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{{Short description|Kashmiri Hindu dynasty (1003–1320)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{About|the dynasty of Kashmir|other uses|Lohara (disambiguation){{!}}Lohara}}
{{Copy edit|date=February 2024}}{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Lohara dynasty
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| year_end = 1320 CE
| image_map = {{South Asia in 1175|center||{{location map~ |South Asia |lat=34|N |long=75|E |label=|position=|label_size=|mark=Orange dot (semi-transparent).png|marksize=22}}||none}}
| map_caption = {{center|Location of the Lohara dynasty and neighbouring polities circa 1175 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chandra |first1=Satish |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (
| map_width = 300px
| capital = [[Srinagar]]
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}}
{{History of Kashmir}}
The '''Lohara dynasty''' was a [[Kashmiri Hindu]] [[dynasty]] that ruled over [[Kashmir]] and surrounding regions in the northwestern part of the [[Indian subcontinent]] for more than 3 centuries between 1003 CE 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 [[Jonaraja|Jonarāja]] and [[Srivara|Śrīvara]]. The later rulers of the dynasty were weak; internecine fighting and corruption were endemic during this period, with only brief years of respite, making the dynasty vulnerable to the growth of Islamic conquests in the region.<ref name=Hasan1959pp29-32>Hasan (1959), pp.
==Origins==
According to the 12th-century text ''[[Rajatarangini]]'' translated by Sir [[Marc Aurel Stein]], the family of the chiefs of Lohara were from [[Khasas|
[[Didda]], a daughter of the king of Lohara called Simharja, 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,<ref>Kaw, p. 91.</ref> 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.<ref name=Stein1900p294/><ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 1, pp.
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. From this decision arose the Lohara dynasty of Kashmir, although Vigraharja even during his lifetime made attempts to assert his right to that area as well as Lohar.<ref name=Stein1900p294>Stein (1900), Vol. 2, p. 294.</ref> What was to follow was around three centuries of "endless rebellions and other internal troubles".<ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 2, p. 370.</ref>
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| image2 = Bodhisattva Sugatisamdarshana-Lokeshvara, Lohara period, end of 10th, early 11th century, Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmiri donor couple detail). Musée Guimet MA6266.jpg
| caption2 =
| footer = The [[Bodhisattva]] Sugatisamdarsana-[[Lokesvara]], Kashmir, Lohara period, c. 11th century.<ref>"The Bodhisattva Sugatisamdarsana
}}
[[Samgrāmarāja]] is considered the founder of the Lohara dynasty.<ref name="IEH"/> He inherited the throne from his aunt Queen [[Didda]] after her death in 1003 CE.
Samgrāmarāja was able to repulse several attacks of [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] against Kashmir, and he also supported ruler [[Trilochanapala]] against Muslim attacks.<ref name="IEH"/>{{better source needed|date=December 2017}}{{clarify|date=December 2017}}
The reign of Samgrāmarāja between 1003 and June or July 1028 was largely characterized by the actions of those in his court, who preyed on his subjects to satisfy their own greed, and by the role of the prime minister, Tunga. The latter was a former herdsman who had become a lover of Didda and was her prime minister. He had wielded much power in working with Didda to assert her dominance over the kingdom, and he continued to use that power after her death. Samgrāmarāja was afraid of him and, for many years, allowed him to have his way. Indeed, it was Tunga who appointed many of the corrupt officials who proceeded to extract significant amounts of wealth from the kingdom's subjects. These appointees and their actions made Tunga unpopular, and his age may well have contributed to his increasing inability to deal with challenges from opponents within and without the court. Samgrāmarāja quietly supported the plots to remove the minister, and eventually, Tunga was murdered. His actions did little to improve matters either in the court or the country as his death caused an influx of royal favourites who were no less corrupt than those who had been appointed by him.<ref name=Hasan1959p32/><ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 1, pp.
