Sena dynasty

Senas of Bengal
1070 CE–1230 CE
Coat of Arms during Laxmana Sena's reign of Sena dynasty
Coat of Arms during Laxmana Sena's reign
Map of the Senas of Bengal.[1]
Map of the Senas of Bengal.[1]
CapitalGauda, Bikrampur, Nabadwip, Lakhnauti
Common languagesSanskrit, Bengali
Religion
Hinduism
GovernmentMonarchy
Maharajadhiraja 
• 1070–1095 CE
Samanta Sena
• 1095–1096 CE
Hemanta Sena
• 1096–1159 CE
Vijaya Sena
• 1159-1179 CE
Ballala Sena
• 1179-1204 CE
Lakshmana Sena
• 1204-1225 CE
Vishvarupa Sena
• 1225–1230 CE
Keshava Sena
• 
Surya Sena[2]
• 
Narayana Sena[2]
• 
Laksmana Sena ।।[2]
Historical eraMiddle Kingdoms of India
• Established
1070 CE
• Disestablished
1230 CE
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Pala Empire
Varman Dynasty (Bengal)
Samatata
Deva dynasty
Khalji dynasty of Bengal

The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries.[3] The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The rulers of the Sena Dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.[4]

The dynasty's founder was Samanta Sena. After him came Hemanta Sena, who usurped power and styled himself king in 1095 AD. His successor Vijaya Sena (ruled from 1096 AD to 1159 AD) helped lay the foundations of the dynasty and had an unusually long reign of over 60 years. Ballala Sena conquered Gaur from the Pala, became the ruler of the Bengal Delta, and made Nadia the capital as well. Ballala Sena married Ramadevi a princess of the Western Chalukya Empire which indicates that the Sena rulers maintained close social contact with south India.[5] Lakshmana Sena succeeded Ballala Sena in 1179, ruled Bengal for approximately 20 years, and expanded the Sena dynasty to Odisha, possibly up to Varanasi. In 1203–1204 AD, Bakhtiyar Khalji, a general under the Ghurid Empire, attacked and captured the capital City of Nadia. The detailed account of this invasion is given in Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.[6]

  1. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical Atlas of South Asia. Oxford University Press, Digital South Asia Library. p. 147, Map "f".
  2. ^ a b c Raj Kumar (2003). Essays on Medieval India. Discovery Publishing House. p. 340. ISBN 9788171416837.
  3. ^ For a map of their territory, see: Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 147, map XIV.3 (f). ISBN 0226742210.
  4. ^ The History of the Bengali Language by Bijay Chandra Mazumdar, p. 50.
  5. ^ Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib by Nitish K. Sengupta, p. 51.
  6. ^ Majumdar 1971, p. 234,235.