Medieval History of Madhya Pradesh

▸ After the death of Aurangzeb, the Marathas took control of most of Madhya Pradesh. The most prominent Maratha rulers belonged to Scindia, Holkar and Bhonsle dynasties. There were some small states like Rewa, Bhopal, Orchha in Madhya Pradesh.
▸ The Medieval period saw the rise of the Sultanate age. Northern Madhya Pradesh was conquered by the Turkic Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century.
▸ The Gond kingdoms emerged in Gondwana and Mahakoshal. After the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate at the end of the 14th century, independent regional kingdoms re-emerged, including Gond dynasty, Tomar dynasty and Kachhapaghats dynasty.
▸ In 14th century, the capital of Malwa was Mandu. The sultanate of Malwa was founded by Dilawar Khan Ghori and Mandu became its capital. In 16th century, Mughal rule was established in Madhya Pradesh.
▸ The Malwa Sultanate was conquered by Gujarat Sultanate in 1531. The Mughal rule lasted till 18th century.

Madhya Pradesh and Sultanate Age

Invasion of Muhammad of Ghor (1195-1206 AD)
▸ In 1195-96 AD, Muhammad Ghori attacked Lohanga Dev of Gwalior. He defeated Lohang Dev and captured Gwalior.
▸ Till 1206 AD, Gwalior, Kalinjar and Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh came under the Muhammad of Ghor.
Slave Dynasty (1206-1290 AD)
▸ This dynasty was founded by Qutb-ud-din Aibak. He defeated the last ruler of Chandela dynasty, Parimal Dev and captured Kalinjar fort.
▸ In 1228 AD, the famous ruler of Slave dynasty, Iltutmish conquered the Mandu, Gwalior, Malwa and also captured Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain.
Khalji Dynasty (1290-1320 AD)
▸ The Khalji dynasty was founded by Jalal-ud-din Khalji who ruled over Mandu and Gwalior. Another ruler of Khalji Dynasty, Alauddin Khalji captured Ujjain, Kalinjar, Bhilsa, Chanderi, Dhar and Mandu.
▸ In 1305, Alauddin Khalji's military chief, Ainul Mulk defeated Malhak Dev of Malwa.
Tughlaq Dynasty (1320-1413 AD)
▸ This dynasty was founded by Ghiyatsud-din Tughlaq. According to Batiagarh inscription, he constructed a place at Damoh. His son Muhammad-binTughlaq captured Chanderi and Malwa.
▸ Firoz Shah Tughlaq of this dynasty had relations with Dulanipur (Sagar).

Other Ruling Dynasties During Sultanate Age

Other ruling dynasties during Sultanate age in Madhya Pradesh were Gond dynasty, Tomara dynasty, Kachhapaghat dynasty, Mughal dynasty, Bundela dynasty and Baghel dynasty. There are discussed below:
Gond Dynasty (14th-16th Century AD)
▸ This dynasty was founded by Yadav Rai in Garh Katanga. The famous ruler of this dynasty was Sangram Shah (1480-1530 AD).
▸ The Gond raja of Garh Katanga, Aman Das assumed the title of Sangram Shah. His son, Dalpat Shah married princess Durgavati, the daughter of Salbahan, the Chandel Rajput Raja of Mahoba.
▸ Rani Durgavati gave birth to a son, named Vir Narayan in 1545. In 1550 after the death of her husband, Rani took the reins of the Gond Kingdom. She looked after the administration successfully. She fought bravely against the Mughals. But she died on 24th June, 1564.
▸ The Gonds ruled over Gondwana region of Madhya Pradesh.
▸ The Mughal king, Akbar defeated Gonds and established the Mughal rule in Gondwana region.
Tomara Dynasty (15th-16th Century AD)
▸ In 1398, the Tomaras took over Gwalior. Raja Suraj Sen of this dynasty built the fort of Gwalior which is also known as Gem of Fortresses or Gibraltar of Fortresses.
▸ The area of Morena, Bhind and Gwalior in Northern Madhya Pradesh is referred as 'Tomarghar' means 'Home of Tomaras' due to its large population of Tomar Rajputs.
▸ The most notable ruler of Tomara dynasty in this area was Man Singh Tomar (1486-1517). He built Saas-Bahu temple and Gurjari Mahal in Madhya Pradesh.
▸ The last ruler of Tomara dynasty, Vikramaditya was defeated by Ibrahim Lodi, who captured Gwalior from him.
Kachhapaghat Dynasty
▸ The first king of this dynasty was Laxman. The sources of the rule of this dynasty have been found from Saas-Bahu temple (Gwalior).
▸ The successor of Laxman, Vajradaman defeated the king of Kannauj and established their rule over Gwalior.
▸ The rulers of Kachhapaghat dynasty like Arjun, Abhimanyu, Vijaypal and Vikram Singh ruled over Duvakund (ancient Chandobh) according to inscriptions found in Duvakund.
▸ Some ruler of Kachhapaghat dynasty like Jagat Singh, Sharpad Singh and Veer Singh ruled over Narwar (ancient Nalpur) according to copper plate inscriptions found in Narwar.
Mughal Period and Madhya Pradesh (16th-18th Century AD)
Babur The Mughal rule was founded in 1526 by Babur in India. He defeated Ibrahim Lodhi, the last ruler of Delhi Sultanate in the first battle of Panipat in 1526. Babur defeated Rana Sanga in Battle of Khanwa in 1527 and thus ensured his control over Malwa region. Battle of Chanderi (1528) took place in the aftermath of Battle of Khanwa in which Mughal emperor Babur had defeated a confederacy of Rajputs and Afghans which was headed by Rana Sanga of Mewar. Later on Babur defeated Medini Rai Khangar who was the ruler of Malwa.
Humayun He stayed at Sarangpur (Gujarat) for a war against Bahadur Shah of Gujarat as queen of Karnavati of Chittor had invited Humayun to help her against Bahadur Shah. Due to Humayun's expedition, Bahadur Shah migrated to Mandu. Humayun also came to Mandu following Bahadur Shah.
Sher Shah Suri He attacked on Madhya Pradesh and captured Malwa, Raisen and Gwalior. He also captured the Kalinga fort.
Akbar After Hemu's defeat by Akbar at the second battle of Panipat in 1556, most of the Madhya Pradesh came under the Mughal rule. During Akbar's rule, the king of Malwa was Baz Bahadur Khan. In 1561, Akbar's army led by Adam Khan and Pir Muhammad Khan attacked Malwa and defeated Baz Bahadur in the battle of Sarangpur on 29th March, 1561.
Later Baz Bahadur made alliance with the rulers of Khandesh and Berar and defeated the Mughals in 1562. Akbar sent another army led by Abdullah Khan which finally defeated Baz Bahadur and Baz Bahadur died. The capture of Gondwana was the most important achievement of Akbar.
Bundela Dynasty and Mughals (16th-17th Century AD)
▸ The Bundela dynasty was a dominant force in the regions surrounding Orchha, which is in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. Orchha was the capital of Bundela dynasty.
▸ The founder of the Bundela dynasty was Jagdas. His younger son Sohan Pal was a great warrior.
▸ Sohan Pal founded the Bundela state after defeating Khangar.
▸ In 1501 AD, Orchha was founded by Rudrapratap Bundela who became its first king.
▸ Bundela King Veer Singh Dev, was a friend of Jahangir. Jahangir appointed him as king of Orchha.
▸ Jujhar Singh was the next Bundela king who revolted against Shah Jahan.
▸ Champat Rai was a dominant ruler in Bundela state. He was a good friend of Aurangzeb but later became a rebellion due to Aurangzeb's non-secular policy.

