Medieval History of Himachal Pradesh
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| Medieval History of Himachal Pradesh |
(A)Medieval Invaders
(1) Mahmud Ghaznavi –
Mahmud Ghaznavi had 17 attacks on India. Mahmud Ghaznavi in 1009 AD After defeating Anand pal, attacked Nagarkot and looted his treasury. Turks captured Nagarkot fort in 1043 AD. After this, Tomar King Mahipal of Delhi ended Ghaznavi rule from Nagarkot. Mahmud Ghaznavi could not control most parts of Kangra except Nagarkot by 1023. After the death of Trilochan Pal and his son Bhim Pal in 1026 AD came under the control of the Turks.
(2) Muhammad Gauri did not pay much attention to the hill states. In the Sultanate period, Timur Lung invaded India.
(B)Sultanate period (1206 AD – 1526 AD)
In the Sultanate period, the Ghulam dynasty (1206-1290 AD) and the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320) did not pay special attention to the hill states. The Sultans of the Tughlaq dynasty tried to establish their hegemony over the mountainous regions.
(i)Tughlaq Dynasty
Muhammad bin Tughluq-
In 1337 AD year, Muhammad bin Tughlaq sent an army to defeat King Prithvi Chand of Nagarkot.
Ferozeshah Tughlaq (1351-1388) –
In 1360 AD Rupchand, the king of Kangra looted the plains of Delhi with the army. Furious with this, Ferozeshah Tughlaq (1351-1388 AD) taught lesson to Rupchand the king of Kangra in 1361 AD invaded Nagarkot and besieged it. The Kangra expedition and the encirclement at Nagarkot are mentioned in ‘Tarikh – e – Feroz Farista’ and ‘Tarikh – e – Firozshahi’. King Roopchand and Ferozeshah Tughlaq were later reconciled and the siege was lifted from Nagarkot. Roopchand accepted the subjection of Ferozeshah Tughlaq. Ferozeshah Tughlaq went to Jwalamukhi after the agreement in 1365 and took 1300 Sanskrit books to be translated into Persian. These books were translated into Persian by the famous writer ‘Ajudin Khalidkhani’ and named the book ‘Dalai-e-Firozshahi’. In 1375 AD After the death of King Roopchand, his son Sagarchand became king. In the reign of Sagar Chand, Ferozeshah’s elder son Nasiruddin in Kangra took refuge in 1389 AD
(ii) Timurlang invasion –
In 1398 AD the Mongol invasion was led by Taimurlang. The king of Kangra was Meghchand at the time of Taimurlang’s invasion. Taimurlang returned in 1399 AD Invaded Shivalik regions. At the time of Timurlang’s invasion, the ruler of Hindur (Nalagarh) was Alamchand who assisted Timurlang, and consequently Timurlung proceeded without harming Hindur. He attacked the Sirmour region besides Nurpur (Dhameri) which was opposed by Ratan Singh. The Sayyid dynasty and the Lodi dynasty also made no attempt to dominate the hill states.
(C)Mughal period (1526-1857 AD)
(i) Babur –
Babur established his outpost in ‘Malout’ near Kangra in 1525. Babur in 1526 AD Founded the Mughal dynasty in India by defeating Ibrahim Lodi in the First War of Panipat.
(ii) Akbar –
Akbar in 1556 AD sent his army to Nurpur to capture Alexander Shah because Raja Bhaktmal of Nurpur had friendship with Sikandar Shah. Akbar kept his kings or relatives as hostages in the court to accept their subjugation to the hill kings. Akbar took King Jaichand of Kangra hostage. Jaichand’s son Bidhichand rebelled against Akbar in association with Takhtmal, the king of Nurpur. Akbar sent Birbal along with Hussain Quli Khan to suppress this rebellion. In 1572 AD Akbar appointed Todarmal to establish a royal zamindari by taking the lands of the hill states. 66 villages of Kangra and Rihalu Chheri, Pathiyar and Dhar areas of Chamba included . After the death of King Jaichand in 1585, his son Bidhichand became king. King Bidhichand kept his son Trilok Chand as a hostage in the Mughal court. Raja Pratap Singh Varman of Chamba was a contemporary of Akbar. He was devoted to the Mughals. King Dharm Prakash of Sirmaur (1538–70 A.D.) was a contemporary of Akbar.
