39-540: The Varman dynasty was a dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Kannauj from the mid 7th century to the late 8th century. It was founded by Yashovarman , who filled the power vacuum created after emperor Harshavardhana 's death. The city of Kannauj had previously been ruled by emperor Harshavardhana , who died without an heir and thus created a power vacuum. This lasted for around a century before Yashovarman emerged as its ruler. Alexander Cunningham , an archaeologist of
78-838: A substantial amount of plunder. Ultimately, Rajyapala, after fleeing to Bari, decided to surrender to Mahmud, acknowledging the nominal suzerainty of the Ghaznavids. The seven forts of Kannauj fell in one day to the Ghaznavids. Following this development, Mahmud engaged in other campaigns within India after successfully asserting control over Kannauj. Rajyapala's surrender to the Ghaznavids had consequences, leading to some turn of events. The Bundelkhand king Vidyadhara , along with his allies, took matters into their own hands and killed Rajyapala. After Rajyapala's demise, his successors persisted in maintaining control over certain territories by relocating their capital to Bari, near Kannauj, until
117-472: 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. The Doab Doab ( English: / ˈ d oʊ ɑː b / ) is a term used in South Asia for the tract of land lying between two confluent rivers. It is similar to an interfluve . In
156-635: A warrior from Baghelkhand , had a well-built physique, excellent archery skill, and a fierce face but a great calmness inside, a strict moral code and sensitivity to public sufferings. Impressed by him, the emperor gave him the title Maharaja and granted him rule over the regions around Ayodhya , Kannauj and Antarvedi ( Ganga-Yamuna Doab . The nobles and elites of the doab opposed his rule, but he eventually subdued them with military prowess and diplomacy, and soon assumed full control of his assigned provinces. His rule emphasised moral rightness and benevolence and he allied with other prominent families such as
195-474: Is an area irrigated by the Rangoi channel/canal made for the purpose of carrying flood waters of Ghagghar river to dry areas. Historically, villages in the doabs have been officially classified as khadir , khadir-bangar (i.e. mixed) or bangar for many centuries, and different agricultural tax rates applied based on a tiered land-productivity scale. The Doab designates the flat alluvial tract between
234-581: The British Raj period, speculated on possible rulers of Kannauj during the period between Harsha and Yashovarman but there is little evidence to support his claims. Much of information on him is derived from the Gaudavaho ( Slaying of the king of Gauda ), a Prakrit-language poem written by his court poet Vakpati . According to the Jain chronicles, Yashovarman had a son named Āma , who succeeded him as
273-634: The Deccan and Kashmir . Conflicting records exist regarding his war with Kashmir . Though Kannauj records claim that he was victorious over Kashmir, Kashimri records claim that Yashovarman was defeated by the Kashmir king. He was succeeded by Ama , Dunduka and Bhoja who were weak rulers. In 770, Bhoja was deposed by Vajrayudha founding the Ayudha dynasty . This destabilised the political climate of eighth century northern India. Much of India at that time
312-663: The Ganges and Yamuna rivers extending from the Sivalik Hills to the two rivers' confluence at Prayagraj . It is also called as Ganges-Yamuna Doab or Ganga Doab . The region has an area of about 23,360 square miles (60,500 square km); it is approximately 500 miles (805 km) in length and 60 miles (97 km) in width. The British raj divided the Doab into three administrative districts, viz., Upper Doab (Meerut), Middle Doab (Agra) and Lower Doab (Allahabad). Currently
351-779: The Indus and Jhelum rivers. The Chaj Doab lies between the Jhelum and the Chenab rivers. The Rachna Doab (considerable portion of the Rechna Doab is Majha ) lies between the Chenab and the Ravi rivers. The Bari Doab (considerable portion of the Bari Doab is Majha ) lies between the Ravi , Beas and Sutlej rivers. The Bist Doab (or Doaba ) - between the Beas and
390-619: The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary , R. S. McGregor defines it as from Persian do-āb ( دوآب , literally "two [bodies of] water") "a region lying between and reaching to the confluence of two rivers." Since North India and Pakistan are coursed by a multiplicity of Himalayan rivers that divide the plains into doabs (i.e. regions between two rivers), the Indo-Gangetic plains consist of alternating regions of river, khadir and bangar . The regions of
429-742: The Tomaras of Delhi and the Kingdom of Dahala declared their independence during the tenth century as well. This reduced the Kingdom of Kannauj to the Ganga Yamuna Doab region. In January 1019, Mahmud of Ghazni reached Kannauj. Surprisingly, Rajyapala, the then king of Kannauj, offered no resistance and fled his capital by crossing the Ganga River , ultimately seeking refuge in Bari . In his absence, Ghaznavid forces ransacked Kannauj, seizing
