After the death of Harshavardhana, the kingdom of his clansmen, the Pratiharas ruled over a vast region for quite a while from Harsha's adopted capital Kannauj. The region remained strategically important for the rulers of North India even though Thanesar was no more as central as Kannauj. Prithviraj Chauhan established forts at Taraori and Hansi in the 12th century. Mohammad Ghori conquered this area in the Second Battle of Tarain. The earliest reference to `Haryana' occurs in a Sanskrit inscription dated AD 1328 kept in Delhi Museum, which refers to this region as the heaven on Earth, indicating that it was fertile and relatively peaceful at that time. Firoz Shah Tughlaq established a fort at Hisar in 1354 to further fortify the region and also constructed canals or rajwahas as they were referred to in the Indo-Persian historical texts.

THE SULTANATE DYNASTY :

• This dynasty was founded by Mohammad Ghori, but its real foundation was laid by Qutb-ud-din Aibak. This was the first dynasty which ruled over Delhi Sultanate in AD 1192 after defeating Prithviraj Chauhan of Chauhan dynasty at the Second Battle of Tarain in AD 1192. With the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan at Tarain in AD 1192, at the hands of Ghori, a new chapter opened in the history of Haryana, which affected the future of the whole country.

THE KHILJI DYNASTY :

• The Khilji dynasty was the second Muslim dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate. The slave rulers laid a firm foundation to the Delhi Sultanate. Naturally, Muslims from territories bordering to Western-Northern India migrated to join other Muslim settlers. The first ruler of this dynasty was Jalal-ud-din Firoz Khilji.

TUGHLAQ DYNASTY :

Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq :

• He was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. In particular, an incident in the village of Gohana in Haryana was recorded in the Insha-e-Mahry (another historical record written by Amud-din-Abdullah, bin Mahru).

Timur Lung Invasion on Haryana :

• Timur's invasion affected Haryana vitally as he raised to the ground a large part of the region, spreading terror and devastation. He was, however, not allowed to go unchallenged and the martial communities of the area, the Jats, Rajputs and the Ahirs deified him at several places. Timur remained on the soil of Haryana for nearly one month. During this period, he had to fight the people of this region constantly and regularly, almost twice a day.

Foreign Invasions and Wars in Haryana :

• Haryana being close to the capital suffered the most during this period. Apart from the repeated disorders due to frequent changes of dynasties till the coming of the Mughals on the scene. The invasion of Timur Lung towards the end of the 14th century played havoc with the imperial city of Delhi and the surrounding area. The region suffered similarly during the 18th Century, when Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded the country. It is not an accident that all decisive battles, which changed the fate of India were fought in Haryana, at Panipat.

MUGHAL EMPIRE :

First Battle of Panipat :

• The First Battle of Panipat was fought between the last ruler of Lodhi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodhi and the ruler of Kabul, Babur in 1526. By 1525, Babur had captured the whole of Punjab and then he proceeded towards Delhi. The history of the First Battle of Panipat was an important milestone that was to change the very face of history in India. After capturing Punjab, Babur proceeded towards Delhi to meet Ibrahim Lodhi but Ibrahim Lodhi's army was much bigger and he had war elephants. Babur defeated the army with organisation and skilled dissemble historic Battle of Panipat took place on 21st April, 1526 at the place called Panipat, which is located in modern day Haryana. This place has been the site of many important battles in the history of India.

Second Battle of Panipat :

• After the death of Humayun in AD 1556, his 13 year old son, Akbar ascended the throne under the guardianship of Bairam Khan. At the time of Akbar's accession to the throne, the Mughal rule was confined to Kabul, Kandahar and parts of Punjab and Delhi. On 14th February, 1556, in a garden at Kalanaur, Akbar was enthroned as emperor. Hemu (Hemchandra) was a military chief of the Afghan King Mohammad Adil Shah, who had established himself at Chunar and was seeking to expel the Mughals from India. Taking advantage of Humayun's death, Hemu marched to Agra and Delhi in October and occupied it without difficulty and became the ruler under the title, Raja Vikramaditya.

