The Kingdom of Kannauj was a kingdom in Northern India during the early medieval era. It was established by Harivarman in 510 who was crowned Maharaja of Kannauj by the Magadhan Emperor.[1] The kingdom of Kannauj expanded into a vast realm that spanned across northern India during the reign of Harshavardhana in the early seventh century. In the early ninth century, the city was conquered by Nagabhata II of the Pratihara dynasty after the Tripartite Struggle who proclaimed himself King of Kannauj. His descendents ruled Kannauj until Ghaznavid invasions.
Kingdom of Kannauj Kannauj Rājya (Shauraseni) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 510–1036 | |||||||||
.png) The Kingdom of Kannauj in 575 | |||||||||
.png) The Kingdom of Kannauj in 634 under Harshavardhan | |||||||||
| Capital | Kannauj | ||||||||
| Official languages | Sanskrit | ||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 510–520 | Harivarman (first) | ||||||||
• 1024–1036 | Yasahpala (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early Mediaeval Era | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | India | ||||||||
Kannauj became the most important city in North India during this period, and hence was contested by the three great powers of the subcontinent of the period — the Gurjara Empire under the Pratihara dynasty, the Bengal Empire under the Pala dynasty, and the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta.[2][3] Following its victory the king of the Gurjaras, Nagabhata II declared himself the king of Kannauj. Following invasions of the Turko-Persian Ghaznavid Empire in the eleventh century, the kingdom came to an end and the prestige of Kannauj slowly dwindled and Delhi became the most important city of Hindustan (North India).
History
editMaukhari dynasty
editIn 510, the Narsimhagupta, the Emperor of Magadha, crowned Harivarman as the Maharaja of Kannauj, creating a vassal state in the region and the House of Maukhari. His great-grandson, Ishanavarman, declared independence from Magadha and proclaimed himself Maharajadhiraja of Kannauj.[4] He defeated the kings of Gauda, Sulika and Andhra.[5] The Emperor of Magadha, Kumargupta III defeated Ishanavarman but couldn't conquer Kannauj. His grandson, Grahavarman (r. 600–605) married Rajyashri, daughter of Prabhakarvardhana, King of Thanesar. Both the kings were killed in a war with Malavas and the Kingdom of Gauda, following which Harsha, the son of the dead king of Thanesar, vowed to avenge the death of his father and brother-in-law and rescue his sister.
Pushyabhuti dynasty
editHarshavarshana repelled the invasions by the king of Gauda and rescued his widowed sister. He was then crowned the Emperor of Kannauj by the representatives of multiple principalities and kingdoms of North India in a grand ceremony at Kannauj. He reigned until 647.
Arunasva
editHarsha's rule was succeeded by that of Arunasva. Since Harsha had no heir, Arunasva usurped the throne.[6] Arunavasa is known to have repelled the invasion by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate.[7]
Varman dynasty
editArunavasa was succeeded by the rule of Yashovarman who established the Varman dynasty. Yashovarman led military campaigns in Bengal, Indus Valley, the Deccan and Kashmir. He was succeeded by Ama, Dunduka and Bhoja who were weak rulers.
Ayudha dynasty
editIn 770, Bhoja was deposed by Vajrayudha founding the Ayudha dynasty.[8] This triggered Kannauj Wars (770–854) for the control over the Kingdom of Kannauj between three great powers — the Gurjara Empire under the Rajput Pratihara dynasty, the Bengal Empire under the House of Pala, and the Rashtrakuta Empire. In 785, Vatsaraja, the Gurjara Emperor invaded Kannauj, made Indrayudha, the King of Kannuj his vassal. In response to this, Dharmapala, the Emperor of Bengal invaded Kannauj and deposed Indrayudha and replaced him with Indrayudha's brother, Chakrayudha whom he made his vassal at an imperial court at Kannauj attended by the rulers of Bhoja (possibly Vidarbha), Matsya (Jaipur and north-east Rajasthan), Madra (East Punjab), Kuru (Haryana-Delhi-Western UP region), Yadu (possibly Mathura, Dwarka or Siṁhapura in the Punjab (Katas Raj Temples)), Yavana, Avanti, Gandhara and Kira (Kangra Valley).[9][10] This obviously led to war and the Gurjara Empire defeated Bengal and the Gurjara Emperor Vatsaraja occupied Kannauj. Rashtrakuta Emperor Dhruva defeated the Gurjara Empire and Vatsaraja fled his empire, while Dhruva returned to his empire. Bengal re-installed Chakrayudha as the King of Kannauj and its vassal.
