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Gujjars or Gurjars (Hindi: गुर्जर, Urdu: گُجّر) are an ethnic group of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Variously known as Gurjar, Gujjar, Gojar, and Goojar. They are also referred to as Gurjara in the medieval texts of Sanskrit. The Gujjars are largely an agricultural community particularly known for dairy-farming. A small number of them are also pastoralists. They are most numerous in the regions of Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Kashmir.

The Gujjars are known to have been influential during the medieval times. The name Gujjar is still associated with several important places. The most important among them being the Indian state of Gujarat, derived from "Gurjaratra" (Gujjar Nation). Pakistani districts of Gujrat and Gujranwala, and the cities called Gujar Khan and Gojra are also well known. The Indian state of Rajasthan was also known as "Gurjaratra" in the past.

Origin
There are various theories regarding the origin of the Gujjars, none of which can be considered conclusive. Most historians originate them from either the Central Asian hordes that invaded India around the medieval times, or the ancient warrior tribes and clans of India known as Kshatriyas.

General Alexander Cunningham, founder of the Archaeological Survey of India, held the opinion that Gujjars are Tokharians. The people who were known as Gusura in the Tarim Basin and after coming to India adopted the name Gurjara. He identified the Kushana dynasty (leading clan of the Tokharian confederation called Yuezhi) with the Kasana clan of the Gujjars. D.R. Bhandarkar, another prominent member of the Archaeological Survey of India, believed that the Gujjars are related to the Khazars known as Ghusar (pronounced Guzar) based on the opinions of J. Campbell. He argued that Guzar is a well known variation of the name Gujjar, and that names like Gurj, Gurji, and Ajjar are common in Georgia (an area which formed part of the Khazaria, or Khazar Empire). Professor Georgi Chogoshvili, belonging to the Georgian Academy of Science, has also remarked that there is a strong resemblance between the Gujjars and the Georgians. Dr. Javaid Rahi, the National Secretary of Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation, holds that the Gujjars are Turks who came to India from Turkey and Turkmenistan, and are related to the Turkmens called Göçer (pronounced Gujar). He cites cultural, lifestyle, dress, and clan similarities between the two people as evidence of their shared origins.

Baij Nath Puri, former head of the Lucknow University's Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, states that the Gujjars are a native ethnic group of India which originated from the various tribes and clans of Mount Abu and its surrounding areas. Radhakanta Deb, an imminent scholar of Sanskrit, defines the term Gurjara as "enemy destroyer"; from the Sanskrit words "Guran" (enemy) and "Ujara" (destruction). K.M. Munshi, a prolific writer from Gujarat, is of the view that anyone who belonged to the ancient Gurjara kingdom was known as Gurjara.

History
The name "Gurjara" is first mentioned in the book called Harsha Charita (the deeds of emperor Harsha). It was written by Bana Bhatta in 650 AD and mentions a Gurjara kingdom which was in conflict with Harsha's father, Prabhakara Vardhana. According to historians, Prabhakara Vardhana ruled between the dates of 560 and 580 AD. A Chinese traveler called Huen Tsang, who visited India around 660 AD, also mentions a Gurjara kingdom (written as "Ku-Chi-Lo" in Chinese) in his chronicles. If this Gurjara kingdom existed in 560 AD, it is safe to say that the Gurjaras as a people were there as early as 400 AD.

The royal pedigree of the Broach Gurjaras, known as Nandipuri Pratiharas, takes this date even further back. The first ruler of this dynasty, Dadda I, is estimated to have been ruling during the year 430 AD. Although, there are different views regarding the veracity of this date, if its taken as true, it means the Gurjaras existed as a people at least as early as 300 AD.

The ancient book Pancha Tantra (written circa 300 BC) also mentions a land called "Gurjara Desa" (Gurjara Country). However, historians doubt whether this reference was part of the original version. It is mostly dismissed as a later adoption in the rewrites of Panchatantra.

A Purana, which tells the story of Brahma's Pushkar ceremony, mentions Gayatri as a Gujri (a Gujar woman).

The Chapas of Bhinmal Kingdom
The Gurjara kingdom mentioned by Bana Bhatta (in Harsha Charita) and Huen Tsang is thought to have been the Chapa kingdom of Bhinmal. Tshe Chapas, who were also known as Chavdas, are hence assumed to be a branch of the ancient Gurjaras. A King belonging to this dynasty, called Vyaghramukha, was the main patron BrahmaGupta, the famous mathematicion credited with the discovery of "zero" and the decimal system. However, there are some authors who disagree with this identification and think that Chapas are separate from Gurjaras.

The Pratiharas of Mandor Kingdom
The Pratihara dynasty is famously known as Gurjara-Pratihara. It is believed that the Pratiharas were Gurjaras. The kingdom at Mandor was established by Harichandra and his five sons. This line of kings is related with the Naghabhatta line, as both call themselves by the name Pratihara.

The Chapas or Pratiharas of Broach Kingdom
The Broach kingdom was ruled by Gurjaras for 300 years at the very least. There are records which show us that there lived a strong dynasty of Gurjaras in the Nandipuri area of Broach. These were powerful rulers.

The Pratiharas of Rajor Kingdom
The Pratihara family of the Gurjara-Pratihara Mathanadeva. They ruled in the Rajor area.

Chauhan Kingdom

Tomar Kingdom

Chalukya kingdom

Gurjara kingdom (Punjab)

Gurjara kingdom (Rajasthan)

Saharanpur (Gujrat)

Under Foreign Rule
Dera Ghazi Khan Gujjar Rulers

Gujrat and Gujranwala, Gujar Khan

Pratap Rao Gujjar

Gujjar Singh Bhangi

Kashmir, Sawat, and others

Koka of Akbar

} The Gujjar empire lasted for 400 years.

Demographics
Most Gujjars speak the regional languages of their location, such as Punjabi, Rajashthani, Gujarati, etc. They also have an ethnic, or ancestral language, called Gujari, mostly spoken by Gujjars in Kashmir, Himalayas, and Rajasthan.

Keypoints to cover
1: Gujjars were present in India as early as 530 AD, as mentioned by Varāhamihira in his book. Varahamihira was an important scholar at the court of Yashodharman.

2: The Broach dynasty has recorded in its records that it belonged to the "Gurjara-nrpti-vamsa" ("Gurjara-royal-family"). The oldest king of this dynasty was Dadda I, who was reigning in the year 430 AD.

3: The name Gurjara was not ascribed to ancient Rajasthan as late as 550 AD, because Varahamihira mentions this land as Arbuda, and not Gurjara or Gurjaratra. (See Baij Nath Puri for ref.)

4: The foreign invasion theory states: the Gurjaras were foreigners who came to India alongside the Hunas, or around 6th century AD. They rapidly became Hindus and the Brahmans recognized their leading clans as "Kshatriyas". When that happened, the ruling class of the Gurjaras abandoned their "Gurjara identity", to try to eliminate their "pastoral history". Consequently, the term "Gurjara" remained in use only by the "working class" Gurjaras, many of whom were shepherd and cowherds. These Gurjaras were recognized as "Vaisheyas" under the Hindu Varna system. The ruling class of the Gurjaras, or "Kshatriya Gurjaras", became known as Rajputs. The Rajput Gurjaras included clans such as Pratiharas, Chauhanas, Tomaras, Chalukiyas, Chapas, and Parmaras.

5: The native origin theory states: a) The Gurjaras are a tribe that originated from a confederation of ancient Indian clans. They became prominent around the Arbuda region, and eventually conquered a considerable part of ancient Rajasthan. They named their kingdom after themselves, and incorporated several clans into their tribe. There are several ancient tribes which are thought to have been the early Gurjaras, such as the Gurjan and Gurshar tribes mentioned in the Puranas.

6: The people of Gurjara kingdom could not have been known as Gurjara, but some form of Gurjara. For example, the country of Saudi Arabia is known by that name because it is the kingdom of Al-Saud dynasty, it defies any reason to say that an average citizen of Saudi Arabia is also known by the name of the royal family Al-Saud. We known that most royal families would not tolerate that, and that is why the average citizen of Saudi Arabia is not called "Al Saud" but "Saudi". The difference between a place name, such as America, and its residents, such as Ameircans, is clearly made in most developed languages of the world. It is quite illogical to believe that Sanskrit, also being an advanced language, didnt have any such distinction. Most Indo-European languages, including Sanskrit, make a distinction between a noun for a place-name, and a noun for a person belonging to that place. i.e. America and American, Aryavarta and Arya, Rajasthan and Rajasthani, Gujarat and Gujarati. It is rarely the case, if ever, that if a place is called "America", "India", or "China", a person belonging to that place is also called "America", "India", or "China". Therefore, a person belonging to the Gurjara kingdom was most likely known by some variation of the royal name Gurjara.

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Gurjara-Pratihara is a dynastic designation based on two terms, Gurjara and Pratihara. The oldest form of this designation is Gurjāra-Pratihārānvayah as mentioned in the Rajor inscription in reference to the 10th century Pratihara king Mathanadeva. The modern designation Gurjara-Pratihara was coined during the British rule in India by British and Indian historians of the time, and ever since has become a standard name for this medieval north Indian empire. The term "Gurjara-Pratihara" is mostly defined as either "the Pratihara clan of the Gurjara people" or "the Pratihara clan of the Gurjara kingdom".

There are different views regarding the connotation of the word Gurjara as used in this name. Some historians think it signifies the ethnicity of the Pratiharas, meaning they were a clan of the Gurjara people. The Gujjars, a widespread people of South Asia, are often thought to be the modern descendants of these Gurjaras. However, others think that the word Gurjara carries a geographical connotation here. These historians argue that Gurjaras and Pratiharas are a separate people, and that the Pratiharas were known as Gurjara because they belonged to Gurjaradesa (Gurjara Country). To their view, Gurjara represents the nationality of the imperial Pratiharas, not ethnicity. The oldest written record of the word Gurjara can be found in the book called Harsha Charita, written around 620 AD.

The second term Pratihara is simply the name of a clan or dynasty. The imperial records of the Pratihara dynasty derive this name from the epic hero Lakshmana, who is believed to have been known as a Pratihara, because he was a "Guardian" of his brother Rama's throne. However, according to some modern scholars, a Pratihara ancestor served as a "minister of defense" (or Pratihara) in a Rasthrakuta court, and that is how the dynasty came to be known as Pratihara.