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{{Infobox former subdivision
|common_name=Oiniwar Dynasty
|conventional_long_name =Oiniwar dynasty
|status_text =Sugauna dynasty
|era =
|year_start = 1325
|date_start =
|event_start=
|year_end = 1526
|date_end =
|event_end =
|event1 =
|date_event1 =
|p1 = Karnat dynasty
|s1 =Raj Darbhanga
|image_map =
|stat_area1 =
|stat_year1 =
|stat_pop1 =
|today = India and Nepal
}}

The '''Oiniwar dynasty''', also known as the '''Sugauna dynasty''',{{efn|Other spellings include Oinwar and Sugona.}} was a [[Maithils|Maithil]] ruling dynasty of territories that form part of the [[Mithila (region)|Mithila region]] of the Indian subcontinent. They governed the area between 1325 and 1526, being preceded by the [[Karnat dynasty]].{{efn|The Karnat dynasty is also known by other names, including the Karnataka, Simroun, Simraun and the Dev dynasty.}} Following the demise of the dynasty, there was a period of lawlessness in the region lasting around 30 years after which emerged the dynasty of the [[Raj Darbhanga]].

==Origins==
The rulers of the Oiniwar dynasty governed their lands between 1325 and 1526. They were Srotiya [[Maithil Brahmins]] whose first significant figure was Jayapati Thakur. His grandson, Nath Thakur, served the local kings of the Karnat dynasty and was rewarded with a grant of the village of [[Oini]] in recognition of his scholarship. As was then customary, he took the name of the granted place as his own and the dynasty that followed from him became known as the Oiniwar.<ref name="jha52-53"/> There is an alternative theory that the family were generally considered to be significant scholars and that this reputation and the influence that flowed from it resulted in them being awarded the village of Sodapura, which later caused them also to be known as the Srotiyas.<ref name="jha155-157">{{cite book|title=Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&pg=PA155|first=Makhan |last=Jha|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd|pages=155–157|year=1997|isbn=9788175330344}}</ref>

In 1325, following the collapse of the Karnat dynasty in 1324,<ref name="jha52-53">{{cite book|title=Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&pg=PA55|first=Makhan |last=Jha|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd|pages=52–53|year=1997|isbn=9788175330344}}</ref> Nath Thakur became the first [[Maithils|Maithil]] ruler. The dynasty that followed from him comprised a further 20 rulers.<ref name="jha55-57">{{cite book|title=Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&pg=PA55|first=Makhan |last=Jha|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd|pages=55–57|year=1997|isbn=9788175330344}}</ref>

==Capitals==
The dynastic capitals were frequently relocated. At some unknown time, it was moved from Oini in present-day [[Muzaffarpur district]] to the village of [[Sugauna]] in modern-day [[Madhubani district]], thus giving rise to the rulers also being known as the Sugauna Dynasty. It was moved again, to Devakuli, during the reign of Deva Singh, and then to Gajarathpura (also known as Shiva Singhpura) during the early years of the reign of his son, Shiva Singh.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sarkar |first1=Bihani |title=The Rite of Durgā in Medieval Bengal: An Introductory Study of Raghunandana's Durgāpūjātattva with Text and Translation of the Principal Rites |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |date=2012 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=325–390 |jstor=41490102 |doi=10.1017/S1356186312000181 }}</ref> When the latter died in 1416, his queen, Lakshima, governed for 12 years and then was succeeded by his brother, Padma Singh, who moved the capital once more. Named Padma, after its founder, this was near to Rajnagar and a long way from the previous seat. Padma Singh, who ruled for three years, was succeeded by his wife, Vivasa Devi, and she, too, founded a new capital which is today the village of Vishual.<ref name="jha55-57"/>

==Military==
The military of the Oiniwar dynasty was considered to be the main pillar of the King's power. The army was under the command of a ''senapati'' or the [[commander-in-chief]] who had a direct control of the military.<ref name=Chaudhary1976>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.108178/page/n101 | title=Mithila in the Age of Vidyapati | author= Radhakrishna Chaudhary | publisher= Chaukhambha Orientalia | year=1976 | pages= 74–80}}</ref> The military had a four-fold structure with infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots. The poet, Vidyapati who worked in the court of the Oiniwars, noted that the core of the army consisted of ''Kshatriyas'' and ''Brahmins'' the vanguard consisted of mercenaries from [[Kurukshetra]], [[Matsya]], [[Surasena]] and [[Panchala]].<ref name=Chaudhary1976 />

In a battle with a [[Muslim]] Sultan during the reign of King Sivasimha, many different warriors were mentioned including Commander Suraja, Śri Śakho Sanehi Jha, Pundamalla who was an expert in archery and Rajadeva (Raut) who was considered to be a matchless warrior.<ref name=Chaudhary1976 />