Independent Bundela State

▸ Chhatrasal was the most famous ruler of Bundela dynasty. He revolted against Aurangzeb. He occupied Panna in 1675 and declared it as his capital.
▸ Inspired by Chhatrapati Shivaji, Chhatrasal revolted against the Mughals at the age of 22. During his long period of revolt he captured a large tract of land between Chitrakoot and Panna on the East and Gwalior on the West. His domain stretched from Kalpi in the North to Damoh in the South.
▸ Aurangzeb executed a peaceful treaty with Chhatrasal and conferred on him with the title ' Raja'. Thus, Chhatrasal was regarded as the founder of independent Bundela state with Orchha as its capital.
▸ Hridyashah Bundela of this dynasty made Gangasagar reservoir near Garha.
▸ The earlier capital of the Bundelas was a place called Garkhurar. The capital fell to the Tughlaqs in the 16th century and the Bundelas were forced to move their base to Orchha.
▸ Numerous palaces, forts and temples were built under Bundela dynasty.
▸ The Bundela dynasty came to an end with the capture of Orchha by the Mughals under the leadership of Aurangzeb.
▸ Orchha still retains many of the buildings built by the Bundela rulers.
These buildings contain the famous Bundela wall paintings. Some of the finest specimen of the Murals can be seen in the Sheesh Mahal and Laxmi Narayan Temple.
Baghel Dynasty and Mughals (16th-17th Century AD)
▸ The Baghel dynasty was established in Rewa region of Madhya Pradesh. Baghel was earlier named as Bhatha.
▸ Vyaghra Dev was the first Solanki ruler who came to Baghel from Gujarat and established his rule in this region.
▸ The first known ruler of Baghel dynasty was Vir Dhawal.
▸ Veerbhan, the ruler of this dynasty helped Humayun in the Battle of Chausa.
▸ Raja Ramchandra Singh was the most powerful ruler of Baghel dynasty. He had control over Kalinjar fort.
▸ Tansen, the great musician was from the court of Ramchandra.
▸ Birbal was born in Sidhi district of Rewa region.
▸ Akbar's military chief defeated Ramchandra. Later, Tansen and Birbal were shifted to royal court of Akbar from Bhatha and became Navratnas of Akbar.
▸ The last ruler of Bhatha was Martand Singh.
Post Mughal Period (18th Century AD)
▸ The Mughal control over Madhya Pradesh became weak considerably after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, Between 1720 and 1760, the Marathas took control of most of Madhya Pradesh.
▸ It resulted in the establishment of semi-autonomous states under the nominal control of Peshwa of Puna.
▸ The Holkars of Indore ruled much of Malwa, the Puars ruled Dewas and Dhar, the Bhonsles of Nagpur dominated Mahakoshal-Gondwana area, the Scindias of Gwalior controlled the Northern parts of the state.
▸ The most notable Maratha rulers of the region were Mahadji Scindia, Ahilyabai Holkar and Yashwantrao Holkar. Besides these, there were several other small states like Bhopal, Orchha and Rewa.

Timeline

Period

Invasion of Muhammad of Ghor

1195-1206 AD

Slave dynasty

1206-1290 AD

Khalji dynasty

1290-1320 AD

Tughlaq dynasty

1321-1413 AD

Gond dynasty

14th-16th Century AD

Tomara dynasty

15th-16th Century AD

Mughal dynasty

16th-18th Centuary AD

Bundela dynasty

16th-17th Century AD

Baghel dynasty

Post Mughal Period

18th Century AD