(iii) Jahangir –
Jahangir 1605 AD sat on the throne. In 1605 AD King Bidhichand of Kangra died and his son Trilok Chand ascended the throne. Jahangir in 1615 AD sent Raja Surajmal and Sheikh Farid Murtaza Khan of Nurpur (Dhameri) to capture Kangra but the plan to capture the Kangra fort was postponed after the two disputed and Murtaza Khan died. Jahangir in 1617 AD then sent an army for Kangra victory under the leadership of Raja Suraj Mal of Nurpur and Shah Quli Khan Mohammad Taki. Quli Khan was called back because of a fight between King Surajmal and Shah Quli Khan
King Surajmal revolted against the Mughals. Jahangir sent Raja Rai Vikramjit and Abdul Aziz to suppress Surajmal’s rebellion. Raja Surajmal took refuge in Mankot and Taragarh Fort which was under the Chamba princely state. Raja Pratap Varman of Chamba suggested to surrender to Surajmal but in 1619 AD he died. Kangra Fort in 1620 AD came under the Mughals. Jahangir on 20 November 1620 received news of the capture of Kangra Fort. Raja Surajmal’s younger brother Jagat Singh helped the Mughals to conquer Kangra Fort. The Kangra Fort was captured by the Mughals under the leadership of Nawab Alikhan and in 1783 AD remained occupied till 1783. Jahangir in 1622 AD came to Dhameri (Nurpur). He named Dhameri as Nurpur after his wife Nur Jahan. One door of the Kangra Fort was named ‘Jahangiri Darwaja’. Jahangir built a mosque inside the Kangra Fort. During Jahangir, there was a ‘war of Dhalog’ between King Jarnadhan of Chamba and Jagat Singh in which Jagat Singh emerged victorious. In 1623 AD at Chamba Jagat Singh remained in possession for over 2 decades. Jagat Singh was loyal to the Mughals. Raja Budhi Prakash of Sirmour (1605–1615) was a contemporary of Jahangir. The first Mughal fortress of Kangra Fort was Nawab Alikhan.
(iv) Shah Jahan –
Nawab Asadullah Khan and Koch Kulikhan became Mughal fortresses of Kangra Fort during the reign of Shah Jahan. Coach Kulikhan remained a Mughal fortress for 17 years. He was buried near the river Baan Ganga. Raja Mandhata Prakash of Sirmaur was a contemporary of Shah Jahan. He assisted the Garhwal expedition of the Mughals several times.
(v) Jagatsingh –
In 1627 Shah Jahan reinstated Jagatsingh’s mansab. Jagat Singh was appointed a Faujdar of Bagas in 1634. Three years later he was given the responsibility of the province of Kabul. Jagat Singh and his son Rajroop Singh revolted against Shah Jahan. Shah Jahan sent his son Murad Bakhsh to crush the rebellion. The Mughals invaded the Maukot and Nurpur forts, forcing Jagatsingh to take refuge in the Taragarh Fort. Jagat Singh was commissioned in 1642 AD had to make a treaty and Shah Jahan forgave him.
(vi) Aurangzeb and the hill state-
Chamba (Chatar Singh) –
In 1678 Aurangzeb ordered the demolition of all the temples of the princely state of Chamba. To his north, Chatar Singh ordered a golden burji to be decorated on all the temples of the state. He formed a union with the kings of Guler, Jammu and Basauli and returned to his lost territory by defeating the Mughal Viceroy of Punjab, Mirza Riyaz Baig.
Bushahr (Kehri Singh) –
Aurangzeb conferred the title of Chhatrapati to King Kehri Singh of Bushehr.
Sirmour (Subhag Prakash /Buddha Prakash /Medani Prakash) –
The Mughals had sovereignty over the princely state of Sirmaur. Its rulers had friendly relations with the Mughals. Aurangzeb asked Subhash Prakash (1647–1659) to assist Rajroop, son of Jagat Singh (at the time of the invasion of Garhwal). The kings of Sirmaur received many jagirs in exchange for service to the Mughals. After the death of Subhash Prakash in 1659, Buddha Prakash and after that in 1678 AD was granted the honor by considering Medani Prakash as the king of Sirmaur. The Sirmaur princely state was protected by the Mughals against Garhwal.
(vii) Hill states in the north Mughal period (1707-1783 AD)
Nadir shah-
1707 AD. After the death of Aurangzeb, the Mughals began to decline. Nadir Shah in 1739 AD Invaded India.
Adina Baig (1745 AD) –
1745 AD Adina Baig became the governor of Punjab (Jalandhar). He defeated the rulers of Guler, Dalip Singh, Ajit Singh of Jaswa, Devadatta of Nurpur, Yadupal of Kutlehar, Rai of Bhangal. He blew Bijapur and Jaisinghpur. The princely state of Mandi accepted his subordination but died after some time.
