Jammu State

The Dev Dynasty was a dynasty of Jammu that ruled for many centuries in the Jammu region between the Chenab and Ravi rivers. It was one of the many Hill States of the Indian subcontinent. It arose in circa 850 and in 1812, Jammu was annexed by the Sikh Empire.

History

In around the year 850, the Dogras came to power in Jammu, being established by Raja Bhuj or Bhuj Dev. The centres of power for the Dogra rulers at this era were Bahu, Babbapura (Babor), and Jammu. The first historical mention to a Pahari ruler relates to two copper-plate inscription dated to the years 1056 and 1066 that eulogize the feats of Raja Sahilavarman of Chamba State (r. 920–940).

The earliest type of administration in the region consisted of reigns by feudal chieftains, referred to as a '' thakur'' or ''rana''. This form of government gradually shifted to one that was hereditary based on primogeniture, leading to the formation of dynasties. These states often warred with one another, absorbing or being absorbed by other states, with the winner usually being the stronger state and the loser the smaller one. By the tenth century, the following prominent Dogra states arose in the Pahari Hills region of the Western Himalayas:

* Jammu – ruled by the Jamwal clan
* Mankot – ruled by the Mankotia clan
* Jasrota – ruled by the Jasrotia clan
* Lakhanpur – ruled by the Lakhanpuria clan
* Samba – ruled by the Sambial clan
* Tirikot – ruled by the Tiri Kotia clan
* Akhnur – ruled by the Akhnuria clan
* Riasi – ruled by the Riasial clan
* Dalpatpur – ruled by the Dalpatia clan
* Bhau – ruled by the Bhauwal clan
* Bhoti – ruled by the Bhatial clan
* Chenehni – ruled by the Hantal clan
* Bandralta – ruled by the Bandral clan
* Basholi – ruled by the Balauria clan
* Bhadrawaha – ruled by the Bhadrawahia clan
* Bhadu – ruled by the Bhaduwal clan
* Kashtwar – ruled by the Kashtwaria clan
* Punch – ruled by the Manjwal clan
* Kotli – ruled by the Mangral clan
* Rajauri – ruled by the Jarral clan

Mahmud of Ghazni's army passed through the Punjab and invaded Poonch State, however he did not attack Jammu State and the polity was spared from fighting. There is a mention in Kalhana's ''Rajatarangini'' of three Dogra rulers, namely Kirti and Vajradhara of Babbapura and Umadhara. All three of these rulers are also mentioned in the ''Vansavali'' (genealogy) of the Jammu ruling house, albeit with minor variations. The Jammu rulers were close with the Kashmiri rulers, such as during the reign of Kalasa and Bhikshachara. The Dogra-ruler Vajradhara is said to have allied with Trigarta ( Kangra), Vallapura (Balaor), Vartula (Batal), and Thakkuras of the Chandrabhaga Valley, to pledge allegiance to Bhikshachara of Kashmir. Bhikshachara asceded to the throne of Kashmir in 1120.

In the autobiography of Timur from 1399, known as the ''Malfuzat-i-Timuri'', there is a reference to a ruler of Jammu ("Raja-Jammu") but no mention of their specific name is given but it would have been Raja Mal Dev of Jammu who resisted the Timurids. This is the first mention of the region of Jammu in recorded-history. According to the Timurid account, Jammu was invaded and Raja Bhim was converted to Islam. The Timurid account mentions that large amounts of booty that consisted of grain and property were taken from Jammu by them. However, these early contracts with Islamic polities did not leave any lasting impression on Jammu until the rule of the Mughals. Raja Mal Dev was the fourth ruler of the Dev dynasty and he ruled Jammu from 1361 to 1400, establishing his headquarters at Purani Madi. After Raja Mal Dev, between the years 1400 to 1733, ten descendants of Raja Mal Dev ruled Jammu. For some centuries, the Jammu-Babbapura rulers would reign nearly independently and supported the Sultans of Delhi. Raja Hamir or Bhim Dev was recorded as being a supporter of Mubarak Shah (r. 1421–1434) of the Sayyid dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate against the Khokhars of the Darvabhisara Hills.

