Prithviraj III

From Freepedia

Prithviraj III (c. 1168-1192) was a king of the Rajput Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty, who ruled a kingdom in northern India during the latter half of the 12th century. He was born c. 1168 to king Someshwara Chauhan and his wife Karpuravalli. He succeeded to the throne c. 1179, while still a minor, and ruled from the twin capitals of Ajmer and Delhi. His elopement with the daughter of Jai Chandra, the Gahadvala king of Kannauj, is a popular romantic tale in India. The Chauhan succession had been rather confused since the death of Vigraha-raja in 1165; Prithviraj reconsolidated control of the Chauhan kingdom and conquered several neighboring kingdoms, which made his state the leading Hindu kingdom in northern India. His kingdom included much of the present-day Indian states of Rajasthan and Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

The Muslim Ghaznavid Empire, which bordered Prithviraj's kingdom to the north, was conquered by Muhammad of Ghor towards the end of the 12th century. A dispute over a fortress on the border of the two kingdoms (thought to be either Sirhind or Bathinda in the Punjab) brought the armies of the two kingdoms into conflict. Prithviraj's army, led by his vassal Govinda-raja of Delhi, defeated Muhammad's army in 1191 at the First Battle of Tarain. Prithviraj captured Muhammad, but released him against the advice of his minsters. Muhammad attacked Prithviraj's kingdom the next year with a larger army, and the two kings met in battle again at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192. Prithviraj's army was defeated, and Prithviraj was captured by Muhammad and taken to his capital of Ghazni, where he was imprisoned and shortly thereafter killed.