Hindu Shahis

Hindu Shahi
850–1026 CE
Some of the earliest coinage of the Hindu Shahis. Obverse: Recumbent bull, with Nagari legend: Sri Spalapati Reverse: horserider with corrupted Bactrian script: ςρι ςπaλaπaτι Sri Spalapati i.e. "Lord Commander-in-chief".
HINDU SHAHIS SAFFARIDS SAMANIDS ABBASID CALIPHATE BYZANTINE EMPIRE GUJARA- PRATIHARA PALA EMPIRE TRAKHAN DYNASTY UTPALA DYNASTY class=notpageimage| Approximate location of the Hindu Shahis
Samarkand Herat SAMANID DYNASTY SAMANID DYNASTY Balkh HINDU SHAHIS Kandahar Ghazni Kabul Udabhandapura UTPALA DYNASTY TRAKHAN DYNASTY class=notpageimage| Kabul, first capital, and Udabhandapura, next capital of the Hindu Shahis.
Capital	Kabul (850–870) Udabhandapura (870–1001) Lahore (1001–1026)
Common languages	Sanskrit (numismatics)
Religion	Hinduism
Government	Monarchy
Maharaja, Maharajadhiraja
• 843–850	Kallar
• 850–895	Vakkadeva
• 895–921	Kamalavarman
• 921–964	Bhimdeva
• 964–1001	Jayapala
• 1001–1010	Anandapala
• 1010–1021	Trilochanapala
• 1022–1026	Bhimpala
Historical era	Early Middle Ages
• Established	850
• Disestablished	1026 CE
Preceded by Succeeded by Turk Shahi Saffarid Dynasty Samanid Dynasty Ghaznavids
Today part of	Afghanistan Pakistan

The Hindu Shahis also known as Odi Shahis or Brahman Shahis (843–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian subcontinent. Details regarding past rulers have been assembled from chronicles, coins and stone inscriptions by researchers as no consolidated account of their history has become available.

Scholarship

Scholarship on Hindu Shahis remain scarce.

Colonial scholars—James Prinsep, Alexander Cunningham, Henry Miers Elliot et al—had published on the Hindu Shahis, primarily from a numismatic perspective. The first comprehensive volume on the subject came in 1972 by Yogendra Mishra, a Professor in the Department of History of Patna University; however he had to depend upon English translations of Arabic/Persian chronicles. The next year, Deena Bandhu Pandey—Professor of Art History at Banaras Hindu University—published his doctoral dissertation but his dealing with Muslim sources, coins etc. were laden with errors. Both of these works are considered outdated and inaccurate, at large.

In 1979, Abdur Rehman received his PhD from Australian National University on "history, archaeology, coinage, and paleography" of the Turk Shahis and Hindu Shahis under the supervision of Arthur Llewellyn Basham. He has since published on the subject extensively and is considered to be an authority. Publications of IAMP—especially by Scerrato and Olivieri—refer to the dynasty, in details.

Sources

Literature

No literature survives from Hindu Shahi courts. Unlike the case of Turk Shahis, only fragmented information can be obtained from chronicles of neighboring powers — Kashmir and Ghaznavi. Of the former, Kalhana's Rajatarangini (1148-1149) is the only extant source. Of the latter, we have Tārīkh al-Hind by Al-Biruni (c. 1030), Tārīkh-i Bayhaqī by Abu'l-Faḍl Bayhaqi (c. late 11th century), Zayn al-Akhbar by Abu Sa'id Gardezi, and Kitab-i Yamini by al-Utbi (c. 1020).

Coins

Coins of some rulers have been found in multiple areas from nearby Sindh to northeastern Europe. Following the tradition of Turk Shahis, these coins do not mention personal names but only generic titles which often do not match with available literature, creating issues.

• 
  Hindu Shahis coin. Obverse: Bull with trisula mark on the hump, with Nagari legend: Śri Spalapatideva "Lord Commander-in-Chief". Reverse: Horseman with a in Nagari to left and symbol to right. Kabul mint.
• 
  Rather debased Hindu Shahis coinage. Obverse: Bull with trisula mark on the hump, with Nagari legend: Śri Samantadeva. Reverse: Horseman with bhī in Nagari to left and symbol to right. Kabul mint.

