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Kingdom of Malwa
*Mālavā Rājya*
Kingdom of Malwa Mālavā Rājya
800–1304
	Coat of Arms
	The Kingdom of Malwa in 1304
Status	Vassal state of the Rashtrakutas (800–947); Independent kingdom (947–1304);
Capital	Dhar
Religion	Hinduism
Government	Absolute monarchy
King
• 800–818	Upendra (first)
• 1303–1305	Mahalakadeva (last)
Historical era	Early Mediaeval Era
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Rashtrakuta Empire
Delhi Sultanate
Today part of	India

The Kingdom of Malwa was a kingdom in Central India during the early medieval era. It was ruled by the Paramara dynasty. It reached its zenith under Bhoja between 1010 and 1055. In 1305, the kingdom was annexed by the Delhi Sultanate. It was administered as a province until 1401, when it regained its independence.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Malwa had been ruled by the Rashtrakutas as a vassal state until 948 when it declared its independence under the House of Paramara. It existed as a sovereign state until it was conquered by the Delhi Sultanate in 1305. In 1401, the governor of Malwa declared his independence and established the Sultanate of Malwa under the House of Khalji which reigned till its conquest by Akbar, the Emperor of Hindustan in 1562.

Rashtrakuta vassal

Following Govinda's successful northern campaign, Govinda III (r. 793–814), the Rashtrakuta emperor, placed the newly conquered Malwa region under Upendra (r. 800–818),^[4] the first known Paramara king. Upendra had two sons, of whom Vairasimha I succeeded to the throne. The younger brother Dambarisimha founded his own Paramara branch that ruled Vagada as the feudatories of the main branch. Vairasimha I was succeeded by Siyaka I.

Siyaka I was succeeded by Vairisimha II. During his reign, the King of Kannauj, Mahipala I (r. 913–944) re-conquered Malwa. Due to this Varisimha I shifted his capital to eastern Gujarat. Vairisimha re-conquered Malwa after 946 AD.^[5]

Independent kingdom

Siyaka II

Around 949 AD, Siyaka II succeeded his father Varisimha II. Siyaka II rebelled against the Rashtrakutas and sacked the capital Manyakheta in 972 AD.

Vakapati II

His son Vakapati II Munja succeeded him around 975. He defeated the Kingdom of Sambhar, Kingdom of Mewar, Kingdom of Chedi, Nadol and the Kingdom of Gujarat. However, in 998, the Kingdom of Kuntala defeated and conquered the southern territories of Malwa.

Sindhuraja

His brother, Sindhuraja succeeded him in 990. He defeated the Kuntala kingdom and took back the lost territories. He used the titles Avantishvara (lord of Avanti) and Malava-raja (king of Malwa)

Bhoja

His son Bhoja succeeded him in 1010. Bhoja is commonly regarded as the greatest king of Malwa and made extensive conquests. He created an alliance between the Kingdom of Chedi, the Chola empire and the Kingdom of Malwa, and defeated the Kingdom of Kuntala. However, in 1048, the Kingdom of Kuntala invaded and sacked the capital of Malwa, and forced to cede territories up till the Narmada.

Decline

After his death in 1055, he was succeeded by his son. Jayasimha I was defeated by an alliance of Kingdom of Gujarat and Kingdom of Dahala. Jayasimha's successor and Bhoja's brother Udayaditya was defeated by Chamundaraja, his vassal at Vagada. He repulsed an invasion by the King of Gujarat, Karna, with help from his allies. Udayaditya's eldest son Lakshmadeva has been credited with defeating Dahala. Udayaditya's younger son Naravarman faced several defeats, losing to the Kingdom of Bundelkhand and the Gujarat king Jayasimha Siddharaja. By the end of his reign, Vijayapala had carved out an independent kingdom to the northeast of Ujjain.

