This decision led to the establishment of the Lohara dynasty of Kashmir, with Vigraharja making efforts during his lifetime to claim authority over both regions.

[11] The reign of Samgrāmarāja between 1003 and June or July 1028 was primarily characterized by the actions of those in his court, those who preyed on his subjects to satisfy their greed, and by the role of the prime minister, Tunga.

These appointees and their actions made Tunga unpopular, and as he aged, his ability to address challenges from opponents within and outside the court was thought to have decreased.

It is possible that Harirja was killed by his mother, Shrilakhā, who may have been desirous of holding power herself but was ultimately thwarted in that scheme by those protecting her children.

Another weak-willed man who involved himself in an incestuous relationship with his daughter, Kalaśa, was dominated by those surrounding him at court and spent little time on matters of government until his later years.

After this, Kalaśa reformed his licentious ways and began to govern responsibly, as well as operating a foreign policy that improved the influence the dynasty held over surrounding hill tribes.

[12][17] Kalaśa experienced difficulties with his oldest son, Harsa, who felt that the allowance granted by his father was insufficient for his extravagant tastes.

[nb 1] The strain of dealing with Harsa caused Kalaśa to revert to his previous dissolute lifestyle, and Stein believes that this contributed to his death in 1089.

Harsa had been a cultured man with much to offer his people but became as prone to the influence of specific favorites and as corrupt, cruel, and profligate as his predecessors.

His many and varied attainments and the strange contrasts in his character must have greatly exercised the mind of his contemporaries ... Cruelty and kindheartedness, liberality and greed, violent selfwilledness and reckless supineness, cunning and want of thought – these and other apparently irreconcilable features in turn display themselves in Harsa's chequered life.

"[21] After an initial period during which the economic fortunes of the kingdom appear to have improved, as evidenced by the issue of gold and silver coinage, the situation deteriorated, and even night soil was taxed, while temples were looted to further raise money to fund his failed military ventures and his indulgent lifestyle.

[18][24] Stein describes that while Harsa's rule seemed at first to have "secured a period of consolidation and of prosperous peace ... [it] had subsequently fallen victim to his own Nero-like propensities".

[28][29] The rule of Uccala was largely a victim of inherited circumstances, and in particular, the fact that the power of the dāmaras that had caused the downfall of Harsa was also a strength that could now be turned on him.

He was unable to stabilise the penurious kingdom, either economically or in terms of authority, although it was not due to any lack of capability on his part and he did succeed in forming an alliance with the most powerful dāmara, Gargacandra.

[18][25] Stein has explained the method adopted to counter the dāmaras: By fomenting among them jealousy and mutual suspicion, he secured the murder or exile of their most influential leaders, without himself incurring the odium.

It was Gargacandra who organised the defeat of the conspirators, and it was he who installed Salhana, using him as a puppet for the violent four months until the arrival of Sussala, a period that Kalhana described as a "long evil dream".

[25] Gargacandra had again been a kingmaker in allying with Sussala, whom Stein believes to have been "personally brave but rash, cruel, and inconsiderate" and whose rule was "practically one long and disastrous struggle with the irrepressible Dāmaras and with dangerous pretenders.

They found a potential candidate for the throne in Bhikşācara, a grandson of Harsa, and managed to install him briefly in 1120, when their numbers had swollen sufficiently in opposition to the brutally oppressive measures adopted by Sussala.

The restoration of Harsa's dynastic line did not last for long: a fightback by Sussala, who had decamped in defeat from Srinagar to Lohara, resulted in the pretender being deposed around six months later, in early 1121.

While squabbling among the dāmaras had assisted him in regaining the throne, he found himself frequently under siege upon his return as they sought to maintain a state of near anarchy in which they could profit for themselves.

Bhikşācara mounted further attempts to regain the throne during the first two years, and no sooner had he been killed than another challenger, Lothana, a brother of Salhana, succeeded in taking control of Lohara.

His death came by poison in 1212 or 1213, and his successors met with no more success; his son, Rājadeva, survived until 1235 but any power that he may have had was shackled by the nobility; his grandson, Samgrāmadeva, who ruled from 1235 to 1252, was forced out of the kingdom just as Jagadeva had been and then killed soon after his return.

[citation needed] During the reign of Sūhadeva, Shah Mir migrated to Kashmir from Swat with his family, whereupon he entered service to the throne.

[citation needed] Mohibbul Hasan describes the collapse of order as "the Dãmaras or feudal chiefs grew powerful, defied royal authority, and by their constant revolts plunged the country into confusion.