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#1732773237059468-556: The doabs near the rivers consist of low-lying, floodplains , but usually, very fertile khadir and the higher-lying land away from the rivers consist of bangar , less prone to flooding but also less fertile on average. Khadir is also called nali or naili , specially in northern Haryana the fertile prairie tract between the Ghaggar river and the southern limits of the Saraswati channel depression in that gets flooded during
507-695: The later Guptas . His great-grandson, Ishanavarman , (550–560) was the first prominent king of Kannauj. He pursued a policy of aggression against the emperors of Magadha and thus declared his independence, proclaiming himself Maharajadhiraja of Kannauj. He invaded the Andhra country and defeated the king of Andhra , Madhava Varma IV who had conquered and held suzerainty over a large region including modern day western Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Emperor of Magadha, Kumargupta III defeated Ishanavarman in 554 AD, but shortly died thereafter in Prayag. Harivarman's reign
546-455: The 12th century CE, gives a very different story in his Rajatarangini , depicting Yashovarman as a ruler who was among those defeated by Lalitaditya Muktapida , a very powerful Karkota ruler of Kashmir . Although R. C. Majumdar is among those who are wary of the ancient accounts of conquests, he believes that Yashovarman was "unquestionably the most powerful king [in the region] about this time." Yashovarman 's successors did not expand
585-589: 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 (r. 913–944),
624-693: 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,
663-567: The Kingdom of Kannauj and conquered it and proclaimed himself as the king of Kannauj after deposing the Ayudhas. Following 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. Nagabhata II was succeeded by Ramabhadra (r. 833–836). Rambhadra was followed by his son, Bhoja I (r. 836–885), one of
702-693: The Manyakheta Rashtrakutas sacked Kannauj in 916, causing a weakening of the imperial power. This was also the period during which they used the title King of Kings of Aryavarta (ancient name for northern India / Hindustan ). Mahipala was followed his son, Devapala I (r. 944–954), during whose decade-long reign the empire began to crumble away. Simharaja , the King of Sambhar , also declared his independence in 944 (in modern-day Rajasthan ). The Kingdom of Bundelkhand under Dhanga declared its independence in 950. Other kingdoms such as that of
741-456: The daughter of Prabhakarvardhana , the King of Thanesar as a part of an alliance. Mahasenagupta's son Devagupta invaded the Kannauj and killed Grahavarman . Rajyavardhan the then king of Kannauj and brother of Rajyashri, defeated Devagupta but was himself killed by the king of Gauda . Following these events, Harshavardhana , the younger brother of the dead king of Thanesar, vowed to avenge
780-599: The death of his brother and rescue his sister. He repelled the invasion by the king of Gauda and rescued his widowed sister. He was then crowned the Emperor of Kannauj by the nobles of Kannauj in a grand ceremony at Kannauj attended by representatives of multiple principalities and kingdoms of North India. He carried out campaigns in Northern India to bring under his suzerainty the various kingdoms of northern India. He reigned until 647. As per Hsüan Tsang, Harsha divided
819-471: The demise of the last ruler Yasahpala in 1036. The 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
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#1732773237059858-719: 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
897-515: The following states and districts form part of The Doab : Dehradun and Haridwar Saharanpur , Shamli , Muzaffarnagar , Baghpat , Meerut , Ghaziabad , Hapur , Gautam Buddh Nagar and Bulandshahr Etah , Kasganj , Aligarh , Agra , Hathras , Firozabad , Mainpuri and Mathura is in the trans-Yamuna region of Braj . Farrukhabad , Kannauj , Etawah , Auraiya , Kanpur (Urban & Rural), Fatehpur , Kaushambi and Allahabad . Europe North America Oceania Each of
936-661: The governor of Tirabhukti (modern-day north Bihar ). Since Harsha had no heir, Arunasva usurped the throne. Arunavasa repelled an invasion by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate . He had attacked the envoy of the Chinese emperor who had came earlier during the reign of Harsha . Arunasva was succeeded by Yashovarman who established the Varman dynasty . Yashovarman led military campaigns in Bengal , Indus Valley ,
975-494: The greatest rulers of Kannauj. He invaded the Kingdom 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, Gujarat, and Bundelkhand who acknowledged his suzerainty. He also managed to conquer Lata by the 870s. The territories of Bhoja extended up till Kashmir in the north after Bhoja conquered Punjab by defeating ruling Thakkiyaka dynasty. After Devapala's death, Bhoja defeated