Interregnum

Yashovarman lost control of the capital Dhara to Jayasimha Siddharaja. His successor Jayavarman I regained control of Dhara, but soon lost it to an usurper named Ballala. The Gurjara king Kumarapala defeated Ballala around 1150 AD, supported by his feudatories the Naddula ruler Alhana and the Abu Paramara chief Yashodhavala. Malwa then became a province of the Gurjara kingdom. A minor branch of the Paramaras, who styled themselves as Mahakumaras, ruled the area around Bhopal during this time.^[6]

Re-establishment of sovereignty

Nearly two decades later, Jayavarman's son Vindhyavarman defeated the Gurjara king Mularaja II, and re-established the sovereignty of Malwa. During his reign, Malwa faced repeated invasions from the Hoysalas and the Yadavas of Devagiri. He was also defeated by the Gurjara general Kumara. Despite these setbacks, he was able to restore the Paramara power in Malwa before his death.

Vindhyavarman's son Subhatavarman invaded Gujarat, and plundered the territory. But he was ultimately forced to retreat by the Gurjara feudatory Lavana-Prasada. His son Arjunavarman I also invaded Gujarat, and defeated Jayanta-simha (or Jaya-simha), who had usurped the throne for a brief period. He was defeated by Yadava general Kholeshvara in Lata.^[7]

Arjunavarman was succeeded by Devapala, who was the son of Harishchandra, a Mahakumara (chief of a Paramara branch). He continued to face struggles against Gujarat and the Yadavas. The Sultan of Delhi Iltutmish captured Bhilsa during 1233-34 AD, but Devapala defeated the Sultanate's governor and regained control of Bhilsa. He was killed by Vagabhata of Ranthambhor, who suspected him of plotting his murder in connivance with the Delhi Sultan.

During the reign of Devapala's son Jaitugideva, the power of Malwa greatly declined because of invasions from the Yadava king Krishna, the Delhi Sultan Balban, and the Vaghela prince Visala-deva. Devapala's younger son Jayavarman II also faced attacks from these three powers. Jayavarman II moved the Malwa capital from Dhara to the hilly Mandapa-Durga (present-day Mandu), which offered a better defensive position.

Arjunavarman II, the successor of Jayavarman II, proved to be a weak ruler. He faced rebellion from his minister. In the 1270s, the Yadava ruler Ramachandra invaded Malwa, and in the 1280s, the Ranthambhor ruler Hammira also raided Malwa. Arjuna's successor Bhoja II also faced an invasion from Hammira.

Annexation by the Delhi Sultanate and aftermath

Mahalakadeva, the last known Paramara king, was defeated and killed by the army of Ayn al-Mulk Multani, a general of Alauddin Khalji of the Delhi Sultanate, in 1305 AD.

The Sultanate of Delhi annexed Malwa following its invasion and it remained a province of the sultanate for nearly a century until 1401, when the governor of Malwa declared his independence from the Sultan and re-established the independent Kingdom of Malwa.

List of rulers

References

^ Prasad, Ishwari. History of Mediaeval India 800–1700. In the tenth century the kingdom of Malwa fell into the hands of the Parmar Rajputs, and under their rule it attained to great prominence.
^ Austin, Ian. City of Legends The Story of Hyderabad. Mahmood of Ghazni and Sultan Mohammed Ghori looted the ineffectual Rajput tribes of their gold and jewels. Fortunately, the greatest diamond of all escaped that fate. When the invasions began, it was smuggled out to the Kingdom of Malwa, then ruled by the Parmar Dynasty, becoming their treasured heirloom to be handed down through generations.
^ Middleton, John (2005). World Monarchies and Dynasties. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-45157-0. PARAMARA DYNASTY (ca. 820-1235 С.Е.) Rajput rulers of the Indian kingdom of Malwa, who declared independence from neighboring imperial powers and allowed religion, the arts, and learning to flourish. The name Paramara means "slaver of the enemy." The first known king of the dynasty was Upendra (r. ca. 800-818), who was a vassal of the Rastrakuta dy nasty of the Deccan region of India
^ Middleton 2005
^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 318. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
^ Kailash Chand Jain 1972, pp. 363–364.
^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 21, 147. ISBN 0226742210.