With the oncoming of the Mughal empire, the Jammuite rulers resisted their attempts overwhelm them but finally succumbed once they could reach favourable terms. The Mughals were aggressive toward the small states of the Western Himalayas, with Akbar declaring himself as their sovereign ruler. Twenty-two of the hill states recognized the sovereignty of Akbar and each dispatched a local prince to the Mughal court. The princes would effectively be hostages to ensure that the small hill states would act courteous to the Mughal authority. However, the hill states often resisted the Mughals and rose up in rebellion against them, such is the case with Jammu State, which rose in insurrection against the Mughals on three separate instances during this time: the first between the years 1588–9, the second between 1594–5, and the third from 1616–17.

During the reign of Akbar between the years 1594–95, the Jammu ruler Raja Parasram Dev teamed-up with fellow Pahari rulers Rai Pratap of Jasrota and Rai Balbhadra of Lakhanpur in a rebellion against the Mughals, which raged from Kangra to the Jammu Hills. As per the ''Ain-i-Akbari'', Raja Sangram Dev of Jammu was against Raja Man, viceroy of Lahore, with him slaying Raja Man in 1616–17 during the reign of emperor Jahangir. During the reigns of the Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, Dogra relations with the Mughals had pacified, with the vansavali recording that Rajas Bhup Dev (r. 1624–1650) and Raja Hari Dev (r. 1650–1686) were employed as '' mansabdars'' by the Mughals. However, not all of the hill chiefs were amicable to the Mughals still, as the rulers of Basohli State, resisted them further between 1635 and 1673, whilst the Mughal forces were commanded by Zain Khan Koka. Raja Hari Dev died in 1686 during the Deccani campaigns of Aurangzeb.

The successor of Hari Dev, who was Raja Gaje Dev (r. 1686–1707), moved toward re-establishing the independence of Jammu from the Mughals. His successor, Raja Dhruv Dev, worked toward the same ambition.

Dhruv Dev

Raja Dhruv Dev ruled from 1707 until 1733. During his tenure Battle of Jammu (1712) was fought in which he sided with Mughals to defeat Banda Singh Bahadur. According to the ''Rajdarshani'', a historical chronicle by 19th-century historian Ganeshdas Badenra, the Mubarak Mandi palace was founded when Raja Dhruv Dev in 1710, after consulting his astrologers, moved his residence from the older palace in Purani Mandi to a new, grander location overlooking the Tawi River
.
Jammu was a small principality until the decline of Mughal authority in the early 18th century, where-after it arose to become a regional powerhouse during the reign of Raja Dhruv Dev. Jammu was ruled by the Dev Dynasty, which descends from Raja Mal Dev. Raja Dhruv Dev laid down the foundations of the Jamwal rulers of Jammu in 1703. During the reign of Dhruv Dev, Jammu was unified and it established authority and dominance over the other surrounding Hill States. The other hill states of Jasrota, Basohli, Mankot, and Bandralta were brought under Jammu's writ under Raja Dhruv Dev.

Raja Ranjit Dev had four sons: Ranjit Dev, Ghansar Dev, Surat Dev, and Balwant Dev. Ranjit Dev was the successor to the Jammu throne whilst Balwant Dev was given control over the ''jagir'' of Sarunisar. Balwant Dev was the patron of Pahari artists, such as Nainsukh. Surat Dev, the third son of Dhruv Dev, was married to two women, one from the Slahria clan of Bara Pind, and the other from the Chibs of Batala. Surat Dev would go-on to produce four sons with these two wives: Zorawar Singh, Mian Mota, Bhulla, and Dulla. Zorawar Singh was granted the jagir of Deval. Zorawar Singh would later marry a Jit Rajput women of Charhai whilst Mian Mota married into the family of Raja Jai Singh Jaswal. Zorawar Singh's son was named Kishore Singh, with Kishore later marrying a Bhadwal woman from Marhta in Basohli ''tehsil''. Kishore's son was Gulab Singh.

Ghansar Dev

Ghansar Dev, also known as Ghansar Chand, was the second son of Dhruv Dev and was born in ca.1715 (or perhaps earlier). He occupied the regency of Jammu State from 1735 to 1747, as Ranjit Dev had been arrested and imprisoned at Lahore between the years 1735–1747 due to the Mughals suspecting him of being disloyal to their governor of the hill region, therefore Ghansar served as regent in his elder brother's absence. Traditionally, the region of Jammu was divided into two states that were based on either side of the Tawi river: Bahu State and Jammu State. During the reign of Ghansar, Bahu State ceased to be an independent entity for unclear reasons and was absorbed into Jammu State.

