Ramayana KING Janka ki Rajdhani "Mithila"

Ancient History

Ramayana King Sirdhwaj Janaka was ruling Videha. He was the 21st king of Janaka Dynasty. Sitamarhi, a place in this region, bears a value of sacred Hindu belief where, Seeta (other name Vaidehi: The Princes of Videha) sprang to life out of an earthen pot while Rajarshi Janak was tilling the land. There had been 57 kings in this dynasty.
After the end of Janaka dynasty, Mithila was made into 8 states and power was decentralized to the local representatives elected by the people. Tirhut takes the credit of being first Democratic republic ever on the earth. During this peroid, Tirhut was know by the name VAJJI REPUBLIC or the GREAT UNION OF VAJJI.Out of the 8 states of Union, Licchavis were the most powerful and influential.
Even the powerful kingdom of Magadh had to conclude matrimonial alliances in 519 B.C. with the neighboring estates of the Licchavis. Ajatshatru invaded Vaishali and extended his sway over Tirhut. It was at this time that Patliputra (the modern Patna) was founded at the village Patali on the banks of the sacred river Ganga and Ajatshatru built an invincible fortress to keep vigil over the Licchavis on the other side of the river. Ambarati, 40 km from Muzaffarpur is believed to be the village home of Amrapali, the famous Royal court dancer of Vaishali. Vaishali, a center of religious renaissance, Baso Kund, the birth place of Mahavir, the 24th Jain Tirthankar and a contemporary of Lord Buddha continue to attract visitors from across the international boarders.
From the visit of the Hieuen Tsang’s till the rise of the Pala dynasty, Tirhut was under the control of King Harsha Vardhan. After 647 A.D., the region passed on to the local chiefs. In the 8th century A.D. the Pala kings continued to have their hold over Tirhut until 1019 A.D. Later Chedi kings of Central India ruled till they were replaced by the Sena dynasty in 11th century.

Islamic Invasion

Between 1210 & 1226, Ghais-u-ddin Iwaz, the ruler of Bengal, was the first Muslim invader of Mithila. He, however, could not succeed in conquering the kingdom but extorted tributes. It was in 1323 that Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq established his control over Mithila.
The history of Mithila will remain incomplete without a reference to the Simraon dynasty (in the Western part of Mithila i.e. Champaran) and its founder Nanyupa Deva who extended his power over the whole of Mithila and Nepal.
During the regime of Harasimha Deva, the last king of the dynasty, Tughlaq Shah invaded Mithila in 1323 and gained control over the territory. Tughlaq Shah handed over the management of Mithila to
Pt. Kameshwar Thakur. Thus, the sovereign power of Tirhut passed from the Hindu chiefs to the Muslims but the Hindu chief continued to enjoy complete autonomy.

Maithili Poet Vidyapati

During this period (1352–1448), Vidyapati Thakur was a Maithili poet and Sanskrit scholar in the region. He was born in Village Bisphi of Madhubani. Folklore says that he was such a great devotee of Lord Shiva that the lord was really pleased with him. And once He decided to come to live in his house as a servant. As the servant, he is said to have taken the name Ugna. At several places in the region, Lord Shiva is still worshipped by this name. It is said that the lord in form of servant had imposed a condition on Vidyapati that he could not disclose his identity to anyone else or else he would go away. One day, When Vidyapati's wife was angry at her servant and started to beat him Vidyapati could nand never was he seen again.ot tolerate the same and asked his wife not to beat Lord Shiva himself and since then the lord disappeared

Mithila Under the admnistration of Bengal

By the end of 14th century, the whole of Mithila passed on to the kings of Jaunpur and remained under their control for nearly a century until Sikandar Lodi of Delhi defeated the king of Jaunpur. Meanwhile, Hussain Shah, the Nawab of Bengal had become so powerful that he exercised his control over large tracts including Mithila. The emperor of Delhi advanced against Hussain Shah in 1499 and got control over Mithila after defeating its Raja. The power of the Nawabs of Bengal began to wane and with the decline and fall of Mahood Shah, north Bihar including Mithila formed a part of the mighty Mughal Empire. Though Muzaffarpur with the entire north Bihar had been annexed yet the petty powerful chieftains continued to exercise effective control over this area till the days of Daud Khan, the Nawab of Bengal. Daud Khan had his stronghold at Patna and Hajipur and after his fall a separate Subah of Bihar was constituted under the Mughal dynasty and Mithila formed a part of it.

Mithila Under British Admnistration

East India Company in 1764 after the battle of Buxar controlled over whole of Bihar (Including Mithila) . The success of the insurgent at Delhi in 1857 caused grave concern to the English inhabitants in Mithila and revolutionary fervor began to permeate the entire region.