The Rise of Regional Powers

 The Rise of Regional Powers 

In the period from the eighth to the thirteenth centuries , there arose many powers in India . In this chapter , we shall obtain some information about the regional powers like the Palas , the Rashtrakutas , the Cholas , the Rajputs and the Yadavs .

The Palas:

 In the second half of the seventh century AD, the territory of Bengal was divided into many kingdoms and was ruled by different powers. The situation in Bengal was chaotic. In these circumstances, the rulers in Bengal came together forgetting their differences. They unanimously chose Gopal as their leader. In AD 725, Gopal founded the Pala dynasty in Bengal. He expanded the kingdom by marching on Magadha. His son Dharmapal brought Magadha under his control. He shifted his capital to Pundavardhanpur on the banks of the river Kartoya. Dharmapal defeated Indrayudh, the king of Kanauj. He had to fight the Rashtrakutas and the Pratiharas. But he did not succeed against the Rashtrakuta king Govind III. In order to retain his control over Kanauj, Dharmapal had to fight the Pratihara king Nagabhatta. Nagabhatta defeated Dharmapal at Munger. After Dharmapal, his son Deopal came into power. He annexed Orissa to his kingdom.

The Rashtrakutas :

 The Rashtrakutas came to power in Maharashtra in the eighth century AD . Of the Rashtrakuta dynasty , Dantidurga was the first powerful king . Krishna I who succeeded Dantidurga conquered Badami , the capital of the Chalukyas . He annexed some parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to his kingdom .

During the reign of Govind III , who ascended the throne in AD 794 , the Rashtrakuta power spread from Kanauj to Rameshwar . His son Amoghvarsha founded the new town of Malkhed near Solapur which became the capital of his kingdom . Later , Krishna III conquered territories up to Allahabad . He was able to subdue the Chola kings . In the tenth century , the Chalukya king Taila defeated the Rashtrakutas .

The Cholas : 

The Chola dynasty of Tamilnadu was one of the ancient and leading dynasties in the southern part of India . Vijayalaya was the founder of the Chola power . He conquered Tanjavur around AD 850 . Tanjavur became the capital of the Cholas . Rajraj I and Rajendra I were two of the capable Chola kings .

Rajraj . I defeated the Gangas , the Cheras and the Pandyas . With his powerful navy , he also conquered the Maldive islands and Northern Sri Lanka . Later , he also defeated the Chalukyas of Vengi and the king of Kalinga . He established a mighty kingdom of the Cholas .

After Rajraj I , his son Rajendra ascended the throne . He conquered the whole of Sri Lanka . He annexed the kingdoms of the Cheras and the Pandyas to his empire . He defeated the Chalukyas many times . He crossed the Godavari river and defeated the kings of Kalinga , South Koshal and East Bengal . Later , he went up to the river Ganga . On the occasion of this victory he took on the title , " Gangaikonda .

Rajendra I began a naval campaign against the Shailendras in Malaya . It was the biggest naval campaign of its kind in the history of India . Rajendra I conquered Bengal and the Malaya peninsula . He founded the new capital of Gangaikonda - cholapuram .

None of the successors of Rajendra I were capable rulers . The power of the Cholas declined in the twelfth century AD . Later , Alauddin Khalji's General Malik Kafur put an end to the Chola rule .

The Rajputs : 

The power of the Pratiharas of Avanti declined in the eleventh century AD . Thereafter , many Rajput powers emerged in North India . Among them , the Gahadwals of Kanauj , the Parmars of Malwa and the Chauhans of Ajmer were the more important ones .

Chandradeo was the founder of the Gahadwal dynasty . Their capital was Kanauj . Govindchandra was a capable king of the Gahadwal dynasty . He annexed Bengal , Magadha and East Malwa to his kingdom . Later , Muhammad Ghuri of Ghazni put an end to the Gahadwal rule .

Krishnaraj was the founder of the Parmar dynasty . Dhar in Malwa was the capital of the Parmars . The most important and capable king of this dynasty was Bhoja . He extended the Parmar rule up to the Konkan in the south . He was known for his valour , wisdom and as a man of taste . At the beginning of the fourteenth century AD , Alauddin Khalji put an end to the Parmar power .

The Chauhans ruled the region north of Rajasthan . Prithviraj Chauhan III , who belonged to the Chauhan dynasty , was a valiant king . In the battle of Tarai in AD 1191 , he defeated Muhammad Ghuri . The Gahadwal king Jaychand Rathod of Kanauj had a strained relationship with Prithviraj . In the year after the battle of Tarai Muhammad Ghuri launched a campaign against Prithviraj . At that time , Prithviraj asked Jaychand Rathod for help . But Jaychand did not help him . Muhammad Ghuri defeated Prithviraj and conquered Ajmer . Later , he invaded Kanauj and killed Jaychand .

The Yadavas : 

This was a well - known dynasty of Maharashtra . In the beginning , Chandwad in Nashik district was the principal seat of the Yadavas . The Yadav king Seunchandra shifted the capital to Sinnar . In the twelfth century , Bhillam V took the capital to Deogiri near Aurangabad . There , he had himself crowned .

Singhan II of the Yadav dynasty was the most capable of Yadava rulers . He established his rule over Malwa , Karnataka and almost the whole of Maharashtra . The Yadav rule reached its zenith during his reign . In the thirteenth century AD , Ramchandradeo was the ruler of Deogiri when Alauddin Khalji invaded it . Alauddin defeated him . The Yadav power began to decline . Soon , it came to an end .

Various regional powers emerged in different parts of India between the eighth century AD and the thirteenth century AD . They were constantly engaged in mutual conflicts . The Turkish invaders who came from beyond the north - western frontier of India took advantage of this situation . At the beginning of the thirteenth century AD , they established a seat of their power at Delhi .