Taank Kingdom Explained

Conventional Long Name:Taank Kingdom
Common Name:Taank Kingdom
P1:Alchon Huns
S1:Hindu Shahis
S2:Turk Shahis
Map Width:270
Image Map Caption:Taank Kingdom shown in violet in the north of the Indian subcontinent circa 700 AD.
Capital:Shekilo (modern day Sialkot)
Ṭakin or Ṭakkáwar[1]
Common Languages:Old Punjabi
Religion:Hinduism
Buddhism (minority)
Government Type:Monarchy
Today:Pakistan
India

Taank Kingdom (also known as Takka[2] [3] [4] or Taki[5]) was a kingdom based in the Punjab in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, during 6th and 7th centuries ruled by Takkas who are identified as ancient inhabitants of Punjab.[6] The main source regarding the kingdom are the chronicles of Xuanzang as well as other sources. The kingdom was located south of Kashmir, north of Sindh and east of Zunbil dynasty, extending from the Indus River in the west to the Beas river in the east, centered around modern day Sialkot.[7]

History

A "Tseh-kia" kingdom is mentioned by Hiuen-Tsang (631-643 A.D.).[8] It is mentioned by him as situated towards east of Gandhara. The Chach Nama (history of Sindh) mentions it as Tak.[9] The earliest Muslim author who mentions the kingdom is a merchant named Sulaiman. He visited the area before 851 AD, when his account was written. In his account, the kingdom is mentioned as Táfak .[10] In 915 AD, the Arab historian Al-Masudi mentions it as at-Tákin, referring to the hills of the Punjab region. The name is read Tákin by Sir Henry Elliott, and Táfan by Gildemeister, in his extracts from Masudi. Takin, Tafan, Tafak, Taffa, Takas, and Takishar, are various readings of the original form which is Taki or Takin. M. Reinaud gives another spelling, Tában .

The account of Sulaimān the merchant calls its king malik at-taqa and further notes that he was in good terms with the Arabs and the Rashtrakuta Empire of Deccan. Ibn Khordadbeh, who died in 912 AD, mentions the king of the confederacy as next in eminence to the Balhara, whereas Kazwini mentions a fort named Taifand, the location of the fort agrees with the account of the hill of Sangala (near modern Sialkot). Several scholars have identified Takka kingdom with the kingdom of al-Usaifan, whose king is reported by al-Biladhuri to have converted to Islam during the reign of Caliph al-Mu'tasim .[11] The Lawik dynasty of Ghazni is also believed to have belonged to the Takka people.[12]

They are included among 36 royal dynasties mentioned by James Tod. According to him the names of some of the rulers were Ratapat, Bahurpal, Sahajpal and Madanpal. Sialkot was the capital of the kingdom. Monarchs of Sialkot in the Punjabi folklore such as Raja Sálbán and Raja Rasalu may have belonged to the Takka kingdom.[13]

Xuanzang's visit

During Xuanzang's visit, the neighboring state of Bofadou was a vassal (or province) of Taank.[14] He also noted Mihirakula's capital to have been at Sagala within Taank. Despite having an illustrious Buddhist heritage as evident from three colossal stupas, Buddhism had declined in the region (Punjab) after the Gupta period due to preference give to the propagation of Hinduism,[15] [16] and later collapsed[17] after the Alchon Hun persecution,[18] resulting in it being sparsely practiced in only about ten monasteries. On the contrary, Brahminical Hinduism rose as the primary religion in the region and there were several hundreds of Hindu Deva shrines. He visited Lahore in 630 AD during Taank rule.[19] According to him: "The country of Takka is south of Kashmira, extending from the Indus river to its west and Vipasha river to its east. They produce abundant quantities of non-sticky rice and wheat, also gold, brass, iron and other metals. They do not believe in Buddhism, and pray in several hundred deva temples. This country has ten Buddhist monasteries left." There were many more before, states Xuanzang.[7] [20] [21] [18]

