Tamil-Dravidian kind of architecture is also found in the Padmanabhaswamy temple, which makes it distinct and unique from the architectural style of temples in northern parts of Kerala. Modern-day Southern Kerala (The districts like Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, etc.) had been ruled by Tamil dynasties such as Ay kingdom, Pandya dynasty, and Chola dynasty, for a long time until 16th-17th century CE. The official language of Venad, based at Kollam, was also identified as Tamil, by the natives of Venad in those times. The place names, the dialects of Malayalam spoken, and the customs, those exist in Southern parts of Kerala, still reveal a close relationship with Tamil heritage. Malayalam became more prevalent with the expansion of Venad into Travancore by annexing the regions as far as present-day Ernakulam district. The Ays were the leading political power till the beginning of the 10th century AD. During the Chera-Chola Wars from 999 to 1110 AD, the city of significance was Vizhinjam, which housed a university (Kanthalur Salai). Trivandrum housed the famous temple. All of the regions were attacked and sacked by the Chola army, till they were forced to retreat to Kottar in 1110 AD. The disappearance of the Ays synchronised with the emergence of the rulers of Venad. During the Venad rule, the trustees of the temple (Ettarayogam) became powerful enough to challenge the authority of the rulers. Raja Aditya Varma was poisoned by them, and five out of six children of Umayamma Rani were murdered by them. In 1684, during her regency, the English East India Company obtained a sandy piece of land at Anchuthengu (Anjengo) on the sea coast, about 32 km north of Thiruvananthapuram city, for erecting a factory and fortifying it. The place had earlier been frequented by the Dutch, and later by the British East India Company. It was from here that the English gradually extended their domain to other parts of Thiruvithamcore, anglicised as Travancore. During the regency of Umayamma Rani, Travancore was invaded by a Mughal adventurer, known as the Mughal Sirdar, forcing the Rani to take refuge in Nedumangad. The Sardar camped in the suburbs of the present day Trivandrum, till he was defeated by Kerala Varma, a prince from the Kottayam royal family, adopted into the Venad royal family. The Rani was brought back in triumph to Trivandrum, but in 1696 AD, Kottayam Kerala Varma was assassinated by the trustees within the