Medieval Rajput states

The fertile and prosperous plains of northern India had always been a destination of choice for streams of invaders coming from the northwest. The last of these waves of invasions were of tribes who had previously converted to Islam. For geographic reasons, Rajput-ruled states suffered the brunt of aggression from various Mongol–Turkic–Afghan warlords who repeatedly invaded the subcontinent. In his New History of India Stanley Wolpert wrote, "The Rajputs were the vanguard of Hindu India in the face of the Islamic onslaught."

In the early 11th century, Mahmud of Ghazni conquered the Hindu Kabul Shahi kingdom in the Punjab. His raids into northern India weakened the Pratihara kingdom, which was drastically reduced in size and came under the control of the Chandelas. In 1018 CE, Mahmud sacked the city of Kannauj, seat of the Pratihara kingdom, but withdrew immediately to Ghazni, being interested in booty rather than empire. In the ensuing chaos, the Gahadvala dynasty established a modest state centered around Kannauj, ruling for about a hundred years. They were defeated by Muhammad of Ghor, who sacked the city in 1194 CE.

Meanwhile, a nearby state centered around present-day Delhi was ruled successively by the Tomara and Chauhan clans. Prithviraj Chauhan, ruler of Delhi, defeated Muhammad of Ghor at the First Battle of Tarain (1191 CE). Muhammad returned the following year and defeated Prithviraj at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192 CE. In this battle, as in many others of this era, rampant internecine conflict among Rajput kingdoms facilitated the victory of the invaders.

In the late 11th century, a battle between Parmal and Prithviraj Chauhan took place in Mahoba, a small town in Uttar Pradesh. Alha and Udal were the generals of Parmal's army, who fought bravely but lost the battle. The descendants of Alha are Aharwar Rajput. Hoever famous British historians like Henry M Elliot, W.E Purser and Herbert Charles Fanshawe regards Ahars with Ahirs and had proved that Ahirs were ancestors of Ahars.^[8]

[edit] Medieval Rajput states (12th to 16th centuries)

Prithviraj Chauhan proved to be the last Rajput ruler of Delhi. The Chauhans, led by Govinda, grandson of Prithviraj, later established a small state centered around Ranthambore in present-day Rajasthan. The Songara branch of the Chauhan clan later ruled Jalore, while the Hada branch established their rule over the Hadoti region in the mid-13th century. The Rever Maharaja Ranavghansinh ruled Taranga in the 11th century. The Tomaras later established themselves at Gwalior, and the ruler Man Singh built the fortress which still stands there. Muhammad's armies brought down the Gahadvala kingdom in 1194 CE. Some surviving members of the Gahadvala dynasty are said to have refugeed to the western desert, formed the Rathore clan, and later founded the state of Marwar. The Kachwaha clan came to rule Dhundhar (later Jaipur) with their capital at Amber.

Other relocations surmised to have occurred in this period include the emigration of Rajput clans to the Himalayas. The Katoch clan, the Chauhans of Chamba and certain clans of Uttarakhand and Nepal are counted among this number.

[edit] Conflict with the Sultanate

The Delhi Sultanate was founded by Qutb ud din Aybak, Muhammad of Ghor's successor, in the early 13th century. Sultan Ala ud din Khilji conquered Gujarat (1297), Malwa (1305), Ranthambore (1301), Chittorgarh (1303), Jalore, and Bhinmal (1311). All were conquered after long sieges and fierce resistance from their Rajput defenders.

The "First Jauhar" occurred during the siege of Chittor (1303). Jauhar is the mass self-immolation of the female population to avoid capture in time of war. Concurrently, the male population would perform Saka: a fight to the death against impossible odds. The defence of Chittor by the Guhilas, the sagas of Rani Padmini, and the memory of the Jauhar have had a defining impact upon the Rajput character.

Ala ud din Khilji delegated the administration of the newly conquered areas to his principal Rajput collaborator, Maldeo Songara, ruler of Jalore. Maldeo Songara was soon displaced by his son-in-law Hammir, a scion of the lately displaced Guhila clan, who re-established the state of Mewar c. 1326 CE. Mewar was to emerge as a leading Rajput state, after Rana Kumbha expanded his kingdom at the expense of the sultanates of Malwa and Gujarat.