Editing History of India (section)

=== Other kingdoms ===
{{Main|Guhila dynasty|Kingdom of Mewar}}
{{Gallery|align=center
|width=130|File:Tower of victory.jpg
|[[Vijaya Stambha]] (Tower of Victory).
|File:Temple in Rajasthan.jpg|Temple inside [[Chittorgarh fort]]
|File:Man Singh Palace as viewed in the early hours of the morning.JPG|Man Singh (Manasimha) palace at the [[Gwalior fort]]
|File:Tribute Giraffe with Attendant.jpg|Chinese manuscript ''Tribute Giraffe with Attendant'', depicting a giraffe presented by Bengali envoys in the name of Sultan [[Saifuddin Hamza Shah]] of Bengal to the [[Yongle Emperor]] of [[Ming China]]
|File:Complete view of Mahumad Gawan.JPG|Mahmud Gawan Madrasa was built by Mahmud Gawan, the Wazir of the Bahmani Sultanate as the centre of religious as well as secular education
|||title=}}

For two and a half centuries from the mid-13th century, politics in Northern India was dominated by the [[Delhi Sultanate]], and in Southern India by the Vijayanagar Empire. However, there were other regional powers present as well. After fall of Pala Empire, the [[Chero dynasty]] ruled much of Eastern [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Bihar]] and [[Jharkhand]] from the 12th to the 18th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=399UDwAAQBAJ&q=chero+dynasty&pg=PT71|title=Bihar General Knowledge Digest|isbn=9789352667697|last1=Singh|first1=Pradyuman|date=19 January 2021|publisher=Prabhat Prakashan}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Surendra Gopal|title=Mapping Bihar: From Medieval to Modern Times|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mCZFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT289|date=2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-03416-6|pages=289–295}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Surinder Singh|author2=I. D. Gaur|title=Popular Literature and Pre-modern Societies in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVA0JAzQJkYC&pg=PA77|year=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1358-7|pages=77–}}</ref> The [[Reddy dynasty]] successfully defeated the Delhi Sultanate and extended their rule from [[Cuttack]] in the north to [[Kanchi]] in the south, eventually being absorbed into the expanding Vijayanagara Empire.<ref>{{cite book|author=Gordon Mackenzie|title=A manual of the Kistna district in the presidency of Madras|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=430nAMZz8LwC&pg=PA10|year=1990|orig-year=First published 1883|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-0544-2|pages=9–10, 224–}}</ref>

In the north, the [[Rajput kingdoms]] remained the dominant force in Western and Central India. The [[Mewar dynasty]] under [[Maharana Hammir]] defeated and captured [[Muhammad Tughlaq]] with the Bargujars as his main allies. Tughlaq had to pay a huge ransom and relinquish all of Mewar's lands. After this event, the Delhi Sultanate did not attack Chittor for a few hundred years. The Rajputs re-established their independence, and Rajput states were established as far east as Bengal and north into the [[Punjab]]. The [[Tomaras of Gwalior|Tomaras]] established themselves at [[Gwalior]], and [[Man Singh Tomar]] reconstructed the [[Gwalior Fort]].<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book|last=Sen|first=Sailendra|title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History|publisher=Primus Books|year=2013|isbn=978-93-80607-34-4|pages=116–117}}</ref> During this period, Mewar emerged as the leading Rajput state; and [[Rana Kumbha]] expanded his kingdom at the expense of the [[Sultan]]ates of [[Malwa Sultanate|Malwa]] and [[Sultanate of Gujarat|Gujarat]].<ref name="sen2" /><ref>''Lectures on Rajput history and culture'' by Dr. [[Dasharatha Sharma]]. Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi 1970. {{ISBN|0-8426-0262-3}}.</ref> The next great Rajput ruler, [[Rana Sanga]] of Mewar, became the principal player in [[Northern India]]. His objectives grew in scope – he planned to conquer Delhi. But, his defeat in the [[Battle of Khanwa]] consolidated the new [[Mughal dynasty]] in India.<ref name="sen2" /> The Mewar dynasty under Maharana [[Udai Singh II]] faced further defeat by Mughal emperor [[Akbar]], with their capital Chittor being captured. Due to this event, Udai Singh II founded [[Udaipur]], which became the new capital of the [[Udaipur State|Mewar kingdom]]. His son, [[Maharana Pratap]] of Mewar, firmly resisted the Mughals. Akbar sent many missions against him. He survived to ultimately gain control of all of Mewar, excluding the [[Chittor Fort]].<ref>John Merci, Kim Smith; James Leuck (1922). "Muslim conquest and the Rajputs". The Medieval History of India pg 67–115</ref>

