Uttarakhand History – Medieval

Katyuri Ruler

In the medieval period, we get information about the Katyuri ruler verbally through folk songs and Jagars. Three princely families ruled in Katyuri rule. Asantidev Dynasty, Rajvat of Ascot and Dotti’s Mall. Asantideva founded the Asantideva dynasty in the Katyura kingdom and made his capital Joshimath, Later changed to Ranchulakot. The last ruler of Katyuri rule was Brahmadeva.

• In 1191 AD, King Ashokchall of Nepal invaded the kingdom of Katyuri and took possession of some part.
• In 1223 AD, Kachaldev of Nepal also attacked Kumaon and took it under his control.

Chand Dynasty in Kumaon

After the fall of the Katyuri dynasty, the foundation of the Chand dynasty was laid in Kumaon in about 700 AD. Somchand, the founder of the Chand dynasty is considered. The initial capital of the Chandas was Champawat. The present areas of Nainital, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, Almora etc. were under them. In 1563, King Balo Kalyan Chand shifted his capital to Almora. The most powerful king of the Chand dynasty was Garuda Gyan Chand. It was under the rule of the Chand kings that the tradition of appointing the head of the village (Mukhiya) started with the determination of land in Kumaon. In 1790 AD, the Gurkhas of Nepal defeated the then Chand King Mahendra Chand in a simple battle at Hawalbagh and captured Almora, Thus the Chand dynasty came to an end. 

 

Parmar or Panwar Dynasty in Garhwal

Till the 9th century, Garhwal was ruled by 52 small and big Thakuri rulers. The most powerful of these was Bhanu Pratap, the king of Chandpur Garh (चाँदपुरगढ़). In 887 AD Kanakpal, the ruler of Dhar (Gujarat) came to the Pilgrimage, Bhanupratap welcomed it and married his daughter to him.

In 888 AD, Kanakpal laid the foundation of the Paramara dynasty at Chandpurgarh (Chamoli). From 888 AD to 1949 AD, there were a total of 60 kings in the Paramara dynasty. The 37th king of this dynasty, Ajaypal, conquered all the Garhpatis and unified the Garhwal land. He established his capital first in Devalgarh and then in 1517 AD in Srinagar.

Sultan Bahlol Lodi of Delhi (1451-88) honored Parmar Naresh Balabhadrapal with the title of Shah. That is why Parmar Naresh started being called Shah.

In 1636 AD, the Mughal commander Nawazat Khan attacked the Doon Valley. And at that time, the protector of the Garhwal kingdom, Queen Karnavati, with her valor, caught the Mughal soldiers and got their noses cut. After this incident, Maharani Karnavati became famous as “Nakkati Rani”.

In 1790 AD, the Gurkhas defeated the Chando of Kumaon, also attacked Garhwal in 1791 AD but were defeated. The king of Garhwal imposed an annual tax of Rs 25,000 under the treaty with the Gurkhas and promised that they would not attack Garhwal again. But in 1803 AD, under the leadership of Amar Singh Thapa and Hastidal Chautariya, the Gorkhas invaded the earthquake-prone Garhwal and captured a considerable part of it. During the invasion of Gorkhas, the people of Garhwal supported the king and reorganized the army. On 14 May 1804, Pradhumann Shah died in a battle with Gorkhas at Khudbuda Maidan in Dehradun, thus empowering Nepalese Gorkhas all over Garhwal and Kumaon.

Kunwar Pritamshah, a son of Pradhumana Shah, was sent captive by the Gorkhas to Kathmandu, While the other son Sudarshan Shah kept trying to be independent by staying in Haridwar. And on his demand, British Governor-General Lord Hastings sent the British army against Gorkha in October 1814. And liberated Garhwal on 1815. But due to the British not being able to afford the battle, the King of Garhwal had to give his kingdom to the British in the agreement. After this, the Garhwal King established his capital at Tehri Garhwal in the state. Tehri continued to rule the state and after the merger with India, Tehri state was made a district of Uttar Pradesh.

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