After the death of Dhruva in 793, the Rashtrakuta Empire fell into a war of succession. In the Gurjara Empire, the son of Vatsaraja, Nagabhata II, seeking revenge and taking advantage of the succession crisis in the Rashtrakuta Empire, invaded Kannauj and defeated Dharmapala and made Chakrayudha his vassal. Before he could invade Bengal however, the new Rashtrakuta Emperor Govinda III invaded Kannauj and defeated the Gurjara armies, and Nagabhatta retreated back to his empire. Dharmapala and Chakrayudha acknowledged Govinda III as their overlords to earn his friendship after which Govinda went back and Kannauj came back under Bengal rule in 800. Kannauj remained a vassal of the Bengal Empire until 816 when the Gurjara Emperor Nagabhata II invaded the Kingdom of Kannauj and conquered it and proclaimed himself as the king of Kannauj after deposing the Ayudhas.
Pratihara dynasty
editFollowing the deposition of the Ayudhas, and proclamation of Nagabhata II as king of Kannauj, the Pratiharas became the rulers of the Kingdom of Kannauj to which they added their dominions of Gurjaradesa as well. Bhoja I (r. 836–885) invaded the principality of Lata around 840 but failed to conquer it. He led campaigns in other neighbouring regions and was successful in conquering included Travani, Valla, Mada, Arya, Gujaratra, and Bundelkhand who acknowledged his suzerainty. He also managed to conquer Lata by the 870s.
Kalhana's Rajatarangini states that the territories of Bhoja extended to Kashmir in the north, and Bhoja had conquered Punjab by defeating ruling 'Thakkiyaka' dynasty. After Devapala's death, Bhoja defeated the Bengal emperor Narayanapala and expanded his boundaries eastward into Bengal-held territories near Gorakhpur.
Bhoja also defeated the Arab invasions from Sindh into Kutch in 838 in the Battle of Sindhan, and conquered a portion of Sindh. His reign was followed by that of his son Mahendrapala I (r. 890–910) who further expanded into the territories of the empire of Bengal. During the reign of Mahipala I (912–944), several feudatories of the empire took advantage of the temporary weakness of the Pratiharas to declare their independence, notably the Kingdom of Malwa, the Kingdom of Bundelkhand, the Kingdom of Baghelkhand, the Kingdom of Delhi, and the Kingdom of Sambhar. The Manyakheta empire invaded the empire of Kannauj in 916 need later retreated.
In 950, the Kingdom of Bundelkhand conquered Gwalior, and the region of modern-day Rajasthan fell to the Kingdom of Sambhar. This reduced the Kingdom of Kannauj to the Ganga Yamuna Doab region. Ghaznavid invasions destroyed the kingdom by 1036.
Territorial extent
editThe Kingdom of Kannauj dominated the upper Gangetic basin and parts of middle Gangetic basin during its early stages. Following the coronation of Harshavardhan, the Kingdom of Thanesar, i.e., eastern Punjab and the Trans-Gangetic Plain was merged into the Kingdom of Kannauj. Harshavardhan's campaigns expanded the empire of Kannauj to include the entirety of the Gangetic plain and eastern Punjab, as well as the Bundelkhand and Malwa.
Under the Varmans, the Kingdom of Kannauj lost control over Malwa and later Bengal. Other territories were lost during the Kannauj Wars, and significant power and territory was lost as the kingdom transitioned into a vassal state under Bengal.
Under the Pratiharas, the Kingdom of Kannauj transformed once again into a vast realm, even larger than that of Harshavardhana. The empire including its vassals extended from Gujarat to Magadha during its initial rule. Later, it was reduced to a small dominion around the capital city.
