Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty: A Visual History

The Gurjara-Pratiharas rose in Rajasthan and Malwa in the eighth century; Nagabhata I repelled an Arab invasion from Sind around 738. Under Nagabhata II, Mihira Bhoja (836-885) and Mahendrapala they ruled from Kanauj over most of northern India from Gujarat to Bihar, holding their own in the three-way struggle with the Palas of Bengal and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan. Arab travellers described their vast cavalry and their hostility to Islam. Rashtrakuta raids and the breakaway of feudatories weakened them, and Mahmud of Ghazni's sack of Kanauj in 1018 destroyed them.

When it existed: the era ribbon

The bold bar is Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. The lighter bars are empires and wars from the same era and the same part of the world. Click any bar to jump to its page.

Pratihara territory

Timeline of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty

1. 738
   Nagabhata I repels the Arabs
2. 810
   Nagabhata II takes Kanauj
3. 836
   Mihira Bhoja
4. 885
   MahendrapalaFurthest extent east.
5. 916
   Rashtrakuta Indra III sacks Kanauj
6. 1018
   Mahmud of Ghazni takes Kanauj
7. 1036
   Last Pratihara king

Origins and the Arabs

The dynasty's name may mean 'doorkeepers' from a legendary role serving Rama's brother, or refer to the Gurjara people; the debate is politically charged in Rajasthan today. Nagabhata I of Malwa is credited with defeating the Umayyad governor of Sind's invasion around 738, part of the wall of Indian resistance that kept Islam west of the Thar for three centuries.

The tripartite struggle

Nagabhata II took Kanauj from the Palas around 810; the Rashtrakutas twice defeated the Pratiharas and briefly took Kanauj. Bhoja rebuilt the empire, ruling from the Sutlej to Bengal's borders; the Arab traveller Sulaiman called him the greatest foe of Islam in India and admired his cavalry and camel corps. Mahendrapala extended rule to Magadha and northern Bengal. Temples at Osian and Khajuraho's early shrines reflect the era.

Decline

The Rashtrakuta Indra III sacked Kanauj in 916; feudatories like the Chandelas, Paramaras, Chalukyas of Gujarat and Chahamanas became independent. Mahmud of Ghazni took Kanauj in 1018 as its king fled; the Chandelas killed the fleeing king. The last Pratihara ruled a shrunken domain until about 1036, when the Gahadavalas eventually took over.

Related empires and wars

Chosen automatically by overlap in time and geography, plus a few hand picked connections.

Empires of the same era and region

• Pushyabhuti dynasty (Harsha's empire) (500 to 647)
• Umayyad Caliphate (661 to 750)
• Abbasid Caliphate (750 to 1258)
• Ghaznavid Empire (977 to 1186)
• Gupta Empire (320 to 550)
• Delhi Sultanate (1206 to 1526)

8 surprising things about the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty

1. The Arab writer al-Masudi said the Pratihara king kept four armies of 700,000 to 900,000 men each, facing his four enemies.
2. Kanauj under the Pratiharas was described as having seven forts and 10,000 temples.
3. The Pratiharas were among the first dynasties to be called Rajputs by later tradition.
4. Bhoja's coins bore the image of the boar avatar of Vishnu.
5. The Gurjara name survives in Gujarat and in the Gujjar community.
6. The Pratihara-Pala-Rashtrakuta wars over Kanauj lasted nearly 200 years without a permanent winner.
7. The Teli-ka-Mandir temple at Gwalior fort, one of the tallest early Indian temples, dates from Bhoja's period.
8. The Pratiharas maintained a camel corps from Rajasthan alongside their famous horses.

Sources

• Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty Encyclopaedia Britannica
• Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty Wikipedia
• Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty World History Encyclopedia
• R. C. Majumdar (ed.), The Age of Imperial Kanauj (1955) Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Back to all empires and wars