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Introduction to Later Cholas A brief introduction to the Later Cholas or the Thanjavur Cholas. Rajaraja Cholan the Great, occupies the foremost place in the history of the later Cholas. Vijayalaya Cholan(AD 846-871) was the founder of the later Chola dynasty. He conquered the country from a vassal chief of the pallavas, and established Thanjavur as the capital of the dynasty. His son and successor Aditya I conquered the pallavas and the Kongu country; and his son Parantakan I (AD 907-953), under his leadership, the cholas acquired a dominion which foreshadowed the greater empire Rajarajan and Kulotungan. Parantakan I won victories over the Banas, the Gangas, the Pandyas and the King of Ceylon.

The fact and the extent of his conquest are known from his inscriptions. Towards the end of his reign, or before his death, the Rashtrakutas under Krishnaraja III invaded the Tamil Country, killed the Chola Prince Rajadityan at Takkolam (near Arakonam) in AD 947-948, and seized Tondainadu which they seemed to have ruled for about a quarter of a century, confining the sway of the Cholas to their ancestral dominion comprising the Thanjavur and Trichy districts.

The names of the next five kings after Rajaditya are known, but little is on record regarding their life history. They were Gandaraditya, Arinjaya, Parantakan II, Aditya Karikala or Aditya II and Madurantaka. Aditya Karikala II appears to have re-conquered Tondainadu a few years later.On Aditya's death, or on the death of Parantakan II, whichever was the later, the succession was probably disputed. The subject besought, Arunmolivarman (Rajarajan) to become the King, but he did not want the throne as long as his paternal uncle Madurantak Uttama Cholan was fond of the crown. Eventually, Arunmolivarman was appointed heir-apparent. Rajarajan became the king in 985 AD. His reign was the starting point of a period of unexampled prosperity.