Hammiradeva

Hammiradeva was a son of the Chahamana king Jaitrasimha (Jaitra Singh) and queen Hira Devi.{{sfn|Kishori Saran Lal|1950|p=103}} The name "Hammira" is a Sanskritized form of the Arabic title Amir.{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2005|p=120}} Little is known about him, except the Hammira Mahakavya, written by a poet about 100 years after Hammiradeva's death and whose reliability has been questioned.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=106}}{{cite book|author=Aditya Malik|title=Religion, a Human Phenomenon: XXth World Congress of the International Association for the History of Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FZceq1EzjLQC|year=2011|publisher=Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion|isbn=978-0-9876934-0-2|page=313}} Hammiradeva had two elder brothers named Suratrana and Virama.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=106}}

When Jaitrasimha retired because of old age, he appointed Hammiradeva as his successor, although Hammira was not his eldest son. The Hammira Mahakavya dates Hammira's ascension to 1283 CE (1339 VS).{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=106}} However, according to a genealogy given in the Prabandha Kosha, Hammira ascended the throne in 1285 CE.{{sfn|Manabendu Banerjee|2004|p=278}} Historian Dasharatha Sharma speculates that Jaitrasimha lived until 1285 CE, which may explain this discrepancy.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=106}}

Soon after his ascension, Hammiradeva launched a series of raids against his Hindu neighbours until 1288. The Hammira Mahakavya presents these raids as a systematic digvijaya ("conquests in all directions") campaign. However, Hammiradeva's own inscriptions do not mention any dgivijaya campaign.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|pp=107-108}}

The Balvan inscription of 1288 CE mentions that Hammiradeva captured the elephant force of Arjuna II, the Paramara king of Malwa.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=124}} The Paramaras had greatly declined in power, and their kingdom faced an internal rebellion after Arjuna's death. Taking advantage of this, several of their enemies had plundered Malwa.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=108}}

According to the Hammira Mahakavya, Hammiradeva also subjugated Arjuna, the ruler of a principality called Bhimarasa. Next, he extracted tribute from the Manḍalakṛta fort (modern Mandalgarh). Hammira then targeted Bhoja II, the successor of Arjuna II in Malwa. He defeated the Paramara forces, and reached as far as Ujjayini (Ujjain) and Dhara (Dhar). He then returned home via the place called Chittor, Abu, Vardhanapura (Badnor), Changa, Pushkar, Maharashtra (present-day Marot village), Khandilla (Khandela), Champa and Karkarala (Karauli). At Karkarala, he received homage from the ruler of Tribhuvanagiri (Timangarh).{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=107}}

Out of all these raids, Hammira's own inscriptions mention only his successes in Malwa. Therefore, historian Dasharatha Sharma doubts the historicity of the other raids described in the Hammira Mahakavya, and considers its digivjaya account as fictitious.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=108}}

The Balvan inscription mentions that Hammira performed a ritual sacrifice known as Koti-yajna twice. This sacrifice appears to have been similar to the Ashvamedha ceremony, which was proved by ancient Indian kings to prove their sovereignty. The Koti yajna performed by the royal priest Vishvarupa.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=107}}

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Hammira's wars with his Hindu neighbours ultimately left him without any allies against his powerful northern neighbour, the Muslim-ruled Delhi Sultanate.{{sfn|Sailendra Nath Sen|1999|p=336}}

{{Main|Battle of Jhain}}

In 1290, Jalaluddin Khalji, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, invaded Hammira's territory. He defeated Hammira's forces led by Gurdan Saini, who was killed in the battle. The Delhi army captured Jhain, and then marched towards Ranthambore.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=108}} They besieged the Ranthambore fort with manjaniqs (siege engines), but were unable to capture the fort. Jalaluddin ultimately gave up, and returned to Delhi.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=109}}

After Jalaluddin's retreat, Hammira recaptured Jhain. In 1292, Jalaluddin once again invaded Jhain, this time unsuccessfully.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=109}}

{{main|Alauddin Khalji's conquest of Ranthambore}}

{{Blockquote

| text = In the annals of Rājpūt chivalry, there is scarcely a name better known than that of Hammīra the haṭhī, ruler of Ranthambhor.

| author = Dashratha Sharma

| title =

| source = Early Chauhān Dynasties

| character =

| multiline =

| class =

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}}

In 1299, some Mongol soldiers of Delhi Sultanate mutined against their generals. Hammira granted asylum to two of these leaders — Muhammad Shah (alias Mahim Shah) and Kabhru — and their followers.{{sfn|Kishori Saran Lal|1950|p=88}} He rejected the demands to surrender these soldiers, leading to an invasion from the Delhi Sultanate.{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|p=342}}

Hammira lost his general Bhimasamha to an invasion led by the Delhi general Ulugh Khan.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=109}} Hammira held his minister Dharmasimha responsible for this debacle, and had him castrated and blinded. However, Dharmasimha soon gained back the king's favour, by raising money for his fight against the Delhi forces. This money was raised through heavy taxes on the general public, which made Hammira very unpopular among the masses. His brothers Bhoja and Pithasimha defected to Alauddin as a result of Dharmasimha's scheming.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=110-111}}

