Seuna (Yadava) dynasty: Difference between revisions

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| image_map_caption      = Territory of the Yadavas and neighbouring polities, circa 1200-1300 CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=147, map XIV.3 (c)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=185}}</ref>

The Yadavas initially ruled as feudatories of the [[Western Chalukyas]]. Around the middle of the 12th century, as the Chalukya power waned, the Yadava king [[Bhillama V]] declared independence. The Yadava kingdom reached its peak under [[Simhana|Simhana II]], and flourished until the early 14th century, when it was annexed by the [[Khalji dynasty]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] in 1308 CE.

The Seuna dynasty claimed descent from the [[Yadava]]s and therefore, its kings are often referred to as the "Yadavas of Devagiri". The correct name of the [[dynasty]], however, is Seuna or Sevuna.<ref name="ref_India_A_History_John_Keay">{{cite book

| last = Keay

| first = John

| author-link = John Keay

| title = India: A History

| date= 2001-05-01

| isbn = 0-8021-3797-0

| pages = 252–257

}} ''The quoted pages can be read at [https://books.google.com/ Google Book Search].''</ref> The inscriptions of this dynasty, as well as those of contemporary kingdoms, the [[Hoysala]], [[Kakatiya dynasty]] and [[Western Chalukyas]] call them ''Seunas''.{{sfn|Suryanath Kamat|1980|pp=136-137}} The name is probably derived from the name of their second ruler, "Seunachandra".

The earliest historical ruler of the Seuna/Yadava dynasty can be dated to the mid-9th century, but the origin of the dynasty is uncertain.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1957|p=137}} Little is known about their early history: their 13th century court poet [[Hemadri]] records the names of the family's early rulers, but his information about the pre-12th century rulers is often incomplete and inaccurate.{{sfn|A. S. Altekar|1960|p=515}} [[David Hardiman]] identifies the Yadavas of Devagiri as "Gavli Rajas" of 12th - 13th centuries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=hardiman |first1=david |title=Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society, Issue 8 |publisher=Oxford University |location=Oxford |page=94|isbn=9780195643343 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BjowAQAAIAAJ&q=gavli+raj&dq=gavli+raj&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiXnrzy_sH_AhVuAjQIHQr_B1EQ6AF6BAgKEAI}}</ref>

The territory of the early Yadava rulers was located in present-day [[Maharashtra]],{{sfn|A. S. Altekar|1960|p=516}} and several scholars (especially Maharashtrian historians{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=53}}) have claimed a "[[Maratha]]" origin for the dynasty.{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=316}} However, [[Marathi language|Marathi]], the language of present-day Maharashtra, began to appear as the dominant language in the dynasty's inscriptions only in the 14th century, before which [[Kannada]] and [[Sanskrit]] were the primary language of their inscriptions.{{sfn|Colin P. Masica|1993|p=45}}{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=53}} Marathi appears in around two hundred Yadava inscriptions, but usually as translation of or addition to Kannada and Sanskrit text. During the last half century of the dynasty's rule, it became the dominant language of epigraphy, which may have been a result of the Yadava attempts to connect with their Marathi-speaking subjects, and to distinguish themselves from the Kannada-speaking Hoysalas.{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=53}} The earliest instance of the Yadavas using the term "''marathe''" as a self-designation appears in a 1311 inscription recording a donation to the [[Vitthal Temple, Pandharpur|Pandharpur temple]],{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=314}} towards the end of the dynasty's rule.{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=316}} However the word was not used to indicate the Maratha caste but meant “belonging to Maharashtra”.{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=315}}

Epigraphic evidence suggests that the dynasty likely emerged from a Kannada-speaking background.{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|pp=51-54}} Around five hundred Yadava inscriptions have been discovered, and Kannada is the most common language of these inscriptions, followed by Sanskrit.{{sfn|Christian Lee Novetzke|2016|p=53}} Of the inscriptions found in present-day [[Karnataka]] (the oldest being from the reign of Bhillama II), most are in Kannada language and script; others are in the Kannada language but use [[Devanagari]] script.{{sfn|Suryanath Kamat|1980|pp=136-137}} Older inscriptions from Karnataka also attest to the existence of Yadava feudatories (such as Seunas of Masavadi) ruling in the [[Dharwad]] region in the 9th century, although these feudatories cannot be connected to the main line of the dynasty with certainty.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam|1957|p=137}}{{sfn|A. S. Altekar|1960|p=516}} Many of the dynasty's rulers had Kannada names and titles such as "Dhadiyappa", "Bhillama", "Rajugi", "Vadugi" and "Vasugi", and "Kaliya Ballala". Some kings had names like "Simhana" (or "Singhana")  and "Mallugi", which were also used by the [[Kalachuris of Kalyani]], who ruled in present-day Karnataka. Records show that one of the early rulers, Seunachandra II, had a Kannada title, ''Sellavidega''. The rulers had very close matrimonial relationships with Kannada-speaking royal families throughout their rule. Bhillama II was married to Lachchiyavve, who was from a [[Rashtrakuta]] descendant family in Karnataka. Vaddiga was married to Vaddiyavve, daughter of Rashtrakuta chieftain Dhorappa. Wives of Vesugi and Bhillama III were [[Chalukya]] princesess. The early Seuna coins also had Kannada legends engraved on them indicating it was a court language.{{sfn|Suryanath Kamat|1980|pp=136-137}} The early Yadavas may have migrated northwards owing to the political situation in the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] region,{{sfn|Shrinivas Ritti|1973}} or may have been dispatched by their Rashtrakuta overlords to rule the northern regions.{{sfn|A. V. Narasimha Murthy|1971|p=32}}