===Harirāja and Ananta===
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===Kalaśa, Utkarsa and Harsa===
[[File:Vishnu and Lakshmi Supported by Garuda, 11th century CE, Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir.jpg|thumb|[[Vishnu]] and [[Lakshmi]] supported by [[Garuda]] at the time of the Lohara dynasty, 11th century CE, Jammu and Kashmir.<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/38571 |website=
Kalaśa was king until 1089. Another weak-willed man who involved himself in an incestuous relationship with his daughter, Kalaśa, was dominated by those surrounding him at court and spent little time on matters of government until his later years. He freed himself from the effective rule of his father in 1076, causing Ananta to leave the capital along with many loyal courtiers and then lay siege to them in their new abode at Vijayesvara. On the verge of being pushed into exile and faced with a wife who, even at this stage, doted on her son, Ananta committed suicide in 1081. It was after this that Kalaśa reformed his licentious ways and began to govern responsibly, as well as operating a foreign policy that improved the influence which the dynasty held over surrounding hill tribes.<ref name=Hasan1959p32/><ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 1, pp. 110-111.</ref>
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{{main|Harsha of Kashmir}}
[[File:Harshadeva (Kashmir) 1089-1101 CE.jpg|thumb|Coinage of Harsa ("Harshadeva"), Kashmir,
Harsa had been a cultured man with much to offer his people but became as prone to the influence of certain favorites and as corrupt, cruel, and profligate as his predecessors. He, too, indulged in incest and Stein has said that he was; {{blockquote|undoubtedly the most striking figure among the later Hindu rulers of Kashmir. His many and varied attainments and the strange contrasts in his character must have greatly exercised the mind of his contemporaries ... Cruelty and kindheartedness, liberality and greed, violent selfwilledness and reckless supineness, cunning and want of thought – these and other apparently irreconcilable features in turn display themselves in
Harsa faced numerous challenges to his reign, and he executed many of his relatives, some but not all of whom had been among the challengers.<ref name=Stein1900v1p113/> He conducted campaigns in the east of the valley to wrest control of land back from feudatory landlords, who were known as [[damara (feudal landlord)|dāmaras]], and in 1101 they murdered him.<ref name=Hasan1959p33/><ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 2, pp.
==Second Lohara dynasty==
===Uccala===
[[File:Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio, Kingdom of Kashmir, 11th-12th century CE.jpg|thumb|Fragment of a [[Buddhist]] [[Prajnaparamita Sutra]] manuscript folio, Kashmir, at the time of Lohara dynasty, 11th-12th century CE. Jammu and Kashmir.<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/821085 |website=
[[Uchchala]], who was from a side branch of the Lohara royal line, succeeded to the throne and reigned for a decade. He and his younger brother, Sussala, had been spotted by Harsa as pretenders to his crown during the unrest, and in 1100, they were forced to flee. The move did them no harm as it increased their status among the dāmaras: if Harsa wanted the brothers dead, then that was all the more reason to rally around them. It was as a consequence of this that Uccala was able to mount armed attacks on Harsa, as in 1101, which, although initially unsuccessful, eventually achieve their aim as those closest to Harsa deserted him.<ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 1, pp.
The two kingdoms of Kashmir and Lohara were again split at the time of Uccala's accession, with Uccala ceding rule over Lohara to Sussala in an attempt to head off any potential challenge from his ambitious brother.<ref name=Stein1900p295>Stein (1900), Vol. 2, p. 295.</ref><ref name=Stein1900v1p117>Stein (1900), Vol. 1, p. 117.</ref> The rule of Uccala was largely a victim of inherited circumstances, and in particular, the fact that the power of the dāmaras that had caused the downfall of Harsa was also a strength that could now be turned on him. He was unable to stabilise the penurious kingdom, either economically or in terms of authority, although it was not due to any lack of capability on his part and he did succeed in forming an alliance with the most powerful dāmara, Gargacandra. He was, in the opinion of Hasan, an able and conscientious ruler.<ref name=Hasan1959p33/><ref name=Stein1900v1p15/> Stein has explained the method adopted to counter the dāmaras:
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===Jayasimha===
