Utpala dynasty
The Utpala dynasty ruled Kashmir between 855 and 939 . It stands for a renewed heyday of the country, albeit not as great foreign policy successes as under the Karkota .
The dynasty founder Avantivarman (r. 855-883) came from a line of ministers who had ruled for the last Karkota kings of Kashmir for two decades . He was the son of the last regent (Mamma, Regent 850–855) and brought about an economic and cultural renewal by avoiding wars and keeping the barons under control with the help of his Minister Shoor. For the economic aspect z. B. hydraulic engineering projects to increase production under the engineer Suya, for the cultural aspect a number of important Indian writers from Kashmir.
Avantivarman's son Samkaravarman (r. 883-902) added the adjacent mountainous country and the Panjab again and then turned his interest to Afghanistan . This had meanwhile become independent under the first Hindu Shahi Lalliya (ruled approx. 870–902 in Udabhanda / Ohind), who also defended the country around Kabul against the Muslims . Samkaravarman moved against Lalliya and even occupied Kabul, but was unable to keep the region permanently under control.
Samkaravarman persecuted the Buddhists in order to acquire their extensive church property. Since then, many Buddhists have migrated to western Tibet. With the Brahmin caste, the king was on similarly bad terms. In addition to looting the temples and confiscating their property, Samkaravarman also imposed additional obligations on the villages (transport of loads).
His successor was the young Gopalavarman (ruled 902-904), for whom his mother Sugandha (ruled 902 / 04-906) ruled. She and her general Prabhakar Deva reached a compromise with the Hindu Sahis: they formally incorporated Afghanistan again through the installation of Lalliya's son Toramana as the new king (Kamaluka, ruled 902-940), and in practice it became independent. Shortly thereafter, turmoil broke out in Kashmir, which resulted in rapid changes of three to four kings through the influence of tribesmen, barons and the Praetorians.
Finally, in 917/18 there was also a flood that destroyed the rice harvest, so that the ministers and the soldiers of the bodyguard made great fortunes by selling stored rice. The people finally got tired of this sequence of mismanagement, power struggles and orgies and resulted in the election of King Yassaskara (r. 939–948, suicide due to incurable disease), the son of a favorite of Queen Sugandha, under whom the country recovered. This also ended the Utpala dynasty. (The next significant dynasty was the Lohara dynasty .)
literature
- H. Goetz, History of India