Vijayalaya Chola was a king of South India, and founded the imperial Chola dynasty. He ruled over the region to the north of the river Kaveri River.The ancient Chola kingdom once famous in Tamil literature and in the writings of Greek merchants and geographers faded into 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 Vijayalaya in the second quarter of the ninth century to re-establish their dynasty.