In the 9th century, the Cholas emerged as a strong presence in the south when Vijayalaya captured Tanjavur from the Pandyas. He was a Pallava feudatory who managed to establish the Chola Empire. It was later inherited by Aditya Chola who took over the Pallava Empire.
Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra I were the greatest Chola rulers under whom, the dynasty became a military, economic and cultural power in South Asia. They expanded the borders of the Chola Empire by taking over the territories ruled by the Pandyas and the Cheras. Their conquests reached as far as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Sumatra and other places in the Malay Peninsula.
They also fought against the western Gangas and Chalukyas. Rajendra Chola I even went north up to Bengal and on his return, he built Gangaikondacholapuram (city of the Chola conquerer of the Ganga), a new capital.
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However, the Chola Empire declined at the beginning of the thirteenth century AD.