Pratihara
|
|
The Pratihara were a dynasty of India, who ruled territories in Rajasthan and north-central India. The Pratiharas established a state based at Mandor, near modern Jodhpur, that grew to dominate Rajasthan. The Nagabhata branch of the family moved into central India, capturing first Ujjain, and by the end of the eighth century Kanauj, the capital of the seventh-century empire of Harsha. The Pratiharas held on to Kanauj, defending it from the rival Pala dynasty of Bengal and the Rashtrakuta dynasty of the northern Deccan. Kanauj became the center of a state that covered much of northern India during the peak of their power, c. 836-910. The Rahstrakutas captured Kanauj briefly in 916, and although the Pratiharas regained the city, their position continued to weaken in the tenth century, partly as a result of the drain of simultaneously fighting off Turkish attacks from the west and the Pala advances in the east. The Pratiharas lost control of Rajasthan other Rajput clans, and Mahmud of Ghazni's capture of Kanauj in 1018 ended Pratihara rule.