In the south, the [[Bahmani Sultanate]] in the Deccan, born from a [[Rebellion of Ismail Mukh|rebellion]] in 1347 against the [[Tughlaq dynasty]],{{sfn|Eaton|2005|pp=41–42}} was the chief rival of Vijayanagara, and frequently created difficulties for them.<ref>Farooqui Salma Ahmed, A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century, (Dorling Kindersley Pvt. Ltd., 2011)</ref> Starting in 1490, the Bahmani Sultanate's governors revolted, their independent states composing the five [[Deccan sultanates]]; [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate|Ahmadnagar]] declared independence, followed by [[Bijapur Sultanate|Bijapur]] and [[Berar sultanate|Berar]] in the same year; [[Golconda Sultanate|Golkonda]] became independent in 1518 and [[Bidar Sultanate|Bidar]] in 1528.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Majumdar|editor-first=R. C.|editor-link=R. C. Majumdar|year=1974|title=The Mughul Empire|url=https://archive.org/details/mughulempire00bhar/page/n6/mode/2up|series=The History and Culture of the Indian People|volume=VII|location=Bombay|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|page=412}}</ref> Although generally rivals, they allied against the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, permanently weakening Vijayanagar in the Battle of Talikota.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mitchell|first1=George|first2=Mark|last2=Zebrowski|title=Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates (The New Cambridge History of India Vol. I:7)|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1999|location=Cambridge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ju1XvgAACAAJ|isbn=0-521-56321-6|page=10}}</ref>{{sfn|Eaton|2005|p=98}}

In the East, the [[Gajapati Kingdom]] remained a strong regional power to reckon with, associated with a high point in the growth of regional culture and architecture. Under [[Kapilendradeva]], Gajapatis became an empire stretching from the lower [[Ganga]] in the north to the [[Kaveri]] in the south.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Majumdar|editor1-first=R. C.|editor1-link=R. C. Majumdar|editor2-last=Pusalker|editor2-first=A. D.|editor3-last=Majumdar|editor3-first=A. K.|title=The Delhi Sultanate|url=https://archive.org/details/delhisultanate0006rcma/page/367/mode/1up|year=1980|orig-year=First published 1960|series=The History and Culture of the Indian People|volume=VI|edition=3rd|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|location=Bombay|oclc=664485|pages=367|quote=[Describing the Gajapati kings of Orissa] Kapilendra was the most powerful Hindu king of his time, and under him Orissa became an empire stretching from the lower Ganga in the north to the Kaveri in the south.}}</ref> In [[Northeast India]], the [[Ahom Kingdom]] was a major power for six centuries;<ref>{{cite book|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA305|date=1999|publisher=New Age International|isbn=978-81-224-1198-0|page=305}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=[[Yasmin Saikia]]|title=Fragmented Memories: Struggling to be Tai-Ahom in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfSmsuO6QugC&pg=PA8|date=2004|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-8616-2|page=8}}</ref> led by [[Lachit Borphukan]], the Ahoms decisively defeated the Mughal army at the [[Battle of Saraighat]] during the [[Ahom-Mughal conflicts]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Sarkar|first=J.N.|contribution=Chapter VIII Assam-Mughal Relations|editor-last=Barpujari|editor-first=H.K.|title=The Comprehensive History of Assam|volume=2|publisher=Assam Publication Board|place=Guwahati|year=1992|page=213}}</ref> Further east in Northeastern India was the [[Kingdom of Manipur]], which ruled from their seat of power at [[Kangla Fort]] and developed a sophisticated Hindu [[Gaudiya Vaishnavite]] culture.{{Sfn|Williams|2004|pp=83–84, the other major classical Indian dances are: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Cchau, Satriya, Yaksagana and Bhagavata Mela}}{{Sfn|Massey|2004|p=177}}{{Sfn|Devi|1990|pp=175–180}}

The [[Sultanate of Bengal]] was the dominant power of the [[Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta]], with a network of mint towns spread across the region. It was a [[Sunni Muslim]] monarchy with Indo-Turkic, Arab, Abyssinian and [[Bengali Muslim]] elites. The sultanate was known for its religious pluralism where non-Muslim communities co-existed peacefully. The Bengal Sultanate had a circle of [[vassal states]], including [[Odisha]] in the southwest, [[Arakan]] in the southeast, and [[Tripura]] in the east. In the early 16th century, the Bengal Sultanate reached the peak of its territorial growth with control over [[Kamarupa|Kamrup]] and [[Kamata Kingdom|Kamata]] in the northeast and [[Jaunpur district|Jaunpur]] and [[Bihar]] in the west. It was reputed as a thriving trading nation and one of Asia's strongest states. The Bengal Sultanate was described by contemporary European and Chinese visitors as a relatively prosperous kingdom and the "richest country to trade with". The Bengal Sultanate left a strong architectural legacy. Buildings from the period show foreign influences merged into a distinct [[Architecture of Bengal|Bengali style.]] The Bengal Sultanate was also the largest and most prestigious authority among the independent medieval Muslim-ruled states in the [[history of Bengal]]. Its decline began with an [[interregnum]] by the [[Suri Empire]], followed by [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] [[Bengal Subah|conquest]] and disintegration into petty kingdoms.