Far East Kingdoms

Kannauj / Gurjara Pratiharas (Early Rajputs) (India)
6th Century AD - 1036

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The name of Rajputana is the old form of today's modern Indian state of Rajasthan. It borders Pakistan in the north-west, and the Indian states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the south, south-east, east, and north respectively.

It is the land of the kshatriya (warrior) Rajputs (with other communities including Meenas, Gujars, Brahmins, Jats, Yadavs, Bhils, Bishnois, and Ahirs). The Rajputs derive their name from their state: Rajputana literally means the 'land of the princes' (with 'raj' meaning 'king' and 'put' meaning 'son'). The modern capital of Rajasthan is Jaipur.

Kannauj was one of the earliest of Rajput kingdoms which existed in ancient northern India. Even though it was early Rajputs who ruled here, today it is part of the state of Uttar Pradesh rather than the Rajasthan which is predominated by Rajputs.

The Pratihara clan of Rajputs, also known as the Gurjara Pratiharas, established a kingdom here in the sixth century AD in territory which was later conquered by Delhi. Their capital was at Mandore, which sits nine kilometres from Jodhpur (which was also ruled by the Gurjara Pratiharas).

The kingdom lasted until the eleventh century until Rajapala was defeated. Then it became a short-lived vassal state, by which time its authority and domain was already fracturing. Several splinter states emerged, none of which were dominant until a short interlude had ended and another early Rajput state was created in the form of the Gahadavalas of Banaras.

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(Information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha and Peter Kessler, with additional information by Siddharth Singh Rathore (grandson of Major Maharaj Udai Singh of Bikaner (Ridi) of the erstwhile royal family), from Maharana Pratap, Bhawan Singh Rana (containing a list of rulers of Mewar), and from External Links: India History Blogspot (formerly full of information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha but now seemingly emptied).)

6th century

Founder of Gurjara Pratihara dynasty. Established kingdom.

late 500s

Prabhakarvardhana of Thaneshwar is an independent monarch who uses the prefix 'maharajadhiraja' before his name. He establishes matrimonial relations with the Maukharis by marrying his daughter, Rajashri, to their King Grahavarman.

Prabhakarvardhana is a Shaivite and a sun worshipper. Along with his son, Rajyavardhana, he repels Huna attacks and comes to be known as 'the lion to the Huna deer'.

mid-600s

During his reign, Harshavardhana of Thaneshwar shifts his capital to Kannauj, showing that it is his empire which dominates this region during his lifetime. His death in 647 changes everything.

He is without an heir and his former minister seizes the throne, causing the empire to break up into a patchwork of fighting states and petty kingdoms which does not reform into one kingdom.

An independent kingdom at Kannauj is resurgent under Dada I, a descendant of Harishchandra of the Gurjara Pratiharas. Dada takes advantage of the power vacuum by extending the kingdom's borders to Bharuch in Gujarat, although perhaps not permanently as this region is conquered again in the mid-eighth century.

c.650 - ?

Established himself at Nandipur (Nandol in Gujarat).

Dada II takes Bharuch from the Maitrakas of Gujarat, seemingly the second time that the Rajputs of Kannauj have conquered this region. This time they appear to retain their conquest for at least a decade.

? - 730

Became a Shaivite.

730 - 756

Nagabhatta conquers territory as far as Malwa, Gwalior, and Bharuch (Gujarat - the third time the latter location has been taken by Kannauj). He establishes a capital at Avanti in Malwa and checks Islamic attacks which are spreading outwards from Sindh. Unfortunately he is followed by two weak successors.

Somnath Temple in Patan in Gujarat, which was rebuilt by Nagabhatta II of Kannauj (805-833) and rebuilt again in the late twentieth century

Nephew. A weak successor.

Brother. A weak successor. Deposed by Vatsaraja.

At Kannauj. Deposed.

During his reign the Pala king, Dharmapala, defeats Indraraja. The king is deposed and Dharmapala places Chakrayudha on the throne of Kannauj in his stead.