Inscriptions and archaeology

A. R. Rahman of the Quaid-i-Azam University and Ahmad Hasan Dani did rudimentary field surveys in the late 1960s. Afterwards, the Italian Archaeological. Mission in Pakistan (IAMP) have extensively surveyed the regions in and around Swat.

Inscriptions remain scarce. Mostly found in Udabhanda, they either commemorate the commissioning of temples or are affixed at the base of idol-pedestals. Of the former kind, Rahman's thesis documented seven — most were permanently disfigured due to use as grinding stones in medieval times. The latter kind is relatively abundant but only provides snippets of information. Copper land grants etc. are yet to be documented. The language is restricted to proto-Sharda and Sharda. An year is mentioned with no correlation to other chronologies — it has been assumed to be a samvat initiated by Kallar on his coronation.

Origins

Nothing definite can be ascertained about the ethnological background of Hindu Shahis.

Arabicised form of Chach, which was the name of Shahis' territory to Arabian chroniclers.

Al-Biruni had noted the Shahis to be Brahmins; however this went against Masudi (Rajputs evidently meant Kshatriyas) as well as Kalhana, who had noted numerous contemporary Kshatriyas of Kashmir to stake descent from the Hindu Shahis — Rahman speculates that either them being Brahmins was a rumor floated to justify the original usurpation (see below) or they failed to abide by the Brahminical code while discharging royal duties. That Firishta mentions the army of Hindu Shahis to have been largely composed of Khokhars, it was not impossible for S

Establishment

The Abbasids led by caliph Al-Ma'mun defeated the Kabul branch of Turk Shahis in 815 CE in what was essentially a political retribution against the latter trying to seize control of the frontier districts of Khorasan, sometime earlier. They not only had to convert to Islam but also had to cede key cities and regions. Another conflict with the Gandhara branch seem to have followed soon—with the Caliphate reaching Indus—, and imposing a defeat. A hefty annual tribute was to be paid in return for rights of sovereignty to both territories.

The Shahis were in a precarious state and c. 843 CE, Lagaturman was disposed by a Brahmin minister called Kallar. The sole description of events come from Al-Biruni: Lagatarman's unbecoming manners had apparently led his subjects to lodge multiple complaints with Kallar, who had chanced upon a treasure trove and was rapidly purchasing his way to power. Kallar had the King imprisoned for correction and became the acting regent before usurping the throne permanently. This gave way to the "Hindu Shahi" dynasty in Gandhara and Kabul. The Zabulistan branch of Turk Shahis (Zunbils)—unaffected by Ma'mun's raids—continued to rule for about two more decades.

Rulers

Kallar

None apart from Al-Biruni mentions Kallar; nothing is known about his rule including extents of territory or significant events or date of ascension and descension. It has been proposed that Kallar was a misreading of Lalliya—one Hindu Shahi ruler mentioned by Kalhana in some detail but not by Al-Biruni—but Rahman rejects the hypothesis due to lack of a chronological reconciliation.

The Amb Hindu Temple complex was built between the 9th and 10th centuries CE during the reign of the Hindu Shahi Empire.

In 1848, Thomas proposed that coins bearing obverse-imprints of "Spalapati" (Warlord) were minted by Kallar; Cunningham accepted Thomas' arguments, some 50 years later. In 1906, Vincent Arthur Smith depended on Edward Clive Bayley's misreading of the corrupted remains of a Bactrian legend as Arabic numerals to propose that coins bearing obverse-imprints of "Vakka" (Lord) and "Samanta" (Feudatory) were also minted by Kallar — he argued that the Spalapati series was for circulation in Persian regions of his territory while Samanta series for Sanskrit regions. Mishra agreed with Smith: Kallar had reasons to doubt the legitimacy of his rule as long as the imprisoned Lagaturman was alive and hence, exerted a span of indirect rule.

Rahman rejects all these hypothesis; the human-figures in reverse wore different headgears—bearing evidence to being different rulers—and extrapolating Smith's numismatic arguments, Bhima—a well documented ruler, otherwise—ought be equated to yet another title of Kallar. The Spalapati series was actually minted by the Turk Shahi rulers of Kabul Branch—the one who was defeated by Ma'mun is mentioned as "Ispahbadh Kabul Shah" by Al-Azraqi—while the Samanta series was minted by later Hindu Shahi rulers esp. Samand. He believes that Kallar did not initiate any changes in the currency system.

