Major Regional Dynasties of Bihar

Karnata Dynasty of Mithila

• Nanyadev established the Karnata dynasty in Mithila in 1097 AD, during the reign of Rampal, the ruler of the Pala dynasty. The area of Nepal was also under this.
• Nanyadev had assumed the title of ‘Karnatakul Bhushan.
• Nanyadev’s son Gangdev was an able administrator, whose capital was Simranogarh, which is now located in the northeastern region of Nepal. Due to the successful invasion of Bengal, Gangdev was called Gaurdhwaj.
• When Bakhtiyar Khilji’s campaign took place in Bihar, the ruler of the Karnata dynasty, Narasimha Dev, satisfied him by giving tribute. At that time Narsingh Dev had authority over Tirhut and Darbhanga
• Hari Singh is credited with starting the tradition of worshiping a goddess named Taleju in Nepal.
• In place of Hari Singh, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq appointed Ahmad, a local man, as the central representative.
• Hari Singh gave a new form to the Maithil society in Nepal.
• After Hari Singh, Mati Singh, Shakti Singh and Shyam Singh became the rulers.
• His rule extended from the lower plains to the Tirhut Terai region (Purnia to Champaran).
• In the main area of Tirhut, the kingdom of Oinara dynasty was established in place of Karnatas.
• Hari Singh’s descendants struggled for their existence till about 1393 AD and declined by the last decade of the 14th century.

Vainvar Dynasty

• In the 14th century, after the authority of Muslims on Tirhut, a new dynasty called Vainwar dynasty was established by Firoz Tughlaq.
• There were many famous rulers in Vainwar dynasty, in which the name of Maharaja Shiv Singh is particularly noteworthy.
• Maithil poet Vidyapati composed his poetry (Kirtilata) under the patronage of Maharaj Shiv Singh.
• The dynasty founded by Mahesh Thakur is known as ‘Darbhanga Dynasty’.
• Impressed by the scholarship of Mahesh Thakur, Mughal Emperor Akbar gave him the kingdom of Mithila as a reward.
• The rulers of the dynasty of Mahesh Thakur guided the social and cultural progress of Mithila till the modern era.
• The period of Chandreshwar in Darbhanga dynasty is considered to be 14th century.
• Chandreshwar compiled Krityaratnakar in the beginning of the 14th century which on mentioned that the people of Mithila were worshippers of Vishnu, Hari and

Chero Dynasty

• After the decline of the Pala dynasty, tribal states emerged in Bihar, in which the Chero dynasty was the most prominent.
• The Chero Raj laid the foundation of a powerful kingdom in the districts of Shahabad, Saran, Champaran, Muzaffarpur and Palamu, which lasted for about 300 years.
• There were four kingdoms of Chero in Shahabad district- Ghughuliya, Bhojpur, Chainpur and
• The first kingdom was in the hands of a Chero chieftain named Ghughuliya whose headquarter was at
• The second state was Bhojpur, whose headquarters was located at Tiravana, a mile away from Dumraon. The king here was Sitaram Rai.
• The headquarters of the third kingdom was Chainpur in the present Kaimur district, where the king was
• The greatest ruler among the Chero kings of Palamu was Medini Rai, whose kingdom extended up to Gaya, Daudnagar and Arwal.
• After Medini Rai, his son Pratap Rai became the king, during whose reign there were three Mughal invasions and finally in 1660 AD Chero was merged into the Mughal Empire.

Ujjain Dynasty rulers of Bhojpur

• After Alauddin Khilji’s army captured Dhar (Malwa) in 1305, Bhojraj along with his son Devraj and other Rajput followers took refuge with the Chero king Mukund of Kikat (Shahabad and Palamu) region. His original residence was Ujjain. That’s why they are called Ujjaini Rajputs.
• The Chero king gave these Ujjaini Rajputs the area of the Ganges valley as a jagir.
• After the Chero king Mukund was killed in the Muslim invasion, his son Sahasbal became the king.
• Sahasbal killed Bhojraj, in response, Devraj killed Sahasbal in 1324 AD and took over Chero state and established a city named Bhojpur.
• Devraj ruled Bhojpur by the name of Santan Singh.
• Santan Singh died in 1344 AD. Later, under the leadership of Omkardev, the Ujjainis again took control of Bhojpur in about 1457 AD and made Bihta their center.
• After Omkardev, Durlabhdev became the leader of Ujjainis, who fled to the jungles after being defeated by Subedar Jamal Khan of Bihar and made Dawa (Dhawa) his center.
• The Afghan Jagirdar Hasan Khan of Sasaram and his son Sher Khan (Sher Shah Suri) had good relations with the Ujjainis.
• King Ramshahi again shifted the capital of Ujjainis from Dawa to Bihta.
• Later, the dynasty was revived under the leadership of Raja Narayanmal and Buxar became their main centre.
• A major conflict took place between the Ujjainis and the Cheras in 1611 AD, in which the Ujjainis emerged victorious with the help of the Delhi army.
• After this, Ujjaini rulers emerged as a strong power in the region of Buxar, Dumraonand Jagdishpur and this position remained till the British period.

Nuhani Dynasty

• Sikandar Lodi made a treaty with the rulers of Bengal in about 1504 and fixed the area of Munger as the boundary line between Bihar and Bengal.
• Sikandar Lodi appointed Dariya Khan Nuhani as the ruler in charge of Bihar.
• After Darya Khan Nuhani, his son Bahar Khan Nuhani became the administrator of Bihar.
• After the first battle of Panipat (1526 AD), Bahar Khan assumed the name of Sultan Mohammad Shah Nuhani and established independent power in Bihar.
• After this, his minor son Jalaluddin alias Jalal Khan was appointed as the ruler. The rise of Sher Shah started at this time.