Guhila dynasty

The Guhilas of Medapata colloquially known as Guhilas of Mewar were a Rajput dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mewar (Medapata, modern Mewar) region in present-day Rajasthan state of India. The Guhila kings initially ruled as Gurjara-Pratihara feudatories between the end of 8th and 9th centuries and later were independent in period of the early 10th century and allied themselves with the Rashtrakutas. Their capitals included Nagahrada (Nagda) and Aghata (Ahar). For this reason, they are also known as the Nagda-Ahar branch of the Guhilas.

The Guhilas assumed sovereignty after the decline of the Pratiharas in the 10th century under Rawal Bharttripatta II and Rawal Allata. During the 10th-13th centuries, they were involved in military conflicts with several of their neighbours, including the Kingdom of Malwa, the Kingdom of Sambhar, the Delhi Sultanate, the Chaulukyas, and the Kingdom of Gujarat. In the late 11th century, the Paramara king Bhoja interfered in the Guhila throne possibly deposing a ruler and placing some other ruler of the branch.

In the mid-12th century, the dynasty divided into two branches. The senior branch (whose rulers are called Rawal in the later medieval literature) ruled from Chitrakuta (modern Chittorgarh), and ended with Ratnasimha's defeat against the Delhi Sultanate at the 1303 Siege of Chittorgarh. The junior branch rose from the village of Sisoda with the title Rana and established the Sisodia Rajput dynasty.