Samand/Samanta

Al-Biruni notes him to be the successor to Kallar; their precise genealogical relationship is not known. Like in the case of Kallar, there is a total lack of information on his rule or even his actual name. D. W. Macdowall had argued Al-Biruni to have telescoped him from the abundance of Samanta series of coins; however, Rahman notes that if such were indeed the case, Al-Biruni should have followed a similar course for the equally abundant Vakka series. The Samanta series prototype was followed by all future Hindu Shahi rulers leading Thomas to deem him as the greatest of Hindu Shahis.

In 863, the Zunbils fell on the crosshairs of Ya'qub—an upstart military adventurer, who had recently established the Saffarid Empire and declared himself to be the Emir—as his employer-turned-foe Salih Nasr took refuge with them; a year later their combined forces were decimated by his relatively smaller army at Rukhkhaj and the Zunbils had to convert to Islam in lieu of being allowed to rule as vassals; the son of the-then ruler was imprisoned to Bust. 5 years hence, this son fled and recaptured Rukhkhaj before fleeing to Kabul thwarting Ya'qub's chase.

Late 870, Ya'qub marched onto Kabul and had the prince captured, chasing him across cities. The list of cities and the precise sequence varies widely among sources to the extent that it is possible to doubt whether he had ever conflicted with the Hindu Shahis if not for the widespread mention of his' bringing pagan idols and elephants from Kabul as a gift for the Caliphate. Samanta was made a prisoner and never even reposed as a vassal.

Khudarayaka

It is unknown what precise arrangements Ya'qub made for the governance of Kabul after his victory; we only have Tarikh-i Sistan noting that Kabul was under a Ya'qub governor as late as 878/879. Rahman speculates that this governor was some blood-relation of Samanta who was favorably inclined to Islam (as was the usual trend) and went on to take the title of Khudarayaka (Small King) in minting the bilingual series of coins. Otherwise, Ya'qub would never proclaim himself with such lowly titles while later Hindu Shahis, who regained sovereignty won't mint in Arabic at all.

Saffarid coinage in Kabul, with Arabic

Coinage of the Saffarid Governor of Kabul after the capture of the city, issued around 870 CE in Kabul on the Hindu Shahi model. Abassid dirham weight standard. Obverse: Recumbent bull with Nagari legend (Śrī Khūdarayakah, "The fortunate small Raja"), trisula mark on the hump of the bull. Reverse: horseman with (ma) in Nagari to left, عدل (’adl, "Justice") in Arabic to right.

As has been the case with all previous rulers, there is a total lack of information including about his actual name or eventual fate. The unavailability of his coins in or around the Gandhara region probably points to his lack of control over those territories which had never borne the brunt of Ya'qub's forces.

Lalliya

Jawami ul-Hikayat remarks the Logar Valley (close to Kabul) to have reverted to Hindu Shahis towards the end of Amr al-Layth's reign (901), successor to Ya'qub. So, the Hindu Shahis had managed to regain their territories sometime c. 890. That Lalliya was mentioned by Kalhana as a fearsome ruler who commanded neighboring regions yet fell meekly to Kashmir, Rahman interpreted the description to be an exaggerative profile of the ruler who had won back independence. The capital shifted to Udabhanda prob. because it was far from the Arabic frontiers and easier to defend; however, a branch seem to have ruled from Kabul.

Tarikh-i Sistan records two Indian "kings"—prob. Toramana and Asata—to have leveraged Amr al-Layth's preoccupation with Khorasan rebellions in successfully raiding (c. 900) upon Ghazna (prob. the province of Zabulistan than the city itself), under the governorship of one Fardaghan. However, Jawami ul-Hikayat portrays a different story: Kamala, the "Rai of Hindustan" launched a retaliatory raid against Fardaghan engaging in desecration of temples but failed to win past the latter's propaganda. Irrespective of the precise outcome, it is likely that both were Hindu Shahi governors operating under Lalliya rather than Kings in their own right; at-least one was his son.

