MY COLLECTION - ANCIENT INDIAN COINS - ALBUM NO 4 - HINDU & BUDDHIST & MUSLIM DYNASTIES - 4

CHAPPIDI ABHIRATH REDDY,
C/O COL GKS REDDY,hile on a visit

Secunderabad - 500 015.

ANCIENT INDIAN COINS

Kalachuris Dynasty, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Yadavas of Devagiri and Kabul Shahi Dynasty


Kalachuri Dynasty

         The Kalachuri Empire was the name used by two kingdoms who had a succession of dynasties from the 10th-12th centuries, one ruling over areas in Central India (west Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan) and were called Chedi or Haihaya (Heyheya) (northern branch-Kalchuri Rajput Clan) and the other the southern Kalachuri who ruled over parts of Karnataka. They are supposed to be offshoot ofAbhira of Traikutakas dynasty. The earliest known Kalachuri family (AD 550–620) ruled over northern Maharashtra, Malwa and western Deccan. Their capital Mahismati was situated in the Narmada River valley. There were three prominent members; Krishnaraja, Shankaragana and Buddharaja who distributed coins and epigraphs around the area. By religious affiliation they were usually followers of Hinduism, specifically of the Pasupata sect.

          At their peak, the Southern Kalachuris (1130–1184) ruled parts of the Deccan extending over regions of present-day North Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra. This dynasty rose to power in the Deccan between 1156 and 1181 AD. They traced their origins to Krishna who was the conqueror of Kalinjar and Dahala in Madhya Pradesh. It is said that Bijjala, a viceroy of the dynasty, established the authority over Karnataka after wresting power from the Chalukya king Taila III. Bijjala was succeeded by his sons Someshwara and Sangama but after 1181 AD, the Chalukyas gradually retrieved the territory. Their rule was short and turbulent and yet very important from a socio-religious point of view; a new sect known as the Lingayat or Virashaiva sect was founded during these times.

          A unique and purely native form of Kannada literature-poetry called the Vachanas was also born during this time. The writers ofVachanas were called Vachanakaras (poets). Many other important works like Virupaksha Pandita's Chennabasavapurana, Dharani Pandita's Bijjalarayacharite and Chandrasagara Varni's Bijjalarayapurana were also written.

        The Northern Kalachuris ruled in central India with their base at the ancient city of Tripuri (Tewar) near Jabalpur; it originated in the 8th century, expanded significantly in the 11th century, and declined in the 12th–13th centuries.

My Collection Kalachuri Coins - I have only one Kalachuri Coin in my collection

Ghaznavids

The Ghaznavid dynasty  (Persian: غزنویان‎) was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin at their greatest extent ruling large parts of Iran, much of Transoxiana, and North India from 977–1186. The dynasty was founded bySabuktigin, upon his succession to rule of Ghazna after the death of his father-in-law, Alp Tigin, who was a breakaway ex-general of the Samanid Empire from Balkh, north of the Hindu Kush in Greater Khorasan.

         Although the dynasty was of Central Asian Turkic origin, it was thoroughly Persianized in terms of language, culture, literature, and habits, and hence is regarded by some as a "Persian dynasty" rather than Turkic.

        Sabuktigin's son, Mahmud of Ghazni, declared independence from the Samanid Empire and expanded the Ghaznavid Empire to the Amu Darya, the Indus River and the Indian Ocean in the East, and to Rey and Hamadan in the west. Under the reign ofMas'ud I, the Ghaznavid dynasty began losing control over its western territories to the Seljuq dynasty after the Battle of Dandanaqan, resulting in a restriction of its holdings to modern-day Afghanistan, Punjab, Pakistan, and Balochistan. In 1151, Sultan Bahram Shah lost Ghazni to the Ghurid king Ala al-Din Husayn.

My Collection of Ghaznavid Coins

Ghurid Dynasty

The Ghurids or Ghorids (Persian: سلسله غوریان‎; self-designation: شنسباني, Shansabānī) were a dynasty of Eastern Iranian descent (presumably Tajik, but the exact ethnic origin is uncertain), from the Ghor region of present-day central Afghanistan. The dynasty converted to Sunni Islam after the conquest of Ghor by the Ghaznavid emperor Mahmud of Ghazni in 1011. Abu Ali ibn 

        Muhammad (reigned 1011-1035) was the first Muslim king of the Ghurid dynasty to construct mosques and Islamic schools in Ghor. The dynasty overthrew the Ghaznavid Empire in 1186, when Sultan Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad of Ghor conquered the last Ghaznavid capital of Lahore. At their zenith, the Ghurid empire encompassed Khorasan in the west and reached northern Indiaas far as Bengal in the east. Their first capital was Firozkoh in Mandesh, Ghor, which was later replaced by Herat, whileGhazni and Lahore were used as additional capitals, especially during winters. The Ghurids were patrons of Persian culture and heritage.

         The Ghurids were succeeded in Khorasan and Persia by the Khwarezmian dynasty, and in northern India by the Mamluk dynastyof the Delhi Sultanate.

My Collection of Ghurid Coins

Yadavas of Devagiri

The Yadavas of Devagiri were the descendants of the feudatory nobles of the Western Chalukyan ( Chalukyas of Kalyani )Empire. The most important territory which they had under them was between Devagiri (Modern Daultabad) and Nasik and was known as Sevana or Seuna, though they had influence in modern Maharashtra,iri Coins North Karnataka and parts of Southern Madhya Pradesh. They are known as founders of Marathi Culture. The name Seuna has been used for them in the Hoyasala and Kakatiya inscriptions and seems to be probably derived from the name of Seunachandra, second ruler of this dynasty. This dynasty was founded by Dridhaprahara. His son Seunachandra ruled an area of present Khandesh which was known as Seundesa.

My Collection of Yadavas of Devagiri Coins

The Kabul Shahi Dynasty

          The Kabul Shahi also called Shahiya dynasties ruled one of the Middle kingdoms of India which included portions of the Kabulistan and the old province of Gandhara (now in northern Pakistan), from the decline of the Kushan Empire in the 3rd century to the early 9th century. The kingdom was known as Kabul Shahi (Kabul-shāhān or Ratbél-shāhān in Persian کابلشاهان یا رتبیل شاهان) between 565 and 879 when they had Kapisa and Kabul as their capitals, and later as Hindu Shahi.

       The Shahis of Kabul/Gandhara are generally divided into the two eras of the "Buddhist Shahis" and the "Hindu Shahis", with the change-over thought to have occurred sometime around 870.

My Collection of Kabul Shahi Coins

Note:- The information about the Dynasties has been Extracted from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia.