Anangpal Tomar
Encyclopedia
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
his capital. Anangpal, a Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
Chief of Tomar dynasty, who came from Kanauj built his capital in Delhi was rebuilt again in 731-36 AD, Anangpal II again rebuilt it in 1052 AD. He was followed by Prithvi Raj (1164 - 1 192 AC) who was killed in a battle with the Turks at Tarauri in 1192. From then onwards Muslims ruled Delhi.
Anangpal II
Anangpal Tomar II ruled Delhi in the mid-eleventh century. He gave Mihirawali (now MehrauliMehrauli
Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in the South West district of Delhi in India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is located close to Gurgaon.-History:...
) name to modern Delhi which means path of Mihir. In middle of 11th century, he built a fort called Lal Kot (literally Red Fort), in which the Qutb Minar stands today, and founded a town. He also removed the famous Iron pillar of Delhi on which are inscribed the eulogies of Chandragupta Vikramaditya (r. 375–415 CE), probably from Mathura, and set it up in 1052 CE, near a group of temples. He also built the Yogmaya Temple
Yogmaya Temple
Yogmaya Temple also known as Jogmaya temple, is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Yogmaya, the sister of Krishna, and situated in Mehrauli, New Delhi, close to the Qutb complex. It is widely believed to be one of the five surviving temples from the Mahabharata period in Delhi.Yogmaya or...
nearby.
The dynasty lasted just a century, as after him, came his son, Ausan Singh and then his grandson Kosal Dev Singh
Kosal Dev Singh
Kosal Dev Singh was the grandson of Anangpal Tomar last Hindu king of Delhi and son of Ausan Singh. According to Haryana State Gazetteer Kosli, a large Yaduvanshi Ahirs village was founded by Kosal Singh in 1193 A.D. Kosal Dev said to have met a sage engaged in meditation at Kosli, then under...
, when in 1151 CE, it was taken over by Visaldev or Bisaldeo, a Chauhan
Chauhan
Chauhan, Chouhan or Chohan , , - is a clan who ruled parts of northern India in the Middle Ages. The clan is most famous for Rajput King Maharaja Prithviraj Chauhan...
chief of Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...
. Bisaldeo's grandson, the famous Prithvi Raj Chauhan (1149-1192 CE), rename the Lalkot fort as Qila Rai Pithora, and ruled both Delhi and Ajmer, and built the city which bore his name at the former place.
Caste origin
Anangpal Tomar was kshatriya and belonged to gurjara pratihara rajput clan. He gave his throne to his nephew Prathviraj Chauhan and went down south near Chambal river. Tomars under Man Singh Tomar also built great fort of Gwalior to balance the administration acivity between north and central India. Gwalior fort was eyed by Babur as well post occupation of Delhi which he described said as pearl of Central India. Delhi, Gwalior, Chittorgarh & Kannauj were major administrative centers of Rajputs prior to Muslim invasion. After defeat in Second Battle of Tarain (Md. Ghori defeating Prithviraj Chauhan) and successive major blow by defeat in Battle of Khanwa (Babur defeating Rana Sanga and gurjar allies) Rajputs suffered huge losses in life and kingdoms. Some converted into vassal states and even converted to islam to avoid death. Rajputs were pushed south and eastwards post these battles & occupation by turks & mughals. Some were later evolved as Marathas in south western India. Tomars are nuiow concentrated near Gwalior in MP & in Rajasthan as Tanwars.History shows that rajputs were named for their royal lineage i.e. sons of kshatriya kings and rulers. Rajputs, Gurjars, Jats and Ahirs
Yadav
Yadav
Yādav refers to an umbrella group of traditionally non-elite pastoral communities, or castes, in India and Nepal which since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has claimed descent from the mythological King Yadu as a part of a movement of social and political resurgence.The term 'Yadav' now...
all were kshatriyas as per the varna of Hinduism, however over a period of time elite kshtriyas became rulers and called got Rajputs lineage / name. Rajputs were royal elite clans evolved from kshtriya tribes of suryavanshi (sisodia, raghav & gurjars), somvanshi (haiheyas, jats & ahirs), agnivanshi (chauhans) and ancient kshtriyas (rashtrakutas, chandela & solankis). Post ivasion of turks & mughals many kshatriyas got dispersed. Rajputs who evolved united post Battle of Rajasthan under Mihir Bhoja after end of Kannauj triangle as unified kshatriyas from Rashtrakutas (southern kshtriyas), Gurjara prathiharas (north western kshtriyas) & Palas (north eastern kshtriyas) lost their immense power. Some lost to low level work activity to sustain their living like farming & livestock maintenance were later identified themselves as Ahirs, Gurjars & Jats segregating from Rajputs.
Kshtriyas in northern India under control of Mughals split from rajputs and classified themselves as Gurjars & Jats as their main activity was now farming and cattle grazing. Kashtriyas who still worked served as soldiers under vassals & hindu kings maintained their rajput status. Northern India (Punjab, Haryana, northern Rajasthan & weatern UP) bear most war prone atmosphere and Hinduism mere got limited to lower varna as upper varnas were killed or lost control of society to Mughals.
Further reading
- Lalkot to Lodi Gardens: (Delhi of Sultans), by Ranjit Sinha. Published by South Asia Books, 1996. ISBN 817167237X.