The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c6.s4.19

c6.s4.19

With the decline of the Chalukyas, the Paramaras of Malwa and the Chauhanas of Ajmer rose to eminence. The former were not destined to retain power for long, for their success over the Chalukyas and the Guhelots was followed by a series of defeats which brought about a complete collapse. The Chauhanas on the other hand, rapidly swallowed up North-eastern Rajputana. Visalaraja of Ajmer was a mighty conqueror and by 1150 captured Delhi from the Tomaras¹. In his inscription he boasts of his having conquered and subjugated the land between the Himalayas and the Vindhya mountains including "Baikuntha and Jabalipura². His capture of Hansi from the Ghaznawides has already been mentioned. After the short and uneventful reigns of his son Amaragangeya and that of his cousin Prithviraja I, the throne devolved on his younger brother Someswara. He ruled from 1170 to 1179 and was succeeded by his son, the famous Prithviraja II, or Rai Pithora of the Muslim writers. Much of his alleged prowess and conquests, recounted in the *Prithviraja Rasau* of Chand Bardai have been disproved by modern research³. The only undoubted evidence of his military exploits is an inscription in the Lalitpur district of