Gahadvala

The Gahadavala (also: Gaharwar ) was a North Indian dynasty, which played an important role in the 11th and 12th centuries. Its center was Benares or Banaras and the region between Ayodhya. However, they are also associated with Kanauj.

History

They were with some probability of a jungle nomads ( and not from the aristocracy of the Guptazeit ) -derived Gender and kicked as their neighbors in the the fall of the Pratihara (approx. 1030) resulting power vacuum. The word is Gahadavala as a corruption of Grahavara (or Gaharwar ), meaning " conqueror of the world " is interpreted, but also simply as " cowherd ". Some scholars see in the Gahadavala but also a branch of Rashtrakutas, among other reasons, because their alleged descendants of the 13th century zulegten this name ( Rathor ).

As the first of the Gahadavala the adventurer is Chandradeva (reigned about 1089-1103 ) to a victory at the Yamuna over an unnamed unnamed king (probably Gopala of Gadhipura ) covered with royal titles. Around 1100 extensive land grants of the kings are recorded to the Brahmins, who should obviously serve the short-term strengthening of royal power.

The Gahadavala had under Madanapala (reigned about 1104-1113 ) and Govindachandra (reigned about 1114-1155 ) the predominance among the North Indian kingdoms. At the time they were the overlords of the Tomara Rajput ( in space Indraprastha ) and the northern Rashtrakuta ( in Kanauj, 11th - 13th century) and sat around in Uttar Pradesh and also in Bihar ( at the expense of Pala ). They defended the Ganges area against the repeated raids of the Muslims, where the king Madanapala apparently temporarily in captivity of Masud III. ( Ghaznawide, reg. 1099-1115 ) came.

Govindachandra entertained far-reaching diplomatic relations within India ( inter alia, to Kashmir ). He ( an orthodox Hindu ) was married to the Buddhist princess Kumaradevi. His minister Laksmidhara is known for the promotion of literature.

In the second half of the 12th century the power of Gahadavala was particularly challenged by the Chauhan Rajput, Delhi which took over from the Tomara and organized the defense against the invading Muslims. Immortalized as a knight epic here is the love story of Chauhan Prithviraja III. with the Gahadavala Princess Sanyogita, daughter of King Jaichand that he kidnapped in Bride Look what (that is, on the eve of the Muslim invasion of 1192 ) led to the 1189 war between the two powers and greatly weakened the position of the Hindus. About the alleged cooperation in the epic Jaichands with Muhammad of Ghur (reigned 1173-1206 ), however, mention the Muslim sources.

Jaichand was in 1194 by Muhammad of Ghur at Chandwar defeated near Agra and died from an arrow wound or drowned shortly thereafter when crossing the Ganges. Its about nineteen year old son seems to have the rule in Kanauj and Jaunpur still maintained for three years, then North India fell to the Muslims. The further fate of the dynasty is unclear. In the first half of the 13th century, the last Gahadavala fled (a son, grandson or great-nephew named Jaichands Sihaji ) to Rajasthan, where he said to have become the progenitor of a new clan ( Rathor of Marwar ).

Ruler list

• Yashovigraha (11th century, with no royal title )
• Mahichandra (11th century, with no royal title )
• Chandradeva (reigned ca 1089-1100/3 )
• Madanapala (reigned ca 1100/4-1113 )
• Govindachandra (reigned about 1114-1155 )
• Vijayachandra (reigned about 1155-1169 )
• Jaichandra (reigned about 1170-1194 )
• Harishchandra (reigned ca 1194-97 )