[[File:Vishnu and Shri Lakshmi on Garuda LACMA M.72.53.1 (1 of 2).jpg|right|thumb|[[Lakshmi]]-[[Vaikuntha]] riding his vehicle (''[[vahana]]'') [[Garuda]], 11th century CE, Kashmir, Jammu and Kasmir, India. [[Los Angeles County Museum of Art]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Vishnu and Shri Lakshmi on Garuda {{!}} LACMA Collections |url=https://collections.lacma.org/node/238399 |website=collections.lacma.org}}</ref>]]
Jayasimha succeeded his father in 1128, during a period when there was open rebellion. A plot intended to assert authority backfired on Sussala and caused his death. Jayasimha was not a forceful character, but he did nonetheless manage to bring about both peace and a degree of economic well-being during his reign, which lasted until 1155. Bhikşācara mounted further attempts to regain the throne during the first two years, and no sooner had he been killed than another challenger, Lothana, a brother of Salhana, succeeded in taking control of Lohara. That territory was subsequently recaptured, but challenges continued from Lothana and two others who sought the throne, Malljuna and Bhoja, the latter being a son of Salhana. Throughout this period, there was also further troublesome behaviour generally from the dāmaras, as so often in the past, and also, as in the past, it was the fact that those chiefs also fought among themselves that enabled Jayasimha to survive. Peace came after 1145, and Jayasimha was able to employ his methods of kingship, which relied on diplomacy and Machiavellian plotting, for the greater good of his kingdom. In particular, Kalhana refers to the piety of Jayasimha, who rebuilt or constructed many temples which had been destroyed during the long years of war. His success has led Hasan to describe him as "the last great Hindu ruler of Kashmir."<ref name=Hasan1959p33/><ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 1, pp.
An example of Jayasimha's vision can be found in his decision to enthrone his oldest son, Gulhana, as king of Lohara, even though Gulhana was a child and Jayasimha was still alive. The reason for this appears to have been better to ensure the succession would not suffer any disturbance.<ref>Stein (1900), Vol. 1, p. 129.</ref>
===Successors to Jayasimha===
Jayasimha's rule continued until 1155, followed by his son Paramanuka, and then his grandson Vantideva (ruled 1165–72), who is often described as the last king of the Lohara dynasty.<ref name="IEH">India
====Dynasty of the Vuppadevas====
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Another son of Rājadeva became king in 1252. This was Rāmadeva, who had no children and appointed Laksmandadeva, the son of a [[Brahmin]], to be his heir. Although the period of Rāmadeva's reign was calm, that of Laksmandadeva saw deterioration in the situation once more. In this reign, which began in 1273, the troubles were caused not only by the fractious nobility but also by the territorial encroachment of [[Turkish people|Turks]]. As with his predecessors and successors, he thought little of spending money on border protection. By 1286, when Laksmandadeva'a son, Simhadeva, came to the throne, the kingdom was a much smaller place. Simhadeva survived until 1301, a largely ineffective ruler who was dominated by his advisers. He was killed by a man whom he had cuckolded.<ref name=Hasan1959p34/>
[[File:King Jagadeva of the Vuppadevas in Kashmir 1199-1213.jpg|thumb|left|Coin of king Jagadeva of the Vuppadevas in Kashmir,
The last of the dynasty was Sūhadeva, the brother of Simhadeva. He was a strong ruler but also an unpopular one. He taxed heavily and exempted not even the Brahmins from his exactions. Although he managed to unite the kingdom under his control there is a sense in which the majority of it was united against him.
Ladakhi Buddhist prince [[Rinchan]] aided in overthrowing Shadeva and, taking the widow of Shadeva queen [[Kota Rani]] as his wife, claimed the throne for himself in 1320 and reigned until 1323. Shortly after taking the throne, Rinchan converted to Islam, changing his name to Sadr-ud-Din and beginning the [[Kashmir Sultanate]]. After Sultan Sadr-ud-Din's death, Sūhadeva's brother Udayanadeva was invited to return to Kashmir to rule, while Sadr-ud-Din's son and heir Haidar was still a minor. Queen Kota Rani
During the reign of Sūhadeva, [[Shah Mir]] migrated to Kashmir from Swat with his family, whereupon he entered service to the throne. Proving himself a capable general during these tumultuous times, Shah Mir rose in popularity among Kashmiri nobles. When Kota Rani appointed Bhatta Bhikshana over Shah Mir as her Prime Minister, Shah Mir led a revolt and, upon succeeding, forced Kota Rani to marry him and took the throne for himself, ending the last remnants of the Lohara dynasty and beginning the [[Shah Mir dynasty]] of the Kashmir Sultanate.
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