Lohara dynasty

The Lohara dynasty were Hindu rulers of Kashmir in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, between 1003 and approximately 1320 CE. The early history of the dynasty was described in the Rajatarangini (Chronicle of Kings), a work written by Kalhana in the mid-12th century and upon which many and perhaps all studies of the first 150 years of the dynasty depend. Subsequent accounts, which provide information up to and beyond the end of the dynasty come from Jonarāja and Śrīvara. The later rulers of the dynasty were weak: internecine fighting and corruption was endemic during this period, with only brief years of respite, making the dynasty vulnerable to the growth of Islamic conquests in the region. According to 12th century text Rajatarangini translated by Sir Marc Aurel Stein, the family of the chiefs of Lohara were from Khasa tribe. The original seat of the Lohara dynasty was a hill-fortress called Loharakotta. Stein locates it in the Pir Panjal range of mountains, on a trade route between western Punjab and Kashmir in the present day Poonch district. The kingdom of Lohara was centred around a group of large villages collectively known as Lohrin in a valley, and probably extended into neighbouring valleys. Didda, a daughter of the king of Lohara called Simharāja, had married the king of Kashmir, Kshemgupta, thus uniting the two areas. Compared to other societies of the period, women in Kashmir were held in high regard and when Kshemgupta died in 958, Didda assumed power as Regent for her young son, Abhimanyu II. Upon the death of Abhimanyu in 972 she performed the same office for his sons, Nandigupta, Tribhuvanagupta, and Bhimagupta, respectively. She killed each of these grandchildren in turn. As Regent she effectively had sole power over the kingdom, and with the killing by torture of Bhimagupta in 980 she became ruler in her own right. Didda subsequently adopted a nephew, Samgrāmarāja, to be her heir in Kashmir but left the rule of Lohara to Vigraharāja, who was either another nephew or perhaps one of her brothers.