Kalhana notes Lalliya to have been a significant ally of Gujarati ruler Alakhana against Utpala machinations and hence, face an invasion by Samkaravarman c. 902. Though successful, Samkaravarman would be killed by a stray arrow while returning. A year later, Gopalavarman re-invaded the Hindu Shahis to depose a "pretender to the throne" (either Lalliya or Asata) and install Lalliya's son Toramana with the new name of Kamaluka.

Toramana/Kamaluka/Kamala

Concurrent to his reign, the Saffarids rapidly lost their power. Amr al-Layth's successor was seized upon by a tribal chief and send as a prisoner to Baghdad and his descendants remained figurehead rulers—despite occasional reversal in fortunes—who eventually bowed before Samanid influence in Sistan. This had led to the evolution of a friendly power in the Ghazna province—the Lawik dynasty—sometime after 913 and it flourished till 962.

Nothing is known about the reign of Kamaluka; he was succeeded by his son, Bhimadeva. There are a range of speculations—from 920 to 950—about the ending year of his reign, largely appealing to individual biases. Some have suggested that this was in early 900s since his successor Bhimadeva minted coins of the Samanta series; however Raman found the argument to lack basis in that the Samanta series coins were even minted by Mahmud of Ghazni in early eleventh century.

Bhimadeva

Later and strongly debased Hindu Shahi coinage, circa 950 CE. Obverse: Recumbent bull with legend Śri Bhīmadeva. Reverse: Horseman holding banner; na in Nagari to left; trace of symbol to right.

Hund inscription of Jayapaladeva, in the year 146 (10th century CE), commemorating the military successes of Bhimadeva.

Identified with Bhima in Al-Biruni's list and with the Bbimadeva series of coins, he was perhaps the most valoured ruler of the Hindu Shahis. In Rahman's opinion, his rise to power was concurrent with the growth of neighboring Hindu powers—Mahipala had mounted an invasion to adjacent regions, though it remains unclear whether he entered into a faceoff with the Hindu Shahis—while the Arabic frontiers were in a state of disarray courtesy internal warfare. This might have guided his marital alliance with Kashmir, who would henceforth serve as an all-weather-friend of the Hindu Shahis. His grand-daughter Didda was married off to Kshemagupta, then King of Kashmir and a temple commissioned in honor. He had a daughter who, according to Kalhana, was married to Simharaja, a Lohara chieftain.

Circa 962, Alp-Tegin —a rebel Turkish chief, seeking to move away from Mansur I— chose to attack the Kabul Branch, who sought help from the Lawiks. The combined armies were routed and while the fate of Kabul branch remains unknown, Abu Ali Lawik was sent a message of peace. On rejection of this peace-offer, Tegin mounted a successful siege and compelled an unconditional surrender — Abu Ali was retired with honors and a pension but fled to Bhimadeva. It is probably at this point that the Lawiks (and Kabul branch - ?) received troops from Bhimadeva.

Circa 963, their combined forces routed out Tegin's successor Abu Ishaq Ibrahim out of Ghazna province into Bukhara and reestablished Shahi (as well as Lawik) strongholds in Kabul and adjacent areas — this victory is commemorated in the Hund Slab Inscription (HSI) which imposes a terminus ad quem. However, this victory was short-lived. Abu Ishaq returned with the Samannid Emir in September 964 and forced Abu Ali to flee once again. Bhimadeva probably perished in this conflict; HSI features a cryptic comment about how he burnt himself by Shiva's desire than by the enemy probably referencing to some form of ritualistic suicide.

Jayapala

Main article: Jayapala

After a struggle for succession with brothers, his son Mahmud of Ghazni ascended the throne of Ghazni in 998. Mahmud first consolidated his position on his western front, even if he had to challenge the authority of his Samani over-lord. Soon he had control over Herat, Balkh, Bust and Khurasan. Recognising his power, the Caliph of Baghdad acknowledged him as a sovereign in his own right and conferred high sounding titles on him. The Ghaznavids had thus acquired a status equal to their former masters – the Samanids. The balance of power had been gradually tilting in favour of Ghazni.

