Chauhan

The Chauhans or Chahamana are a Rajput clan who ruled parts of northern India in the Middle Ages.

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The Chauhans were, along with the along with the Paramara (Parmar), Pratihara (Parihara), and Solanki (Chaulukya) clans, one of the four Agni Kula or "fire born" Rajput clans. The Agni kula were said to be created by the gods in the angi kund or "fountain of fire" on Mount Abu to fight against the Asuras or demons

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The Chauhans come from the region around lakes Sambhar and Pushkar in Rajasthan, near Amber and present-day Jaipur. Chauhan dynasties established themselves in several places in northern India, while the Sakhambari branch remained near lake Sambhar and married into the ruling Pratihara clan, who then ruled an empire in northern India. The Chauhans later asserted their independence from the Pratiharas, and in the early 11th century, the Sakhambari king Ajaya-Raja founded the city of Ajaya-meru, now known as Ajmer. In the mid-12th century his successor Vigraharaja enlarged the state to include much of northern Rajasthan as well as Haryana. The Chauhan state collapsed after king Prithviraj III was defeated by Mohammed of Ghor in 1192 at the Second Battle of Tarain, but the Chauhans remained in Ajmer as feudatories of Mohammed of Ghor and the Sultans of Delhi until 1365, when Ajmer was captured by the rulers of Mewar. A branch of the Chauhans, led by Govinda, the grandson of Pritviraj III, established themselves as rulers of Ranthambore from the 13th to the 15th centuries, when Ranthambore was captured by Rana Kumbha of Mewar. The Hadas, another branch of the Chauhans, moved into the Hadoti region in the 12th century, capturing Bundi in 1241, and ruled there until the 20th century.

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Chauhans of the Deora branch established the state of Sirohi in southern Rajasthan, and ruled there from the 15th century until Indian Independence.

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Rajput: A Rajput (from Sanskrit rāja-putra, "son of a king") is a member of a prominent caste who live throughout northern and central India, primarily in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. They are thought to number about 12 million....

Middle Ages: The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three 'ages': the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. The Middle Ages of Western Europe are commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire (5th century)...

Paramara: The Paramara or Parmar were a prominent Rajput clan of medieval India. The Paramaras were one of the four agni kula ("fire born") clans of Rajputs. They established themselves as rulers of Malwa in central India in the ninth century, from their capital at Dhar. King Bhoj, who ruled from about 1010 t...