Vijayalaya Chola - Dark Age of Cholas

Dark Age of Cholas

The ancient Chola kingdom once famous in Tamil literature and in the writings of Greek merchants and geographers faded in to darkness after c. 300 CE. Cholas during this period almost completely disappeared from their native land. They seem to have held on to their old capital city of Urayur. This 'dark' age of Tamil history came to an end with the ascendency of the Pandyas and the Pallavas. The Cholas had to wait for another three centuries until the accession of Vijayala in the second quarter of the ninth century to re-establish their dynasty. It should not be assumed, however, that the new Chola dynasties were necessarily related to the ancient Chola dynasties of the early centuries AD.