Hammiradeva (IAST: Hammīra-deva; r. c. 1283–1301) was the last ruler from the Ranthambore branch of the Chauhans (Chahamanas). He is also known as Hamir Dev Chauhan in the Muslim chronicles and the vernacular literature.
Hammiradeva ruled a kingdom centred around Ranthambore in present-day Rajasthan. In the 1280s, he raided several neighbouring kingdoms, which ultimately left him without allies. In the 1290s, he successfully defended his kingdom against Jalaluddin Khalji of the Delhi Sultanate. In 1299, he gave asylum to some Mongol rebels from Delhi, which prompted Jalaluddin's successor Alauddin Khalji to invade his kingdom. Hammira's forces achieved some successes against Alauddin's generals Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, but he was ultimately defeated and killed in 1301 after a long siege.
Hammira is celebrated as a hero in several texts composed after his death including Nayachandra Suri's Hammira Mahakavya, Jodharaja's Hammira Raso, and Chandrashekhara's Hammira-Hatha.
Early life
Hammiradeva was a son of the Chahamana king Jaitrasimha (Jaitra Singh) and queen Hira Devi. The name "Hammira" is a Sanskritized form of the Arabic title Amir. Little is known about him, except the Hammira Mahakavya, written by a poet about 100 years after Hammiradeva's death and whose reliability has been questioned. Hammiradeva had two elder brothers named Suratrana and Virama.
When Jaitrasimha retired because of old age, he appointed Hammiradeva as his successor, although Hammira was not his eldest son. The Hammira Mahakavya dates Hammira's ascension to 1283 CE (1339 VS). However, according to a genealogy given in the Prabandha Kosha, Hammira ascended the throne in 1285 CE. Historian Dasharatha Sharma speculates that Jaitrasimha lived until 1285 CE, which may explain this discrepancy.
Early rule
Soon after his ascension, Hammiradeva launched a series of raids against his Hindu neighbours until 1288. The Hammira Mahakavya presents these raids as a systematic digvijaya ("conquests in all directions") campaign. However, Hammiradeva's own inscriptions do not mention any dgivijaya campaign.
The Balvan inscription of 1288 CE mentions that Hammiradeva captured the elephant force of Arjuna II, the Paramara king of Malwa. The Paramaras had greatly declined in power, and their kingdom faced an internal rebellion after Arjuna's death. Taking advantage of this, several of their enemies had plundered Malwa.
According to the Hammira Mahakavya, Hammiradeva also subjugated Arjuna, the ruler of a principality called Bhimarasa. Next, he extracted tribute from the Manḍalakṛta fort (modern Mandalgarh). Hammira then targeted Bhoja II, the successor of Arjuna II in Malwa. He defeated the Paramara forces, and reached as far as Ujjayini (Ujjain) and Dhara (Dhar). He then returned home via the place called Chittor, Abu, Vardhanapura (Badnor), Changa, Pushkar, Maharashtra (present-day Marot village), Khandilla (Khandela), Champa and Karkarala (Karauli). At Karkarala, he received homage from the ruler of Tribhuvanagiri (Timangarh).
Out of all these raids, Hammira's own inscriptions mention only his successes in Malwa. Therefore, historian Dasharatha Sharma doubts the historicity of the other raids described in the Hammira Mahakavya, and considers its digivjaya account as fictitious.
The Balvan inscription mentions that Hammira performed a ritual sacrifice known as Koti-yajna twice. This sacrifice appears to have been similar to the Ashvamedha ceremony, which was proved by ancient Indian kings to prove their sovereignty. The Koti yajna performed by the royal priest Vishvarupa.
Conflict with the Delhi Sultanate
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Hammira's wars with his Hindu neighbours ultimately left him without any allies against his powerful northern neighbour, the Muslim-ruled Delhi Sultanate.
Jalaluddin Khalji
In 1290, Jalaluddin Khalji, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, invaded Hammira's territory. He defeated Hammira's forces led by Gurdan Saini, who was killed in the battle. The Delhi army captured Jhain, and then marched towards Ranthambore. They besieged the Ranthambore fort with manjaniqs (siege engines), but were unable to capture the fort. Jalaluddin ultimately gave up, and returned to Delhi.