See also

Bibliography

Book: Cunningham, Alexander . The Ancient Geography of India: I. The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang . Munshiram Manoharlal. 1871 . 9788121510646 . 150–154.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Cunningham, Sir Alexander . The Ancient Geography of India: I. The Buddhist Period, Including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang . 1871 . Trübner and Company . en.
  2. Book: Handa . Om Chanda . Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples . Hāṇḍā . Omacanda . 2001 . Indus Publishing . 978-81-7387-115-3 . 27 . en.
  3. Book: Grewal, J. S. . The Sikhs of the Punjab . 1998-10-08 . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-63764-0 . 4 . en.
  4. Book: Bakker, Hans . The World of the Skandapurāṇa . 2015-06-29 . BRILL . 978-90-04-27714-4 . 113 . en.
  5. Book: Ahmad, Aijazuddin . Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach . 2009 . Concept Publishing Company . 978-81-8069-568-1 . 81 . en.
  6. Book: The Panjab Past and Present . 1977 . Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University. . 9 . en . Aurel Stein and Cunningham both agree in identifying Takkas with Madras or Bahikas of Mahabharata - both being the ancient inhabitants of the Punjab. In the lexicon of Hemacandra also, the Bahikas are said to be the same as Takkas..
  7. Li Rongxi (1996), The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, pp. 97–100
  8. Book: Balogh, Dániel . Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History . 2020-03-12 . Barkhuis . 978-94-93194-01-4 . 307 . en.
  9. Book: Vishveshvaranand Indological Journal, Vol XVI . Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute . Hoshiarpur . 92 . English, Hindi, Sanskrit.
  10. Cunningham 1871, p. 151-152.
  11. Book: Ḍār, Saifurraḥmān . 1984. Lahore . al-Waqar Publishers . 20 . en. 1172089120.
  12. Devra . G.S.L. . Arora . Shashi . 2012 . Hindu Commanders in the Army of Sultans of Ghazna: A Case Study of Vijaypal of Bayana . Proceedings of the Indian History Congress . 73 . 205–211 . 44156207 . 2249-1937.
  13. Book: Ḍār, Saifurraḥmān . 1984. Lahore . al-Waqar Publishers . 25 . en. 1172089120.
  14. Book: Balogh . Dániel . Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History . 12 March 2020 . Barkhuis . 978-94-93194-01-4 . 279 . en.
  15. Web site: May 3, 2019 . Gopal . Navjeevan . In ancient Punjab, religion was fluid, not watertight, says Romila Thapar . live . registration . March 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190503143856/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/in-ancient-punjab-religion-was-fluid-not-watertight-says-romila-thapar-5709145/ . May 3, 2019 . But after the Gupta period, Buddhism began to decline . . en-IN .
  16. Book: Fogelin, Lars . 2015 . An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism . 9780199948239 . . 149 . the emergence and spread of Hinduism through Indian society helped lead to Buddhism's gradual decline in India. . en .
  17. Book: McNair, Amy . 2007 . 9780824829940 . Donors of Longmen . March 9, 2023 . 89 . ... and the destruction of Buddhist establishment in Northwest India by the Hephthalite invader, Mihirakula (502-542) in the early sixth century. . . en-US .
  18. Book: Ghosh . Amalananda . Taxila . 1965 . CUP Archive . 791 . en . 11 November 2022 . 18 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221118183407/https://books.google.com/books?id=0NA3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA791 . live .
  19. Book: Tod, James. Annals and Antiquities of Rajast'han, Or, The Central and Western Rajpoot States of India. Madras: Higginbotham and Co. 1873.. 1829. 9788120603509.
  20. Book: Singh . Upinder . Political Violence in Ancient India . 2017 . Harvard University Press . 978-0-674-97527-9 . 241 . en.
  21. Foreign Influence on Ancient India by Krishna Chandra Sagar p.216