At Bhoja's instigation, Alauddin sent a stronger army to Ranthambore. However, this army was defeated by Hammira's generals, which included the rebel Mongol leaders.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=111}} Alauddin next dispatched Nusrat Khan, the governor of Awadh, to reinforce Ulugh Khan's forces. The combined Delhi forces advanced up to Ranthambore, and besieged the fort. Some days later, Nusrat Khan was hit by a manjaniq stone and killed. Taking advantage of the situation, Hammira came out of the fort with a large army, and forced Ulugh Khan to retreat.{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|p=342}}{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=112}}

After Nusrat Khan's death, Alauddin decided to personally lead the siege of Ranthambore. He ordered his officers from his various provinces to assemble their contingents at Tilpat, and then led a joint force to Ranthambore.{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|pp=343-344}} After a prolonged siege followed, during which Hammira's officers Ratipala and Ranamalla defected to Alauddin's side.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=113}}

By July 1301, Hammira was in a dire situation owing to the defections (his ministers Ranmal and Ratanpal, with their armies had betrayed)An Advanced History of India , by RC Majumdar and a famine-like situation within the fort. Therefore, he decided to fight to death with his loyal men.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=113}} The ladies of the fort, led by his chief queen Ranga Devi, died by jauhar (mass self-immolation to avoid falling into the enemy hands).{{sfn|Kishori Saran Lal|1950|p=112 }} Hammira offered safe passages to his brother Virama, his minister Jaja, and the rebel Mongol leader Muhammad Shah, but all of them refused to desert him. Virama died fighting by his side in a last stand. Jaja, whom Hammira had appointed as his successor, died two days later while defending the fort. Muhammad Shah was wounded in the action, and later executed on Alauddin's orders.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|pp=118-119}} Hammira and his loyal companions marched to the top of the pasheb mound, where they fought to death with Alauddin's army.{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|p=347}} Some Rajput-era bards claim that Hammira severed his own head and offered it to the god Mahadeva when faced with a certain defeat.{{sfn|Kishori Saran Lal|1950|p=104}}Sultan ordered death for RanmalAn Advanced History of India , by RC Majumdar

According to the Jain scholar Nayachandra, Hammira was generous towards Brahmins, and respected all Indian faiths, including Jainism.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=115}}

According to Sharngadhara-Paddhati, Hammira was a pupil of the scholar-poet Raghavadeva, who was a grandfather of the famous anthologist Sharngadhara. Hammira also patronised the poet Bijaditya.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=115}}

Hammira has been hailed as a hero in several works written after his death, including those written in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi and Rajasthani languages.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=116}} The Hammira Mahakavya, his biography by the Jain scholar Nayachandra Suri, is a major source of information about him. Surjana-Charita also describes him, although it is not entirely reliable from a historical point-of-view. He is also mentioned in a few verses of Prakrta-Pingala (or Prakrta-Paingalam, 14th century) and Sharngadhara-Paddhati.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=107}} A Hindi film Hameer Hath (1964) is based on his life.

Two later Hindi works on his life include Hammira Raso by Jodharaja and Hammira-Hatha by Chandrashekhara. However, these are of little historical value.{{sfn|Dasharatha Sharma|1959|p=107}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |author=Dasharatha Sharma |title=Early Chauhān Dynasties |publisher=S. Chand / Motilal Banarsidass |year=1959 |isbn=9780842606189 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4gcAAAAMAAJ}}
• {{cite book |author=Banarsi Prasad Saksena |author-link=Banarsi Prasad Saksena |chapter=The Khaljis: Alauddin Khalji |editor=Mohammad Habib and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami |title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206-1526) |volume=5 |edition=Second |year=1992 |publisher=The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ |oclc=31870180}}
• {{cite book |author=Kishori Saran Lal |author-link=K. S. Lal |title=History of the Khaljis (1290-1320) |year=1950 |publisher=The Indian Press |location=Allahabad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XXqAQAACAAJ |oclc=685167335}}
• {{cite book |author=Manabendu Banerjee |title=Historicity in Sanskrit Historical Kāvyas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AgtkAAAAMAAJ |year=2004 |publisher=Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar |oclc=69734858}}
• {{cite book |author=Romila Thapar |title=Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnBMFaGMabYC&pg=PA119 |publisher=Verso |year=2005 |isbn=9781844670208}}
• {{cite book |author=Sailendra Nath Sen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA336 |title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization |publisher=New Age International |year=1999 |isbn=9788122411980}}
• {{cite book |author=Sudheer Maurya |title=Hammir Hath |publisher=Rajmangal Prakashan |year=2020 |isbn=9788194612278 |edition=1 |location=India |pages=240 |language=Hindi |ref=none}}

{{refend}}

Category:Maharajas of Rajasthan

Category:Chahamana kings of Ranastambhapura

Category:1301 deaths

Category:Hindu monarchs

Category:Monarchs killed in action