(viii) Ahmad Shah Abdali and Ghamandchand –
Ahmad Shah Durrani from Between 1748 to 1788 AD, attacked the Punjab 10 times and broke the back of the Mughals. King Ghamandchand took advantage of this opportunity in 1752 AD captured the areas of Kangra and Doab. The Kangra Fort was still with the Mughals. Nawab Saif Ali Khan was the last Mughal fortress of Kangda Fort. Ahmed Shah Durrani AD in 1759 made Ghamandchand as the Nazim of Jalandhar Doab. Ghamandchand ruled the region from Sutlej to Ravi.
(D)Sikh Guru (1500 AD – 1708 AD)
(i) Gurunanak Dev Ji –
The first Sikh Guru traveled to Jwalamukhi, Kangra, Kullu, Lahaul, Chamba, Kahlur, Sirmaur, Mandi and Suket. To commemorate his visit, a gurudwara has been built at Johsar near Sabathu.
(ii) Guru Arjun Dev Ji –
The fifth Sikh Guru received funds from the hill states for the construction of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Kullu, the king of Suket, Mandi, Chamba and Haripur became a disciple of Guruji. Guruji sent Bhai Kalyan to the Raja of Mandi after which the king reached Amritsar with his queen and became a disciple of Guruji.
(iii) Guru Hargovind ji –
Sixth Sikh Guru on the terrain presented to the king of Kahlur in 1634 AD. Settled the city of Kiratpur and established the throne. The hill kings had defeated the Nawab of planting in collaboration with Guruji in 1642.
(iv) Guru TegBahadur ji –
The ninth Sikh Guru settled the village of Makhowal on 3 villages, which came to be known as Anandpur Sahib, from the queen of Kahlur. This became his residence.
(v) The late Guru Govind Singh ji and the hill state –
Guru Govind Singh was born in Patna Sahib. His father Guruteg Bahadur Singh ji was martyred at Chandni Chowk in Delhi by Aurangzeb. He was raised in Anandpur Sahib.
Sirmaur stay –
Guruji came to Nahan at the invitation of Medani Prakash, the king of Sirmaur. The king granted him land to build a fort at Paonta Sahib on the banks of the river Yamuna. Guruji stayed in Paonta from 1683–1688 and composed the Dasam Granth. His huge gurudwara is located in Paonta Sahib. Guruji made friendship between King Medani Prakash of Sirmaur and King Fatehchand of Garhwal.
Bhagani War (1686 AD) –
There was a feud between Guruji and King Bhimchand of Kahlur over the white elephant which was given to Guruji by Ratnam Rai of Assam. In 1686 AD between Guru Govind Singh and King Bhimchand of Kahlur, Fateh Shah of Garhwal and King Harichand of Hondur the battle of ‘Bhagani Sahib’ took place in which Guru Govind Singh emerged victorious. The king of Hondur was killed in this battle with the arrow of Harichand Guruji. After the war, Guruji returned the land to Harichand’s successor and his relations with King Bhimchand of Kahlur also became sweet.
Nadaun war –
In Nadaun war, Guruji assisted Bhimchand and defeated the Mughal commander. After the defeat of Nadaun, Dilavar Khan’s son Rustam Khan invaded Anandpur which was thwarted by Guruji. Guruji along with Guler Raja of Guler defeated Ghulam Hussain Khan, the Subedar of Lahore.
Mandi Yatra –
Guruji traveled to Mandi and Kullu on the call of King Siddhsen of Mandi.
Establishment of Khalsa Panth –
In April 13, 1699 AD On the day of Vaishakhi, Guru Gobind Singh Ji established the Khalsa Panth at Anandpur Sahib with 80 thousand soldiers and organized the Sikhs into a military force that scared the hill states. Kahlur King sought assistance from the Mughals. Guruji defeated the Mughal army at Nirmoha.
South migration from Anandpur-
In 1703 AD The hill kings and Mughals surrounded Anandpur Sahib. Guruji 1704 AD left Anandpur Sahib and went to Nanded. He was joined by Madho Singh Vairagi (Banda Bahadur) whom he sent to North India to lead the Sikh Panth and avenge the Mughals. Guruji’s sons were martyred in Sirhind. Guruji in1708 AD he was fraudulently murdered by the Pathans In Nanded.
(vi) Banda Bahadur –
Banda Bahadur looted many cities of Punjab and took fierce revenge from the Mughal Governor of Punjab. Banda Bahadur reached Nahan in 1710, from where he reached Kiratpur and made King Bhimchand of Kahlur his prey. King Siddhsen of Mandi and Raja of Chamba agreed to pay tax to Banda Bahadur. The Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar sent Abdus Samad to do Banda Bahadur war. Banda Bahadur in 1715 AD was captured. In 1716 AD he was killed by hanging on the gallows. After the death of Banda Bahadur, the Sikhs were divided into 12 Egyptians.
