HISTORY
103
In the tenth century the names of the Rājput clans begin to appear,
and Mdlwā fell ultimately to the Paramaras (boo-1soo), a section
of the Agnikula group, who fixed their head-quarters first at Ujjain
and later at Dhār. They rose to considerable power, so that ` the
world is the Paramara's' became a common saying. The Paramāra
lists give a line of nineteen kings whose known records range from
the tenth to the thirteenth century, and of whom several were famous
for their patronage of literature. The most notable was Raja Bhoja
(1010-53), who was both a great scholar and a great warrior. His
renown as a patron of literature and as an author still survives, and
he is now looked on as the Augustus of India, while many ancient
writers of note and works of merit are assigned to his period. He
was finally driven from his throne by a combination of the Chālukyas
of Anhilvāda in Gujarāt and the Kalachuris of Tripuri. From this
time the Paramāra power declined, his successors being little more than
local chiefs.
In 1235 the Muhammadans first appeared under Altamsh, who took
Ujjain, demolishing the renowned temple of Mahakāl, and sacked
Bhilsa, thus destroying the two principal towns of Mālwa. From this
time the country was held in fief, with occasional lapses, by officers
of the Muhammadan court, till in 1401 Dilawar Khan assumed the
insignia of royalty.
From 1401 till 1531, when it was annexed to Gujarat, the province
of Malwā or Mandu, as it was often called after the famous fortress
which became its capital under these rulers, remained an independent
State. Its princes were incessantly at war with those of Gujarāt, with
the Bahmani kings of the Deccan, and with other neighbouring chiefs.
Dilawar Khan Ghori (1401-5) had originally received Mālwa as a fief
under Firoz Shah; but during the confusion that followed the invasion
of Timūr he became independent, making Dhār the capital of his
kingdom. He was succeeded by his son Alp Khan, better known
as Hoshang Shah (1405-34), the founder of Hoshangabād, who lies
buried in a magnificent marble tomb in the fort at Mandu, to which
place he moved the capital. Ile left a minor son, Muhammad Ghazni
Khan, whom his guardian, Mahmūd Khilji, promptly murdered, seizing
the throne for himself. Under Mahmūd Khilji's rule (1436-75) Malwā
reached the zenith of its power. His activity was unceasing, so that
it was said of him that his tent became his home and the field of battle
his resting-place, and yet his administration was marked by the absence
of all enmity between Hindus and Muhammadans. Mahmūd extended
his dominions in all directions, seizing among other places Ajmer and
Ranthambhor in Rājputana, and Ellichpur in the Deccan; and in
1440, at the invitation of certain nobles, he even advanced against
Delhi, but was successfully opposed by Bahlol Lodi. In 1440 he
|
![[Digital South Asia Library]](/graphics/thirdlevel.gif)
