THE GAHADVALAS and THE CHAUHANS

THE GAHADVALAS Chandradeva was the first rule of this dynasty who seized the throne of Kanauj from th Rashtrakuta ruler sometime between AD 1080 and 10~ Another important ruler was Govindachandra who eJ tended the boundaries of his kingdom both by war an diplomacy. The last ruler of this dynasty was Jayachandri The romantic story of his daughter, Sanyogita, and tI1 Chauhan ruler, Prithviraja III, of Ajmer who elope togethe is a subject of controversy.

THE CHAUHANS Of the many independent Rajpl dynasties who ruled in Rajputana, there were the Chauhan or Chahamanas of Sakambari (modem Sambhar, near Ajmer who set up their principality in the eighth century. Earlier feudatories oL the Pratiharas, they procl~imed themselves independent in mid-10th cen­tury. Ajayaraja, who founded the city Ajayameru (Ajmer), was one of the finest rulers of this dy­nasty. Another famous king was Vigraharaja IV (Visaladeva) who probably made extensive con­quests and controlled Delhi after defeating the Tomaras in mid­12th century. He was a poet and a patron of letters. The famous Prithviraja ill or Rai Pithora be­gan his reign from 1177. He defeated the Chandella king, Paramadi. He was hostile to­wards the Gahadavala king, Jayachandra. In his first confron­tation with Muhammad Ghori in 1191 (first battle of Tarain), he defeated Ghori, but in the sec­ond battle of Tarain in 1192, Prithviraja was defeated and executed. With his death, the Chauhan kingdom was much weakened. It finally became part of the Sultanate of Delhi.