Kingdom of Kashmir

Who rules

Name

Jagadeva

Title

King (raja) of Kashmir

Since

1198 or 1199 (Jonaraja's chronology; Wikipedia's list gives his accession as 1199)

Born

not pinned

Family

The line of Vuppadeva, which followed the Lohara dynasty in 1171-72

Confidence

medium

Jonaraja's continuation of Kalhana's Rajatarangini, through Wikipedia's list; the month of accession is not pinned, so it is not certain that he, not his father Jassaka, reigns on 1 January 1200.

The realm that morning

Jagadeva holds the Vale; the hill country round it is held by chiefs whose obedience is not pinned.

Wealth

Rice, saffron, fruit, wool; the trade of the passes to the Punjab and to Ladakh.

Military

The mountain gates. No numbers.

Threats

• The damaras and over-mighty ministers.
• The Ghurid Punjab next door.

Ruler

Jagadeva (accession 1198 or 1199; reigns until about 1212-13).

Heirs and children

Rajadeva, his son and successor (king from about 1212-13); his birth date is not pinned.

Officers and household

The ministers and the landholders (damaras); names for 1200 not pinned.

Great families

The damara landholders; the Brahmin families of Srinagar.

Castles and towns

Srinagar (Pravarapura); the old royal towns of the Vale (Avantipur, Parihasapura, mostly in decline); the gates of the Vale at Baramula and on the Pir Panjal; Lohara in the hills to the south-west, the old dynasty's fortress.

Mints tolls and markets

Copper coinage of the kings; tolls at the passes.

Treaties and wars

None recorded for 1199-1200.

Relations with neighbours

The Ghurid Punjab to the south-west; the hill states of Jammu and Rajapuri to the south (outside); the Darads of Gilgit and Chilas to the north-west; Ladakh and Tibet to the east (outside).

Religious communities

Hindus (Shaiva and Vaishnava) and Buddhists; few Muslims yet.

Coinage

Copper coins in the king's name.

The host

Royal troops and the damaras' retainers. No numbers.

Where the sources disagree

• The brief's question mark on Jagadeva is answered: Jonaraja's chronology puts his accession in 1198 or 1199, but the month is not pinned.

Evidence: One late chronicle; dates by regnal years converted from the Laukika era.

On the map: The Vale only; the kings' hold on the surrounding hills in 1200 is not pinned.

Primary sources for this realm

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 River of Kings, with Jonaraja's continuation, Kalhana; continued by Jonaraja (Kalhana 1148 to 1150; Jonaraja about 1459). Kalhana's chronicle stops in 1149, so for 1200 the witness is Jonaraja, writing three centuries later and very briefly. 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
• History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu ston Rin chen grub) (1322). Optional background. Read online
• The Blue Annals, Go Lotsawa Zhonnu Pal ('Gos lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal) (1476 to 1478). The fullest Tibetan account of who mattered around 1200, written three centuries later from earlier biographies and lineage records, many now lost. 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
• Indo-Tibetica (the temples and inscriptions of western Tibet), with the Royal Genealogy of Ngari, Giuseppe Tucci (editor and translator); the genealogy by Ngawang Drakpa (Ngag dbang grags pa) (the inscriptions and temple records of the 11th to 15th centuries; Indo-Tibetica published 1932 to 1941; the genealogy about 1497). Guge, Purang and Ladakh in 1200 are among the least documented kingdoms in the atlas. Read online