==Culture==
The frequent moving of capitals and also the founding of new villages resulted in a range of new infrastructure financed by the dynasty, taking such forms as roads, temples, ponds and forts. In addition, the rulers were significant patrons of Maithili culture.<ref name="jha57-59">{{cite book|title=Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&pg=PA55|first=Makhan |last=Jha|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd|pages=57–59|year=1997|isbn=9788175330344}}</ref> Their era has been called the epitome of the [[Maithili language]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Love Songs of Vidyāpati|publisher=G. Allen & Unwin|year=1963|location=London|translator-last=Bhattacharya|translator-first=Deben}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Deo|first1=Kamal|date=2006|title=Society in the Kirtilata of Vidyapati|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=67|pages=286–291|jstor=44147948}}</ref><ref name="jha57-59" /><ref name="jayakanta">A History Of Maithili Literature Vol.1, Mishra Jayakanta, 1949, Tirubhakti Publishers, Allahabad</ref>{{pn|date=October 2018}}{{qn|date=October 2018}} The contributions of the poet and scholar [[Vidyapati]], who flourished during the reign of Shiva Simha Singh, are particularly notable.<ref name=":2" /> This was a significant change from the Karnat era, whose rulers were not native to the area and which had been culturally stagnant.<ref name="jha52-53"/>

Sugauna became the core of linguistic and philosophical development of the Hindu religion.<ref name="jayakanta"/>{{pn|date=October 2018}}{{qn|date=October 2018}}

==Demise==
The last of the Oiniwar rulers was Laxminath Singh Deva.<ref name="jha155-157"/>{{clarify|reason=we need to know why he was the last|date=October 2018}}. He had been trying to assert himself as an independent ruler and in the process was killed by Nusrat Shah of Bengal.<ref>The Wonder That Was India , S A A Rizvi , Picador India page 60 </ref> Nusrat Shah Appointed his Brother in Law as the governor or Tirhut. Following Laxminath Singh Deva death there was a period of lawlessness in the region lasting around 30 years where various [[Rajput]], [[Brahmin]], Kayastha clans were battling for power.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mishra |first1=Vijaykanta |title=Chronology of the Oiniwara Dynasty of Mithila |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=1953 |volume=16 |pages=200–210 |jstor=44303873 }}</ref> After this emerged the dynasty of the [[Raj Darbhanga]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Bihar and Mithila: The Historical Roots of Backwardness|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjElDwAAQBAJ&pg=262|first= J. Albert|last=Rorabacher|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=262|year=2016|isbn=9781351997584}}</ref>

==Rulers==
According to historian Makhan Jha, the rulers of the Oiniwar dynasty are as follows:<ref name="jha155-157"/>

* Nath Thakur
* Atirupa Thakur
* Vishwarupa Thakur
* Govinda Thakur
* Lakshman Thakur
* Kameshwar Thakur
* Bhogishwar Thakur, ruled for over 33 years
* Ganeshwar Singh, reigned from 1355; killed by his cousins in 1371 after a long-running internecine dispute
* Kirti Singh
* Bhava Singh Deva
* Deva Simha Singh
* Shiva Simha Singh (or Shivasimha Rūpanārāyana), took power in 1402, missing in battle in 1406<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda Kentish|title=Vidyāpati: Bangīya Padābali; Songs of the Love of Rādhā and Krishna.|publisher=The Old Bourne Press|year=1915|location=London}}</ref>
* Lakshima Devi, chief wife of Shiva Simha Singh, ruled as regent for 12 years. She committed [[Sati (practice)|sati]] after many years of waiting for her husband's return.<ref name=":2" />
* Padma Simha Singh, took power in 1418 and died in 1431<ref name=":2" />
* Viswavasa Devi, wife of Padma Singh, died in 1443
* Hara Singh Deva, younger brother of Deva Singh
* Nara Singh Deva, died in 1460
* Dhir Singh Deva
* Bhairva Singh Deva, died in 1515, brother of Dhir Singh Deva
* Rambhadra Deva
* Laxminath Singh Deva, died in 1526

Jha also refers to the predecessors of Nath, Thakur used as "kings" but this contradicts his own explanation of when the family became rulers. Those predecessors are Jayapati Thakur and Hingu Thakur.<ref name="jha155-157"/>

==See also==
*[[History of Mithila Region]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{notelist}}
'''Citations'''
{{reflist}}

{{Darbhanga Division topics}}
[[Category:History of Bihar]]
[[Category:Culture of Mithila]]
[[Category:Kingdoms of Bihar]]
[[Category:Dynasties of India]]
[[Category:14th-century establishments in Nepal]]
[[Category:16th-century disestablishments in Nepal]]

Oiniwar Dynasty - Revision history

imported>Er Naanu at 13:35, 17 July 2021