Medieval History of Himachal Pradesh (Part-1)

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Medieval History of Himachal Pradesh can be classified into four phases. They are Mahmud Ghaznavi invasion, Tuglaqs, invasion of Taimur-lung and Mughal reign. We shall discuss one by one  in the following paragraphs.



(i) Mahmud Ghaznavi: Mahmud Ghaznavi had invaded India seventeen times. After beating Anandpal in 1009 A.D., he invaded Nagarkot and looted immense treasury. Nagarkot was ruled by Turks till 1043 A.D and after that Tomar Raja Mahipal of Delhi ended the rule of Turks from Nagarkot. Mahmud Ghaznavi could not rule many parts of Kangra excluding Nagarkot till 1023 A.D. After the death of Raja Trilochan Pal and his son Bhim Pal, Kangra came under the rule of Turks in 1026 A.D.


(ii) Tuglaqs: Muhammad Gauri, Slave Dynasty (1206-1290) and Khilji Dynasty (1290-1320) did not pay special attention the hill states. In century 12th, many Rajputs from the Plains (Chauhan, Chandel, Sen, Tomar, and Pawar) established many states in the mighty hills of Himachal. 

1. Muhammad Bin Tuglaq: In the year of 1337 A.D., Muhammad Bin Tuglaq (1325-1351) led an army to defeat Raja Prithvi Chand of Nagarkot. 

2. Firoz Shah Tuglaq: In order to teach a lesson to Raja Rup Chand of Kangra, Firoz Shah Tuglaq invaded Nagarkot and encircled the fort with his army in 1361 A.D. We can find references of this invasion in ‘Tarikh-i-Firoz-Farishta’ and ‘Tarikh-i-Firoz-Shahi’. Raja Rup Chand and Firoz Shah reached to an agreement in which Raja Rup Chand accepted the suzerainty of the latter. After the agreement in 1365, Firoz Shah visited Jawalamukhi and took away with him 1300 books of Sanskrit, which got translated into Persian by an eminent Persian writer ‘Ajjudin Khalid Khani’ and named the book ‘Dalai-i-Firozshahi’. After the death of Raja Rup Chand in 1375 A.D., his son Sagar Chand ceded the throne. 

(iii) Invasion of Taimur-lung: In 1398 A.D., Mongols invaded Kangra in the leadership of Taimur-lung. During this invasion, Raja of Kangra was Megh Chand. Taimur invaded Shivalik region while retreating from the Kangra in 1399 A.D. During the invasion of Taimur, ruler of Hindur (present day Nalagarh) was Alam Chand, who helped Taimur and as a result Taimur moved ahead without harming Hindur. Taimur also invaded Nurpur and Sirmaur which was opposed by Ratan Chand.


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Author: Karun

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