Guhila is a clan ofRajputs and claims to be descendant from theSuryavanshi lineage .[1][2][3] They ruled a number of kingdoms and principalities including Mitaron,[4]Mewar,Banswara,Dungarpur,Pratapgarh,Shahpura,Bhavnagar,Palitana,Lathi andVala.[5][6]
TheGuhilas of Medapata belonged to this clan. The Atpur Inscription of 977 AD lists 20 kings starting with Guhadatta and ending with Saktikumara. Major cities includedNagahrada and Aghata.Chittor was captured byBappa Rawal in the 8th century. The Guhilas fought theParamaras in the 11th century and theChaulukyas in the 12th century. During the reign ofJaitrasimha (1213–1252 AD), Nagahrada was sacked byIltutmish. Then Samarasimha (1273–1301 AD) submitted to Ulugh Khan before Ratnasimha was defeated byAlauddin Khalji in 1303 whenChittor Fort was captured.[7]
According to 1274 CE Chittor inscription and 1285 CEAchaleshwar (Abu) inscription of Vedasharma, Bappa Rawal "changed his priestly splendour for regal lustre". Based on this, scholars such asD. R. Bhandarkar theorized that the Guhilas were originallyBrahmins.G. H. Ojha, however, believed that the statement in Vedasharma's inscription is a misinterpretation of the earlier Atpur inscription. The Atpur inscription describes Guhadatta as a "Mahideva", which according to historian R. V. Somani, can be translated as either "king" or "Brahmin"[8]
In present-dayRajasthan, the Gahlot Rajputs ruled the princely states ofBanswara,Dungarpur,Mewar,Pratapgarh andShahpura.[5]
InGujarat, they are generally referred to asGohil and ruled the princely states ofBhavnagar,Palitana,Lathi andVala andRajpipla.[6]
The period between the seventh and the twelfth century witnessed gradual rise of a number of new royal-lineages in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which came to constitute a social-political category known as 'Rajput'. Some of the major lineages were the Pratiharas of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and adjacent areas, the Guhilas and Chahamanas of Rajasthan, the Caulukyas or Solankis of Gujarat and Rajasthan and the Paramaras of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
In the ninth century Cahamanas (Chauhans), Paramaras (Pawars), Guhilas (Sisodias) and Caulukyas were splitting off from sprawling Gurjara Pratihara clans...