Jahangir and Shah Jahan Period :

• Things were comparatively quiet during the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan. This was a period of relative peace in Haryana. This period also saw the constructive works for public welfare, such as roads and wells.

Aurangzeb Period :

• Haryana being close to imperial capital (Delhi) felt the full impact of Aurangzeb repression. After the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the empire which Babur and Akbar had built and Jahangir and Shah Jahan nurtured, crumbled to pieces. The two foreign invasions of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah Abdali further added to the confusion.

End of Mughal Period :

• During the period of Mohammad Shah (AD 1719-1748), India suffered from the invasion of Nadir Shah. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had ravaged the Mughal provinces from the Deccan to Bengal and internal dissatisfaction arose due to the weakness of the Mughal Empire's administrative and economic systems. In 1739, a weakened Mughal Empire was defeated in the Battle of Karnal by the forces of Nadir Shah. Mughal power was severely limited. The last emperor, Bahadur Shah II had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad.

Battle of Karnal :

• On 24th February,1739, battle between the forces of Nadir Shah, an Iranian adventurer and Mohammad Shah, the Mughal emperor took place at Karnal, Haryana; the Mughals suffered a decisive defeat. Nadir Shah had become the ruler of Persia by deposing the king in 1732. The alleged violation of promises by Mohammad Shah and the ill treatment of his envoys by the Delhi court, served as the alleged cause for his invasion. Nadir Shah marched to Delhi and massacred its inhabitants on 11th March. Nadir Shah left Delhi on 5th May with plunder, including the famous Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan and the Koh-e-noor diamond. The Mughal Empire never recovered from this blow to its prestige.

Maratha’s Period :

Third Battle of Panipat :

• Towards the middle of the 18th century, Marathas, under the leadership of the Peshwas had established their sway over Haryana and most of North India. The intrusion of the Afghan, Ahmad Shah Abdali into India, culminated in the Third Battle of Panipat on 14th January, 1761. Ahmad Shah defeated the Marathas and this marked the end of the Maratha ascendancy.

Mahadji Scindia :

• Mahadji Scindia was a Maratha ruler of the state of Gwalior in Central India. Jayappa Shinde, the head of the Shinde family, was murdered in his own house and was succeeded by his son Jankoji. In 1761, the Shindes joined the Peshwa's army led by Sadashivrao Bhau against the Afghan forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali at the Third Battle of Panipat. After sometime, the brave Maratha controlled all over Haryana.
• To rule in a better way, Mahadji divided all Pradesh into four parts (i) Delhi district (ii) Sonipat district (iii) Hisar (IV) Mewat district

George Thomas in Haryana :

• George Thomas left irrevocable effect on the pages of history. Born in a simple family in Ireland, he was an extremely courageous person. He came to India in a mercantile marine in about 1780 and came into contact with Scindia feudal Lord Appa Kandi Rao, who adopted him as his son impressed by his bravery.

Relation with Marathas :

• In the due course of time, Appa Kandi Rao offered the area of Jhajjar, Beri, Mandothi, Patoda to George Thomas. Feeling happy at his military services, Marathas offered the area of Panipat, Sonipat and Karnal to him. Intoxicated with the increasing power, he declared himself independent of Scindias. With the aim to establish his independent rule in the whole Haryana, Thomas changed his capital from Jhajjar to Hansi.

George Thomas and Sikhs :

• Thomas fought one of his best campaigns against the Sikh chiefs, taking almost all of the Punjab. He was finally defeated and captured by Scindia's army under General Pierre Cuillier-Peron. He died on his way down the Ganges on the 22nd of August, 1802.

Conclusion :

• Indian history is replete with tales of heroism of the highest order and in this context, the historic significance of the battles of Panipat and Kurukshetra in Haryana cannot be ignored by any means. The sacrifices of Haryana's brave soldiers have played a very important role in maintaining the territorial and sovereign integrity of our nation. The new state which emerged as a separate political entity of the Indian Union on November 1, 1966, is considered to be the cradle of rich Indian cultural heritage.