Pratihara was the name of a dynasty (series of rulers who belong to the same family) that ruled in northern India from the 700’s to the 1000’s. The Pratiharas were descended from one of several Gurjara dynasties who ruled in Rajasthan during the 500’s. Their strength made it difficult for invaders from the west to enter India, so they temporarily staved off the Muslim invasions that later changed the course of Indian history. The early Pratihara capital was at Ujjain (now in western Madhya Pradesh), and later it moved to Kanauj (now in Uttar Pradesh). The Pratihara dynasty’s main rivals were the Pala dynasty, of Bengal, and the Rashtrakutas, who ruled in the Deccan.
Nagabhata I, who ruled in Malwa from about 725 to about 755, was the first major Pratihara king. His son Vatsaraja attempted to take Kanauj but met with resistance from both the Palas and Rashtrakutas. Nagabhata’s grandson, Nagabhata II, expanded the empire northward to Kanauj, capturing the city in about 816 and making it his capital.
The two most powerful Pratihara kings were Mihira Pratihara (also called Bhoja), who ruled from about 835 to about 890, and his successor, Mahendrapala, who ruled until about 910. Under these two kings, the Pratihara empire extended as far as the Saurashtra peninsula in the west, Bengal in the east, the Himalaya in the north, and the Narmada River in the south. After Mahendrapala’s death, Pratihara power began to decline. The Rashtrakuta king Indra III sacked Kanauj in 916. The Pratiharas regained Kanauj with help from the Chandelas, but they lost Kanauj for the last time when the Afghan conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni attacked about 1019. Rajyapala, the last Pratihara ruler, fled Kanauj and was killed by the Chandelas.
