Darbhanga Raj
In the thirteenth century Mithila was invaded by Afghans, who
deposed the Kshatriya ruler and placed a Maithil Brahman in control
of land revenues over much of this region. This family soon began
calling themselves kings, distributing land to other members of
their caste, so that gradually land passed into the control of
Maithil Brahmans. During Akbar’s reign in the sixteenth century, a
second Maithil Brahman family came to rule as the Khandavala
Dynasty. By British times, their estate, Darbhanga Raj, was the
largest and richest of the great zamindari estates. Their capital
was in the town of Darbhanga. They controlled most of Mithila until
after Independence when the Republic of India brought an end to all
the rajas and princely states.
Zamindar - a landowner; in pre-modern India, a zamindar might own a
village and all its lands or even many hundreds of villages. He was
entitled to raise revenues for the British, keeping a percentage for
himself. Some of the great zamindars called themselves raja (king)
and conducted themselves like kings. The Maharaja of Darbhanga was
one of these
