Karnat dynasty

Karnat or Karnata dynasty was a dynasty established in 1097 CE by Nanyadeva. The dynasty had two capitals which were Simraungadh in Bara District of Nepal and Darbhanga, Bihar which became the second capital during the reign of Gangadeva. The kingdom controlled the areas we today know as Tirhut or Mithila in Bihar state of India and Nepal. This region is bounded by the Mahananda River in the east, the Ganges in the south, the Gandaki River in the west and by the Himalayas in the North. Under the Karnats, Mithila enjoyed almost full sovereignty from 1097 until 1324. According to French orientalist and indologist Sylvain Lévi, Nanyadeva established his supremacy over Simraungadh probably with the help of Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI. After the reign of Vikramaditya VI in 1076 CE, he led the successful military campaign against the Pala dynasty and the Sena dynasty. During the reign of Harisimhadeva, the Karnats also carried out raids into Nepal with the Karnat army under the leadership of the general and minister, Caṇḍeśvara Ṭhakkura. The origins of the Karnats of Mithila (Karnas) lie with South India, Sena dynasty inscriptions refer to Nanyadeva as Karnata-Kulabhusana indicating that he had his origins in the South (Vatapi, Karnataka) and likely arrived in the North as part of the Chalukya invasions. His ancestors were petty chieftains and adventurers in Eastern India and Nanyadeva carved out his own kingdom in Mithila. When Nanyadeva first arrived in the region in 1093 A.D., he originally established his stronghold in Nanapura in Champaran of Bihar and referred to himself as Mahashamantadhipati as confirmed by the local traditions of Mithila. The title suggests that he was likely originally a commander in the Chalukaya army. He later shifted his capital to Simraungadh. Harisimhadeva (r. 1295 to 1324 CE), the sixth descendant of Nanyadeva was ruling the Tirhut Kingdom. At the same time the Tughlaq dynasty came to power, which ruled the Delhi sultanate and most of Northern India from 1320 to 1413 CE.