At Kannauj. Vassal of the Palas. Deposed.

775 - 805

Grand-nephew of Nagabhatta. Restored kingdom.

Vatsaraja takes the throne from Devraj, notwithstanding the two weak claimed successors at Kannauj itself. Then he goes on to defeat the Pala king, Dharmapala, even temporarily gaining the Pala capital, Gauda, and also taking Kannauj from Chakrayudha.

In his turn, Vatsaraja is defeated by King Dhruva of the Rashtrakutas. These events leave the Pratiharas weakened and this indirectly helps the Palas. King Dharmapala soon ends their dynasty and establishes Pala hegemony over northern India. The Chandellas and the Kalachuris are the new powers which now arise out of the ruins of the Pratihara empire in northern India.

805 - 833

Son.

Nagabhatta II is initially defeated by the Rashtrakuta king, Govinda III, but he also recovers Malwa from the Rashtrakutas. He goes on to reconquer Kannauj and Bihar from the Palas, and delivers a further check against the Islamic attacks in the west. He rebuilds the great Shiva Temple at Somnath in Gujarat after it has been demolished during an Islamic raid from Sindh.

833 - 836

836 - 885

Son.

Mihira Bhoja retakes Kannauj / Kalanjara for the Pratiharas, although in his early days he suffers defeats at the hands of Devapala of the Palas, then the Rashtrakutas, and then the Chedis of Tripuri. But Bhoja gains his revenge when, with the help of the Chedis of Gorakhpur and the Guhilot king, he defeats Devapala's successor.

He then defeats Krishna II of the Rashtrakutas on the banks of the River Narmada and occupies Malwa. This is followed by an advance towards Gujarat and the occupation of the territory around Khetaka (in Kaira district), but Krishna II manages to wrest this back.

Bhoja maintains his supremacy over the Kathiawar peninsula and Malwa, and soon establishes governance over Punjab, Oudh, and further afield. In fact all of northern India is captured by him barring Kashmir, Sindh, Bihar, the Pala kingdom in Bengal, and the Kalachuri kingdom in Jabalpur. He establishes his capital at Kannauj.

885 - 910

Son.

Mahendrapala of Kannauj rules a great Rajput kingdom which stretches all the way from the Himalayas (on the River Ganges) to the Vindhyas (on the River Reva).

India of AD 900 was remarkably unchanged in terms of its general distribution of the larger states - only the names had changed, although now there was a good deal more fracturing and regional rule by minor states or tribes (click or tap on map to view full sized)

910 - 913

Son. Deposed.

During his short reign, Bhoja II's vassals, the Parmaras of Malwa, the Kalachuris of Mahakoshal, and the Chandelas of Bundelkhand declare themselves to be independent, and Bhoja is subsequently overthrown by his own family relative.

913 - 944

Step-brother. Overthrew Bhoja II.

Mahipal rules what remains a large kingdom but he is temporarily defeated by the Rashtrakuta king, Indra III, before the latter returns south. That allows Mahipal to recover his position.

944 - 948

Son.

948 - 954

Brother. Lost control of Chandelas of Bundelkhand.

954 - 955

Brother.

955 - 956

956 - 960

960 - 1018

Fled when Kannauj was sacked. Kingdom now a Chandela vassal.

1017/1018

With the early Rajput kingdom divided between small warring states, there is no central authority to prevent Islamic incursions coming in from the west. Mahmud of the Afghan Ghaznavids (based in modern Kandahar) sacks Kannauj, and Rajapala flees, only to be killed by Gauda of the Chandelas. Gauda takes control of the kingdom, placing Trilochanpala on the throne.

1018 - 1027

Son. Placed on the throne by the Chandelas.

1027 - 1036

The last Pratihara king. Kingdom splintered.

1036 - 1090

The once-dominant Rajput kingdom at Kannauj now fully fractures into several smaller splinter states, all of which are ruled by Rajput kings. It takes fifty-four years before a ruling dynasty re-emerges which can claim direct descent from the Pratihara kings, this being the Gahadavalas.