The Turk Shahis had resisted for more than 200 years to the eastward expansion of the Muslim forces of the Abbasid Caliphate, effectively blocking the Muslim conquests in India, until they fell to the Persian Saffarids in the 9th century CE. The long resistance of the Turk Shahis against Muslim expansion may have contributed to the preservation of Indian culture and Hinduism, as "the militant process of conversion" to Islam in conquered lands, which had deeply affected the Near East and the Iranian world, already "was a thing of the past" in the 10th century CE.

With Jayapala , a new dynasty started ruling over the former Shahi kingdom of southeastern Afghanistan and the change over was smooth and consensual. On his coronation, Jayapala used the additional name-suffix Deva from his predecessor's dynasty in addition to the pala name-ending of his own family. (With Kabul lost during the lifetime of Jayapaladeva, his successors – Anandapala, Trilochanapala and Bhimapala - reverted to their own family pala-ending names.) Jayapala did not issue any coins in his own name. Bull and Horseman coins with the legend Samantadeva, in billon, seem to have been struck during Jayapala's reign. As the successor of Bhima, Jayapala was a Shahi monarch of the state of Kabul, which now included Punjab. Minhaj-ud-din describes Jayapala as "the greatest of the Rais of Hindustan."

In the meanwhile, Sabuktagin would succeed the throne of Ghazni in 977 and engage in a spree of expansion. Jayapaladeva attacked the growing power Sabuktagin and was a fierce battle in which Jayapala was defeated. He lost more territory but continued to rule from Waihind and Peshawar.

Anandapala

Anandapala ascended to the throne in around April 1002. His capital city remains unknown but was likely Nandan. Anandapala commanded significant fame as a patron of scholars.

Circa April 1006, Mahmud requested him to consent his troops to pass through his territories to reach Daud, the ruler of Multan. Anandapala declined the request and stationed his troops on the banks of Indus to prevent crossing — an enraged Mahmud waged a cataclysmic war upon the Shahis and compelled the King to escape to Kashmir before conquering Multan, as well. These territories of "Hind" was left under the governorship of a certain Sukhapala, a neo-convert but a couple of years hence, Sukhapala renounced Islam (c. late 1006) and declared rebellion against the overlordship of Mahmud. Anandapala chose to make a space for himself by promising to aid Mahmud in containing Turk rebellions with his own troops. It is unknown whether Anandapala's offer was taken up but Mahmud stalled his chase of Ilaq Khan and turned his attention to the Shahis — Sukhapala fled into Kashmur but was captured, fined, and imprisoned to death. Anandapala seem to had been installed as a vassal.

Ghaznavid bilingual coinage of Mas'ud I of Ghazni (r. 1030-1040 CE), derived from Hindu Shahi designs, with the name of Mas'ud in Arabic.

Circa December 1008, Mahmud mounted an invasion of Hindu Shahis for reasons which are not clear. Anandapala sent a large army—supplanted with neighboring troops—under the commandership of his son (Trilochanapala), who failed to prevent Mahmud's troops from crossing Indus and (hence) set for the plains of Chaach as the battleground. The conflict started after 40 days and despite remarkable gains in the initial stages, the Hindu Shahis were disorganized by a rear-attack and soundly defeated. Mahmud chased the fugitive troops for months—seizing Nagarkot to collect his war-spoils, in the process—and took back a son of Anandapala. Governors were installed and Mahmud returned back to Ghazni by June of the next year. This would be the last military conflict of Anandapala as the next year, Anandapala sent an embassy to Mahmud. The proposal of peace was accepted and in return, Hindu Shahis were to accept tributary status, provide (limited) military support, guarantee passage of troops, and remit an annual tribute. Mahmud send his own agents to oversee the enforcement of peace-treaty and within a year, normal trade relations had resumed.

The death of Anandapala is not recorded in any chronicle; however, it can be ascertained to be c. late 1010 - early 1011. He had entered into marital relations with Tunga, the prime-minister of Didda, then-ruler of Kashmir and had atleast two sons. The fate of the son taken back to Ghazni remains unknown.

