DYNASTIES

Three main dynasties were established in Jharkhand during the ancient times. They are : -

Chotanagpur's

Nag dynasty; Raxsails of Palamau; and Singhbhum's Singh dynasty

THE REIGN OF SUTIA PAHAN

• Mundas were the principle tribe among the tribes of Jharkhand and the process of building

kingdoms

was also started by them.

• 'Rita Munda' was the first tribal leader to form a kingdom in Chotanagpur. He selected Sutia

Pahan as

the ruler of the Mundas and he gave the kingdom the name - `Sutiananagkhand'.

• Sutia had divided his kingdom into 7 Garhs and 21 Parganas.

• The kingdom established by Sutia Pahan was spread in the entire Jharkhand. However,

unfortunately,

that kingdom soon ended.

CHOTANAGPUR'S NAG DYNASTY

• Thr Nagvanshi kingdom established in Chotanagpur was essentially the kingdom of the tribals.

Then

Khukhra was its capital.

• Fanimukut Roy had established this kingdom during the first century.

• There were 66 Parganas in the kingdom of Fanimukut Roy.

• Nagvanshi King Pratap Roy transferred his capital from Sutiyambay to Chutiya situated on the

Banks

of Swarnarekha.

• People were called from outside to settle in the kingdom of Pratap Roy.

• There was peace and order everywhere in the kingdom of Pratap Roy.

• One Nagvanshi king Bhimkarna had made changes in the capital and it was again converted

from

'Chutia' to 'Khukhra'.

• Bhimkarna had fought a fierce battle against the Ruxail king of Sarguja.

• This dynasty continued till the medieval and modern times.

PALAMAU'S RAXAIL DYNASTY

• Raxails had dominated Palamau in the beginning. These Raxails had arrived at Palamau via

Rohtasgarh from the Rajputana region. They used to call themselves Rajputs.

• The Raxails had merged Sarguja with their kingdom for some time.

• Prominent tribes of that time were Kharwar, Gond, Mahe, Korva, Paharia and Kisan. Kharwar's

population was the largest among them and Pratap Dhaval was their king.

• Raxails' rule continued for quite some time but the Cheros dethroned them.

SINGHBHUM'S SINGH DYNASTY

• Singhbhum is known as the land of the Singh kings of Porahat. Singh dynasty's descendents

claim

that they had established their kingdom in Singhbhum before the entry of the Ho tribe.

• However the members of the Ho tribe contradict this claim and say that Singhbhum has been

named

after their diety `Singbonga'. This opinion seems to be more plausible.

• Singh dynasty's rulers were Rathore Rajputs. They had come from West India and they had

captured

this area in the eight century.

• Kashinath Singh was the founder of the first branch of the Singh dynasty.

• 52 generations of this dynasty ruled.

• File second branch of the dynasty came to the power in 1205 AD. Darp Narayan was the

founder of

this branch.

• After the demise of Darp Narayan Singh, Yudhistir became the ruler who ruled from 1262 AD to

1271

AD.

• Kashiram Singh was the successor of Yudhistir during whose regime Porahat was made the new

capital.

• Achyut Singh was the fourth king of this dynasty.

• 13th king of this dynasty, Jagannath Second was an autocrat due to which the 'Bhuias' revolted

against him.

OTHER DYNASTIES

• The Man dynasty of Manbhum: Man kings' kingdom was spread upto Hazaribagh and Manbhum.

• Around 1368 AD, Baghdev Singh and his brother Singhdev Singh had conflicts with the kings of

Nag

dynasty.

• Both the brothers captured about 21 parganas.

• They first made 'Sisia' their capital. Later the capital was shifted to Irda, then Badam and finally

Ramgarh.

• Thus, despite some small aggressions during the ancient and early medieval times, almost all

the

areas of Jharkhand remained independent and the Chotanagpur region remained successful in

maintaining its regional autonomy.