Kalanjara

Who holds it

Name

Ajayadeva (the captain who holds it in 1202 or 1203; whether he holds it on 1 January 1200 is not pinned)

Title

Captain of the fort, for the king

Since

not pinned

Born

not known

Family

See the captains record.

Confidence

low

Persian accounts of the siege (second hand through Wikipedia Kalinjar Fort).

Lord in 1200

Paramardideva, through a captain of the fort.

How things stand that morning

Free; the strongest place in the middle country.

Wealth

Pilgrim income of Nilakantha and the Koti Tirtha, the Banda plain's grain.

Military

A rock fort with seven gates; the best fortress of the Chandelas.

Threats

• Aibak's siege of 1202 or 1203

Communities

Brahmin temple priests, the Chandela household.

Walls and castle

Rock walls, seven gates (the seven-gate stair), water tanks.

Trade and crafts

Stone carving; temple income.

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 or 1203Aibak besieges Kalanjara; Paramardi dies or is killed; the fort falls when its water fails.Depends on: Ghurid freedom of action. Stopped by: A call to Khurasan, or a payment.

Places of note

• Nilakantha temple: Shiva temple inside the fort
• Koti Tirtha: tank

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign board entry puts the fall in 1202 or 1203 and so do I; the 1 January 1200 position is free.

Evidence: Dated stones for the fort; the siege story is Persian and second hand.

"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.

On the map: The fort and the plain below it.

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