Around 1187, Bhillama forced Ballala to retreat, conquered the former Chalukya capital Kalyani, and declared himself a sovereign ruler.{{sfn|A. S. Altekar|1960|p=524}} He then established [[Devagiri]], a formidable natural stronghold, which became the new Yadava capital.{{sfn|T. V. Mahalingam |1957|p=140}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aIF6DwAAQBAJ |title=India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-0-14-196655-7 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 2, first page}}</ref>

[[File:Region of the Yadavas, with the city of Diogil (Deogil. Dwaigir. Daulatabad) in the Catalan Atlas (1375).jpg|thumb|upright=2|Western coast of India, with the traditional Yadava capital of ''[[Daulatabad Fort|Diogil]]'' ("Deogiri", or [[Devagiri]]) at the center, in the [[Catalan Atlas]] (1375). On top of the city of ''Diogil'' floats a peculiar flag ([[File:Flag of Diogil, Catalan Atlas 1375.png|20px]]), while coastal cities are under the black flag of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] ([[File:Sultan of Delhi Flag according to the Catalan Atlas (1375).png|20px]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=Antiquities from San Thomé and Mylapore |pages=264-265 |url=https://archive.org/details/AntiquitiesFromSanThomeAndMylaporeHenriHosten1936/page/n319/mode/2up?q=diogil}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kadoi |first1=Yuka |title=On the Timurid flag |journal=Beiträge zur islamischen Kunst und Archäologie |volume=2 |page=148 |url=https://www.academia.edu/17410816/_On_the_Timurid_flag_in_Beitr%C3%A4ge_zur_islamischen_Kunst_und_Arch%C3%A4ologie_Band_2_Wiesbaden_Reichert_2010_pp_143_62|quote="...helps identify another curious flag found in northern India – a brown or originally sliver flag with a vertical black line – as the flag of the Delhi Sultanate (602-962/1206-1555)."}}</ref> Devagiri was ultimately captured by [[‘Alā ud-Dīn Khaljī]] in 1307.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Beaujard |first1=Philippe |title=The worlds of the Indian Ocean : a global history : a revised and updated translation |publisher=Cambrige University Press |isbn=978-1-108-42456-1 |page=Chapter 8 |url=978-1108424653|quote="The sultan captured the Rajput fort of Chitor, in Rājasthān, and in 1310 he subjected most of the Deccan to his power. He took Devagiri – the capital of the Yādava – in 1307"}}</ref> The trading ship raises the flag of the [[Ilkhanate]] ([[File:Flag_of_the_Ilkhanate.svg|20px]]).]]

Ramachandra seems to have faced invasions by Muslim armies from north India (called "[[mlechchhas]]" or "[[Turkic people|Turukas]]") since the 1270s, for a 1278 inscription calls him a "[[Varaha|Great Boar]] in securing the earth from the oppression of the Turks". Historian P. M. Joshi dismisses this as a boastful claim, and theorizes that he may have "chastised some Muslim officials" in the coastal region between [[Goa]] and [[Chaul]].{{sfn|P. M. Joshi|1966|p=206}} In 1296, [[Ala-ud-din Khalji]] of the Delhi Sultanate successfully [[Alauddin Khalji's raid on Devagiri|raided Devagiri]]. Khalji restored it to Ramachandra in return for his promise of payment of a high [[ransom]] and an annual tribute.<ref name="ref_Mathew_Bannet_Dictionary">{{cite book

| last = Bennett

| first = Mathew

| title = Dictionary of Ancient & Medieval Warfare

| publisher = Stackpole Books

| isbn = 0-8117-2610-X

| page = 98

}}. ''The quoted pages can be read at [https://books.google.com/ Google Book Search].''</ref> However, this was not paid and the Seuna kingdom's arrears to Khalji kept mounting. In 1307, Khalji sent an army commanded by [[Malik Kafur]], accompanied by Khwaja Haji, to Devagiri. The Muslim governors of Malwa and Gujarat were ordered to help Malik Kafur. Their huge army conquered the weakened and [[Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Devagiri|defeated]] forces of Devagiri almost without a battle. Ramachandra was taken to Delhi. Khalji reinstated Ramachandra as governor in return for a promise to help him subdue the Hindu kingdoms in [[South India]]. In 1310, Malik Kafur mounted an assault on the [[Kakatiya dynasty|Kakatiya kingdom]] from Devagiri.<ref name="ref_India_A_History_John_Keay"/> The plundered wealth obtained from the Kakatiyas helped finance the freelance soldiers of the Khalji army.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eaton |first=Richard M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aIF6DwAAQBAJ |title=India in the Persianate Age: 1000-1765 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-0-14-196655-7 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 2}}</ref>

Ramachandra's successor Simhana III challenged the supremacy of Khalji, who sent Malik Kafur to recapture Devagiri in 1313. Simhana III was killed in the ensuing battle<ref>{{cite book|last=Michell|first=George|title=Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates|url=https://archive.org/details/newcambridgehist00mich_127|url-access=limited|publisher=Arizona University Press|isbn=0-521-56321-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/newcambridgehist00mich_127/page/n49 5]}}</ref> and Khalji's army occupied Devagiri. The kingdom was annexed by the [[Khalji dynasty|Khalji sultanate]] in 1317. Many years later, [[Muhammad Tughluq]] of the [[Tughluq dynasty]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] subsequently renamed the city Daulatabad.<ref name="brit">"Yādava Dynasty" Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite</ref>

* Simhana III alias Shankaradeva, r. c. 1311–1313

* ''Hammiramadhana'' by Jayasimha Suri{{citation needed}}

   | access-date = 2007-12-11 }}</ref>{{failed verification}}