Trilochanapala and Bhimapala

Al-Biruni hold Trilochanapala to have had a favorable attitude towards Muslim subjects unlike his father. He did not dishonor Anandapala's treaty but on Mahmud wishing to march towards Thanesar via Hindu Shahi territories, he proposed that the city be spared in lieu of a similar peace-treaty. Mahmud rejected the request and sacked Thanesar with an uneventful passage via Shahi territories. Soon, as a consequence or otherwise, Trilochanapala stopped paying the annual tributes to Mahmud and declared war.

In November 1013, Mahmud progressed towards Hind to contain Trilochanapala but failed to make across the snow-laden passes. Taking advantage of this delay, Trilochanapala tasked his son Bhima with arranging Shahi troops and went to Kashmir, receiving a battalion rom Samgramaraja under Tunga. The face-off happened in the middle of next year. Bhima initially went about exploiting the local topography to his favor and mount stinging guerilla attacks on Mahmud's troops—to the extent of being referred to by Uth'bi as "Bhima, the Fearless"—till he got confident of his numerical superiority and switched to open-warfare; in the mayhem that followed this tactical blunder, Shahis were routed and Bhima fled. The fortress at Nandan was sacked for war-spoils and a governor was installed while Mahmud went searching for Trilochanapala. Trilochanpala, in the meanwhile, had set up his base with Kashmiri forces at the banks of Poonch. Despite an initial round of success, Tunga's pride led him to mount a disastrous maneuver without consulting experienced Shahi generals and he ensured another crippling defeat coupled with a huge loss of territory. Rahman noted this campaign to be the death-blow for the Hindu Shahis — "it was no longer a question of whether but a question of when" the Shahis would perish.

From the outset of his rule, Trilochanapala had chose to expand into the Siwalik Hills to make up for the territories lost in his predecessors' conflicts with the Ghaznavids — this brought him into multiple conflicts with Chandar Rai of Sharwa. However, after the encounter with Mahmud, Trilochanapala tabled a peace treaty and even offered his son to be married with the daughter of Chandar. The offer was accepted but Bhima got imprisoned when he went to bring the bride home and Chandar asked for reparations. This brought an end to Trilochanapala's imperial ambitions in the Lower Himalayas for the time being. When Mahmud sacked Sharwa while returning from his Kanauj campaign (c. 1017), Trilochanapala took refuge with Paramara Bhoja. Soon enough, all the polities in Doab entered into treaties with one another and with the Hindu Shahis to ward off future invasions of a similar scale.

Mahmud did not take kindly to these alliances and returned in October 1019. Trilochanapala's men were tasked by Vidyadhara of Chandela to prevent Mahmud's troops from crossing across the Ramganga (somewhere around Bulandshahr) and they took positions at the eastern bank but failed to execute the task. Subsequently, he planned to move away (and probably join Vidyadhara's forces for the main faceoff) but a swift charge by Mahmud's troops inflicted yet another resounding defeat. Bulandshahr was sacked and two of his wives and daughters imprisoned. Trilochanapala tried to enter into a peace-treaty but in vain, causing him to flee to Vidyadhara. It is not known whether he made it to the camp but Vidyadhara is said to have deserted his posts by then.

In 1021, Trilochanapala—a ruler of little significance, in all probabilities—was assassinated by his mutinous Hindu troops. Bhima—who must have escaped the Rais sometime in between—succeeded him and continued to rule till 1026; nothing is known about his rule.

Art and Architecture

Ekhamukhaling: linga with face of Shiva. 9th century Afghanistan. Art of the Hindu Shahi kingdom.

Society and Economy

Silver jitals of Mahmud of Ghazni (ruled 999-1030 CE) with bilingual Arabic and Sanskrit, minted in Lahore in 1028.

See also

• Pre-Ghaznavid History Of Punjab
• History of the Punjab
• History of Pakistan

Sources

• Ball, Warwick; Bordeaux, Olivier; MacDowall, David W.; Sims-Williams, Nicholas; Taddei, Maurizio (2019). "From the Kushans to the Shahis". In Allchin, Raymond; Hammond, Norman (eds.). From Earliest Times to the Timurid Period (2nd ed.). Edinburgh University Press. pp. 344–459.
• Bosworth, C.E. (1963). The Ghaznavids 994–1040. Edinburgh University Press.
• Bosworth, C.E. (1991). "Mahmud bin Sebuktigin". Encyclopedia of Islam. VI. E.J.Brill.