1014-403: The income of his kingdom into four — a quarter for government expenses, another for salaries of public servants, a third quarter for the reward of intellectual attainments, and the last quarter for gifts. Although it seems to be very idealistic, but historians argue that there was a decay in urbant centres at that time. Harsha's rule was succeeded by that of Arunasva who had previously been
1053-425: The king of Kannauj during 749-753 CE. The dynasty reached its greatest extent and zenith of prosperity only under its founder, Yashovarman . The Gaudavaho depicts Yashovarman as conquering large swathes of northern India — including Bihar , Bengal , the western Deccan , Indus Valley and Kashmir — before returning in triumph to Kannauj. However, Kalhana , a Kashmiri court chronicler who lived around
1092-532: The king of Kannauj. For nearly half a century, between 890 and 944, the kings of Kannauj also bore the imperial title of 'Emperor of Aryavarta '. However, after this period, the empire began to fragment as its vassals gradually declared their independence, eventually reducing the kingdom to the Doab region by the late tenth century. Following invasions of the Ghaznavid Empire in the early eleventh century,
1131-469: The kingdom and were all weak kings, who did not pay much attention to administration. They are considered as unsuccessful rulers. Āma , Dunduka , and Bhoja are considered as insignificant rulers, who achieved nothing of importance and reigned for 15–20 years. The last king, Bhoja was probably defeated by the Ayudhas , who established a new dynasty . Kingdom of Kannauj The Kingdom of Kannauj
1170-507: The kingdom came to an end and the prestige of Kannauj slowly dwindled, and Delhi became the most important city of Hindustan ( North India ). The kingdom was also referred to as Middle Country or Middle India during diplomatic exchanges with Tang China , as well as Madhyadesha in Sanskrit within India. Magadhan emperor Budhagupta met the young Harivarman in 487 AD, when he was choosing men for his public service. Harivarman,
1209-613: 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
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1248-708: The ninth and tenth centuries. 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 kingdom under the Pratihara dynasty , the Bengal kingdom under the Pala dynasty , and the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta . Following his victory in 816 , the king of the Gurjaras, Nagabhata II declared himself
1287-406: The rains. Within bangar area, the barani is any low rain area where the rain-fed dry farming is practiced, which nowadays are dependent on the tubewells for irrigation. Bagar tract , an example of barani land, is the dry sandy tract of land on the border of Rajasthan state adjoining the states of Haryana and Punjab. Nahri is any canal -irrigated land, for example, the Rangoi tract which
1326-590: 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 ). This obviously led to war and the Gurjara Empire defeated Bengal and the Gurjara Emperor Vatsaraja occupied Kannauj. Rashtrakuta Emperor Dhruva defeated
1365-540: The throne of Kannauj. Indrayudha succeeded to the throne of Kannauj in 770. In 785, Vatsaraja , the Gurjara Emperor invaded Kannauj, made Indrayudha his vassal. Indrayudha continued rule over Kannauj under the suzerainty of the Gurjara emperor. 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
1404-686: The tracts of land lying between the confluent rivers of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India has a distinct name, said to have been coined by Raja Todar Mal , a minister of the Mughal emperor Akbar . The names (except for "Indus Sagar") are a combination of the first letters, in the Persian alphabet, of the names of the rivers that bound the Doab. For example, "Chaj" ( چج ) = Ch anāb ( چناب , "Chenab") + Je hlam ( جہلم , "Jhelum"). The names are from east to west. The Indus Sagar Doab lies between
1443-531: Was a medieval kingdom in northern India from 510, when it was established as a vassal state of the Magadhan Empire , and as an independent sovereign state after 550, until 1036, when it collapsed after Ghaznavid invasions . During the reign of Harsha , and later under the Pratiharas , the Kingdom of Kannauj stood as the most powerful state in India , flourishing in the seventh century, and again in
1482-450: Was followed by that of Adityavarman and Ishvavarman. Ishvavarman's son, Sharvavarman (560–575) invaded and conquered eastern portion of the Magadhan Empire , i.e., Magadha and Bundelkhand from Mahasenagupta who fled to Malwa (the remaining western portion of the empire) and established a rump state. His reign was followed by that of Avantivarman. Avantivarman's reign was followed by Grahavarman (r. 600–605) who married Rajyashri,
1521-706: Was under the rule of three great powers — the Gurjara Empire under the Rajput Pratihara dynasty , the Bengal Empire under the House of Pala , and the Manyakheta empire under a Rashtrakuta branch. The Kingdom of Kannauj constituted a vast prosperous region to the centre of northern India and seeing the instability of the kingdom due to the recent coup, the three powers were hoping to succeed to
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