Chandela captains

Who he is

Name

Ajayapala and Madanapala, sons of Kilhana; Ajayadeva (Aj Deo)

Title

Senapati (general); dewan and fort-captain of Kalanjara

Since

Ajayapala served Madanavarman and Paramardi; Ajayadeva is known only from 1202 to 1203

Born

not known

Family

Ajayapala and Madanapala: Brahmin brothers. Ajayadeva: the dewan of the Muslim chroniclers; whether he is the same man as Ajayapala is not stated.

Confidence

low

Paramardi's stones name the two Brahmin senapatis; Hasan Nizami names Aj Deo as the minister who held Kalanjara after the king's death in 1202 to 1203.

Overlord

Paramardideva

What it holds

• Command of the garrisons at Kalanjara, Ajaigarh, Mahoba and Deogarh; the names are not given for 1200

How things stand that morning

Posts filled, names not known for the forts.

Threats

• The Ghurid siege of 1202 to 1203 (later)

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1202 to 1203Ajayadeva holds Kalanjara after Paramardi dies; the fort falls when the tanks fail (Hasan Nizami).Depends on: Drought and siege. Stopped by: Rain.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Two Brahmin generals named in the stones; the fort-captain is a Persian chronicle name from 1202 to 1203, so it is not placed in the winter of 1199-1200.

On the map: Forts only.

Primary sources for Chandelas

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• The Crown of Glorious Deeds, Hasan Nizami (Sadr al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan Nizami of Nishapur) (begun about 1205 at Delhi, carried on to about 1217). The earliest history written in Muslim India and the only contemporary account of Qutb al-Din Aibak's campaigns. Read online
• The Nasirean Generations (a general history of the Muslim dynasties), Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (completed 1260 at Delhi). The fullest narrative of the Ghurid conquest of northern India. Read online
• The Nasirid Generations: a General History of the Muslim Dynasties, Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (1259 to 1260, at Delhi). The Ghurid court's own history, by a man born in 1193 whose family served the sultans of Ghur and Ghazna. Read online
• Epigraphia Indica: inscriptions of the Chandelas, Paramaras, Gahadavalas, Chaulukyas, Senas and Eastern Gangas, Various (edited for the Archaeological Survey of India by J. Burgess, E. Hultzsch, F. Kielhorn, Sten Konow, F. W. Thomas and successors) (inscriptions of the 1180s to 1210s; the series ran from 1892). The main record series for the Hindu kingdoms of northern India around 1200. Read online
• Inscriptions of the Kalachuri-Chedi Era, Various, edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 7th to 13th centuries; edited 1955). Collects every known record of the Kalachuris of Tripuri (Dahala) and of Ratnapura (south Kosala), with text, translation and a long historical introduction. Read online
• Inscriptions of the Paramaras, Chandellas, Kachchhapaghatas and two minor dynasties, Various, edited by H. V. Trivedi (inscriptions of the 9th to 14th centuries; edited 1978 to 1991). The collected records of the Paramaras of Malwa (parts 1 and 2) and of the Chandelas of Jejakabhukti (part 3), re-edited from Epigraphia Indica and earlier journals with new finds.
• The History of India as Told by its Own Historians: the Muhammadan Period, vol. 2, Various (Ibn al-Athir, Hasan Nizami, Awfi, Juzjani and others), edited by H. M. Elliot and John Dowson (the sources date from the 1190s to the 14th century; the collection was published in 1869). A one-volume anthology of the Arabic and Persian accounts of the Ghurid conquest. Read online