Ranjit Dev

Ranjit Dev ruled Jammu State from 1733 to 1781. The Battle of Jammu (1774) was fought in his reign.During his time Jammu became a tributary of Jhanda Singh of Bhangi Misl.
Dhruv Dev's successor Raja Ranjit Dev (1735–1781) introduced social reforms such as a ban on ''sati'' (immolation of the wife on the pyre of the husband) and female infanticide. Between the years 1735–1747, Ranjit Dev was imprisoned by the Mughals at Lahore as they believed he was disloyal to the Mughal regime. After Nadir Shah invaded the Mughal Empire in 1739, it allowed Raja Ranjit Dev to further develop the independence of Jammu. During the reign of Raja Ranjit Dev, Jammu dominated twenty-two surrounding Hill States, with them becoming tributaries of Jammu, such as formerly powerful states such as Basohli, Bhadarwah, Kishtwar, and Chinaini states. This reality led to the coining of a local phrase: ''bāyaṅ vīch Jammu sirdār hai'' (meaning "Jammu is the chief of the twenty-two hill states"). Ranjit Dev had five ''ranis'' (queens), with polygamy being the norm for wealthy Dogra families.

Ranjit Dev, like his brother Balwant Dev, was a patron of the arts. During Ranjit's reign, Jammu's local economy benefited, as trading developed, which was noted by the English traveller George Forster in 1783. Forster also noted that the Jammuite rulers were tolerant on the matter of religion. Many refugees from other areas of India settled in Jammu during this period, such as Malka Zamani, Mughlani Begum (widow of Mir Mannu), Hari Singh (s/o Kaura Mal, the ''diwan'' of Mir Mannu), and Dalpat Rai (s/o Lakhpat Rai)

The downfall of the Mughals led the Sikh Misls to arise in the Punjab in the subsequent power-vacuum that followed, with this change having repercussions on the Hill States. Towards the end of Ranjit Dev's rule, the Sikh clans of Punjab (''misls'') gained ascendency, and Jammu began to be contested by the Bhangi, Kanhaiya and Sukerchakia ''misls''. Around 1770, the Bhangi ''misl'' attacked Jammu and forced Ranjit Dev to become a tributary.Panikkar, K. M., ''Gulab Singh'' (1930), p. 10–12. London: Martin Hopkinson Ltd. Other sources state that Ranjit Dev was able to successfully fend-off the Sikh attacks on Jammu that occurred later-on in his reign and that it was his successors that succumbed to the Sikhs.

Braj Dev

Raja Braj Dev was a ruler of the Deva dynasty of Jammu, Jamwal Dogras, who ruled from 1782 to 1787. He was killed by Sikhs during a battle. During his time Battle of Jammu (1774) was fought which was an important battle to secure Jammu. In this battle Sikh chief Jhanda Singh Dhillon was shot dead.
Raja Ranjit Dev was succeeded by Raja Braj Dev who killed his brother and nephew to become king. Raja Braj Dev, Ranjit Dev's successor, was defeated by the Sikh Sukerchakia chief Mahan Singh, who sacked Jammu and plundered it. Mahan Singh is said to have taken loot worth two crore rupees from Jammu. Thus Jammu lost its supremacy over the surrounding country. In the Battle of Rumal, the Jammu ruler was killed by Sikhs. Raja Braj Dev was killed during the Sikh invasion of Jammu in 1787.

Sampuran Dev

He was a weak ruler. He surrendered Jammu to Sikhs.
After the death of Raja Braj Dev, the state of Jammu was heavily under the sway of the Punjabi court. His infant son Raja Sampuran Dev (1787–1797) succeeded with Jammu becoming an autonomous tributary under the Sikh Confederacy Misls. The young Sampuran Singh was declared as the feudal lord but would be under the watch of his uncle Mian Mota. Sampuran Singh died at the age of eleven with no issue. Thus, he was succeeded by Raja Jit Singh, who was the son of Dalel Singh.

Jit Dev

During the reign of Jit Singh, Mian Mota was granted the jagir of Purmandal. Jit Singh was involved in another conflict with the Sikh empire, which he lost and was exiled into British territory. With Jammu fully annexed by the Sikhs around 1808, Ranjit Singh first allotted it to his son Kharak Singh. Other sources give the year 1812 as when Jammu was annexed by the Sikhs.

List of rulers of Jammu State

References

Sources

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* {{cite book , last=Singh , first=Dalbir , date=2010 , url=https://archive.org/details/RiseGrowthAndFallOfTheBhangiMisal/page/n139/mode/2up , title=Rise, Growth And Fall Of Bhangi Misal

Jammu (city)