Sirmur State

According to Mian Goverdhan Singh in Wooden Temples of Himachal Pradesh, the principality of Sirmaur was founded in the 7th to 8th century by Maharaja of Parmar Rajputs, and Rathore noble.{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Mian Goverdhan |title=Wooden Temples of Himachal Pradesh |publisher=Indus Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=9788173870941 |pages=48–49}}

Nahan, the predecessor state of Sirmur, was founded by Soba Rawal in 1095 AD who assumed the name Raja Subans Prakash.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Near the end of the 12th century in the year 1195, a flood of the Giri River destroyed the old capital of Sirmaur-Tal, which killed Raja Ugar Chand. A ruler of Jaisalmer, Raja Salivahana, thought this was an opportune time to attack the state as it was in a state of disarray due to the natural disaster and death of its ruler, so he sent his son Sobha to conquer the state. The attack was successful and a new dynasty headed by Bhati Rajputs was established. Sirmur was invaded by invader Jasrath's army, who also invaded fragments of Punjab and Jammu.{{Cite book |first=Ayyappa |last=Panikkar|author-link= Ayyappa Panikkar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC&pg=PA73 |title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections |date=1997 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-0365-5 |language=en|page=72}}

The new capital was founded in 1621 by Raja Karam Prakash, and the state was renamed to Sirmur.{{citation needed|date=February 2014}}

Sirmur was surrounded by the hill states of Balsan and Jubbal in the North, Dehradun district in the East, Ambala district in the South West, and the states of Patiala and Keonthal in the North-West.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

But by chance, shortly after this event a prince of Jaisalmer visited Haridwar as a pilgrim, and was invited by one of the minstrels of the Sirmoor kingdom to become its sovereign.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} He accordingly sent a force under his son, the Rawal or prince Sobha, who put down the disorders which had arisen in the state, and became the first Räjã of Sirmur, under the title of Subhans Parkash, a title which the Rajãs have ever since retained.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Rajban became the capital of the new king in 1095.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} The eighth Rãjã conquered Ratesh, later a part of the Keonthal State, about 1150 and his successor subdued Jubbal, Balsan, Kumharsain, Ghond, Kot, and Theog, thus extending his dominions almost to the Sutlej.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} For many years these territories remained feudatories of the State; but its capital was at Kälsi, in Dehra Dun, and the Rajas’ hold over their northern fiefs appears to have been weak until in the fourteenth century Bir Parkash fortified Hãth-Koti, on the confines of Jubbal, Retwain, and Sahri, the last of which became the capital of the State for a time.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Eventually in 1621 Karm Parkash founded Nahan, the modern capital.{{Cite book |last=Sen Negi |first=Thakur |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.3089 |title=Himachal Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sirmur |date= |publisher=Government of Himachal Pradesh |year=1969 |page= |pages=52–54}} His successor, Mandhata, was called upon to aid Khalil-ullah, the general of the emperor Shah Jahan, in his invasion of Garhwãl, and his successor, Sobhag Parkãsh, received a grant of Kotaha in reward for this service.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} Under Aurangzeb this Rãjä again joined in operations against Garhwãl.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} His administration was marked by a great development of the agricultural resources of the State, and the tract of Kolagarh was also entrusted to him by the emperor.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Budh Parkãsh, the next ruler, recovered Pinjaur for Aurangzeb’s foster-brother.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} Raja Mit Parkãsh gave an asylum to the Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh, permitting him to fortify Paonta in the Kiarda Dun; and it was at Bhangani in the Dun that the Guru defeated the Rajäs of Kahlur and Garhwäl in 1688. But in 1710 Kirat Parkãsh, after defeating the Räja of Garhwal, captured Naraingarh, Morni, Pinjaur, and other territories from the Sikhs, and concluded an alliance with Amar Singh, Raja of Patiala, whom he aided in suppressing his rebellious Wazir; and he also fought in alliance with the Raja of Kahlür when Ghuläm Kãdir Khan, Rohilla, invaded that State.{{Cite book |last=Sen Negi |first=Thakur |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.csl.3089 |title=Himachal Pradesh District Gazetteers: Sirmur |date= |publisher=Government of Himachal Pradesh |year=1969 |page= |pages=55–57}} He supported the Rajã of Garhwãl in his resistance to the Gurkha invasion, and, though deserted by his ally, was able to compel the Gurkhas to agree to the Ganges as the boundary of their dominions.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}} His son, Dharm Parkãsh, repulsed the encroachments of the chief of Nalagarh and an invasion by the Rãjã of Garhwãl, only to fall fighting in single combat with Rãjã Sansãr Chand of Kangra who had invaded Kalhur, in 1793.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

File:Painting of a panoramic view of pilgrims visiting holy sites at the Shivalik Hills near Sirmaur, Jodhpur, 1824.jpg

The rulers of Sirmur bore the title "Maharaja" from 1911 onward {{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

File:Fresco depicting a Devi Mahatmya scene from Indic mythology from a Shiva temple located in Nahan, painted during the reign of Sirmur State (3).png scene from Indic mythology from a Shiva temple located in Nahan, painted during the reign of Sirmur State]]

Not many paintings depicting the historical rajas of Sirmur State have survived due to the Gurkha occupation of the state between 1803 and 1814, which led to the loss and destruction of much artwork, including any portraits of earlier rulers produced in Sirmur itself.{{Cite web |last=Plumbly |first=Sara |date=2020 |title=RAJA JAGAT PRAKASH OF SIRMUR (R.1770-89) WORSHIPPING RAMA AND SITA |url=https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6282154 |access-date=23 October 2024 |website=Christie's |quote=Very few portraits of Sirmur rulers remain as the Gurkha occupation of the state in 1803-14 is thought to have destroyed any earlier paintings.}}{{Cite book |last=Galloway |first=Francesca |url=https://francescagalloway.com/usr/documents/exhibitions/list_of_works_url/27/seitz-online.pdf |title=Pahari Paintings From the Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection |publisher=www.francescagalloway.com |pages=48}}

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Category:Sirmaur district

Category:History of Himachal Pradesh

Category:Rajput history

Category:11th-century establishments in India

Category:1095 establishments in Asia

Category:1948 disestablishments in India

Category:Princely states of Himachal Pradesh

Category:Gun salute princely states