List of kings
edit| Royal title | Name | Dynasty | Reign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emperor Narasimhagupta of Magadha appoints Harivarman as the Maharaja of Kannauj | |||
| Maharaja | Harivarman | Maukhari | 510–? |
| Maharaja | Adityavarman | Maukhari | |
| Maharaja | Ishvaravarman | Maukhari | |
| Maharadhiraja | Ishanavarman | Maukhari | 560–574 |
| Maharadhiraja | Sharvavarman | Maukhari | 574–586 |
| Maharadhiraja | Avantivarman | Maukhari | 586–600 |
| Maharadhiraja | Grahavarman | Maukhari | 600–605 |
| Grahavarman is killed in war and the King of Thanesar, Harshavardhan is crowned Emperor of Kannauj. | |||
| Maharadhiraja | Harshavardhan | Pushyabhuti | 606–647 |
| Arunasva usurps the throne after Harsha's death. After Arunasva, Yashovarman establishes Varman rule over Kannauj. | |||
| Arunasva | ? | 647–? | |
| Yashovarman | Varman | 725–752 | |
| Āma | Varman | 752–? | |
| Dunduka | Varman | ? | |
| Bhoja | Varman | ?–770 | |
| Vajrayudha establishes Ayudha rule over Kannauj after deposing Bhoja. | |||
| Vajrayudha | Ayudha | 770–783 | |
| Indrayudha | Ayudha | 783–? | |
| Chakrayudha | Ayudha | ?–816 | |
| Nagabhata conquers Kannauj and deposes the Ayudhas, and declares himself as the emperor of Kannauj. | |||
| Maharajadhiraja | Nagabhata II | Pratihara | 800–833 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Ramabhadra | Pratihara | 833–836 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Mihira Bhoja or Bhoja I | Pratihara | 836–885 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Mahendrapala I | Pratihara | 885–910 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Bhoja II | Pratihara | 910–913 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Mahipala I | Pratihara | 913–944 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Mahendrapala II | Pratihara | 944–948 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Devapala | Pratihara | 948–954 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Vinayakapala | Pratihara | 954–955 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Mahipala II | Pratihara | 955–956 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Vijayapala II | Pratihara | 956–960 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Rajapala | Pratihara | 960–1018 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Trilochanapala | Pratihara | 1018–1027 |
| Maharajadhiraja | Yasahpala | Pratihara | 1024–1036 |
References
edit- ^ Tripathi, Rama S. (1989). History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 36. ISBN 9788120804043.
- ^ Pratiyogita Darpan. Upkar Prakashan. p. 9. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ R.C. Majumdar (1994). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 282–285. ISBN 978-81-208-0436-4.
- ^ Lal, Avantika. "Maukhari Dynasty". World History Encyclopedia.
- ^ Tripathi, Rama S. (1989). History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 40. ISBN 9788120804043.
- ^ Odorico (da Pordenone); Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb; Francesco Balducci Pegolotti; Joannes de Marignolis; Ibn Batuta (1998). Cathay and the Way Thither: Preliminary essay on the intercourse between China and the western nations previous to the discovery of the Cape route. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 69. ISBN 9788121508391.
- ^ Virji, krishnakumari J. (1952). Ancient History Of Saurashtra.
- ^ Shyam Manohar Mishra (1977). Yaśovarman of Kanauj. Abhinav. pp. 120–121 OCLC 5782454
- ^ Nitish K. Sengupta (2011). Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib. Penguin Books India. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-0-14-341678-4.
- ^ Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha (1977). Dynastic History of Magadha. Abhinav Publications. p. 177. ISBN 978-81-7017-059-4.
Dharmapāla after defeating Indrāyudha and capturing Kanuaj made it over to Cakrāyudha, who was a vassal king of Kanuaj subordinate to Dharmapāla ... Dharmapāla was thus acknowledged paramount ruler of almost whole of North India as the Bhojas of Berar, Kīra (Kangra district), Gandhāra (West Punjab), Pañcāla (Ramnagar area of U.P.), Kuru (eastern Punjab), Madra (Central Punjab), Avanti (Malwa), Yadus (Mathura or Dwarka or Siṁhapura in the Punjab), Matsya (a part of northeast Rajputana) were his vassals.