The Silaharas of Thana and Kolhapur

Who rules

Name

Ananta Deva II or Keshideva II: the king list changes in 1200 and no source gives a month

Title

Maharaja (mahamandaleshvara) of the Konkan, Thana line

Since

Ananta Deva II from 1198, Keshideva II from 1200 (Wikipedia's list of the Thana line)

Family

Silahara of the north Konkan, descended from Kapardin I (about 800); a separate line rules Kolhapur under Bhoja II (reigning from about 1175)

Confidence

low

Wikipedia (Shilahara dynasty) gives Aparaditya II 1170-1197, Ananta Deva II 1198-1200, Keshideva II from 1200. The page cites no plate for them. The standard reconstruction (Mirashi) is the source behind it; we did not re-read the plates.

Overlord

none openly; the Yadavas of Devagiri press from the plateau

What the realm holds

• Thana (Sthanaka), the creek port on the north-east shoulder of Salsette
• Kalyan at the head of the Ulhas, mouth of the Bhor and Thal passes
• the Salsette and Bombay islands (Mahim, Kanheri), Sopara and Vasai
• Chaul (Chemulya), where a local king is helped by the Silaharas
• the salt pans, rice flats, coconut gardens and shipyards of the creeks
• the Naneghat toll and the ghat tracks

How it was acquired

By inheritance down the Thana line from the ninth century; the Rashtrakuta and Chalukya overlords have gone.

Allies and rivals

Rivals: the Yadavas, who press from the plateau; the Kadambas of Goa to the south; the Chaulukyas to the north. Kinsmen: the Kolhapur Silaharas (Bhoja II).

The realm that morning

The Thana line is independent in fact and exposed; it holds the creeks and the port dues. The change of king in the course of the year is the only dated event, and the sources do not say whether it was peaceful.

Wealth

Port dues at Thana, Kalyan, Chaul and Sopara on the horse and spice trade; salt; rice; fish (Koli fisheries); the Ghat tolls (the Naneghat toll jar is a thousand years old); coconut and areca.

Military

Scarp forts of the Sahyadri held by village garrisons; creek and boat knowledge is the real defence. No numbers.

Threats

• The Yadavas coming down the Thal and Naneghat passes
• Gujarat across the Daman Ganga
• Succession trouble in the year of the change of king

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. 1200 (month not known)Ananta Deva II gives way to Keshideva II on the reconstructed list.Depends on: The list; no plate fixes the month. Stopped by: A different list (the Thana plates may be re-read).
2. c. 1200 to 1265 (later)Yadava pressure erodes the line; Singhana II is credited with subduing the northern branch about the beginning of the thirteenth century, and the line is gone by 1265.Depends on: Yadava strength after the Kakatiya settlement. Stopped by: A Yadava defeat on the Hoysala frontier.

Where the sources disagree

• The campaign board entry says the king is Anantadeva II or Kesideva II; Wikipedia's list is Aparaditya II 1170-1197, Ananta Deva II 1198-1200 (with an unexplained gap in 1197-1198), Keshideva II 1200-1245. We give both.
• Wikipedia gives Bhoja II 1175-1212 in the list and 'overthrown in or soon after 1219-20' in the text.
• Later: one reading on Wikipedia has the Yadava Singhana II subduing the northern branch about the beginning of the thirteenth century, which conflicts with a king list running to 1265; both are in the likely-course block.
• Later: Wikipedia's list gives Keshideva II as reigning 1200-1245 and the Thana line to 1265; the ends are later than 1 January 1200.

Evidence: A king list reconstructed from copper plates the page does not cite; port and trade facts from geography and the campaign board.

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

On the map: The southern edge at Chaul and Dabhol is a claim; the Kolhapur line's coast claims are drawn in a separate record.

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.

• Inscriptions of the Silaharas, Various (Silahara chanceries), edited by V. V. Mirashi (inscriptions of the 9th to 13th centuries; edited 1977). Collects the records of the three Silahara houses: North Konkan (Thana), South Konkan, and Kolhapur.
• Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
• The Book of Roger (the Pleasure of Him who Longs to Cross the Horizons), Muhammad al-Idrisi (completed 1154 at Palermo). The nearest Arabic geography in time to 1200 for the Indian Ocean. Read online