This dark age is said to have been caused by the invasion of the Kalabhras. This "dark" age of Tamil history came to an end with the prominence of the Pandyas and the Pallavas after overthrowing Kalabhras in 590 CE. The Cholas disappeared from the Tamil land almost completely in this debacle, though a branch of them can be traced towards the end of the dark period in Rayalaseema—the T...
