Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/372

 328 THE MEDLEVAL KINGDOMS OF THE NORTH thing more, are set forth at large in Kalhana's chron- icle. The reign of Avantivarman in the latter part of the ninth century was notable for his enlightened pat- ronage of literature, and for the beneficent schemes of drainage and irrigation carried out by Suyya, his min- ister of public works. The next king, Sankaravarman, distinguished himself in war, but is chiefly remem- bered as the author of an ingenious system of fiscal oppression, and the plunderer of temple treasures. The details of his exactions are worth reading as prov- ing the capacity of an Oriental despot without a con- science for unlimited and ruthless extortion. During his reign, the last of the Turki Shahiya Kings of Kabul, the descendants of Kanishka, was overthrown by the Brahman Lalliya, who founded a dynasty which lasted until 1021, when it was extirpated by the Mo- hammedans. During the latter half of the tenth century, power was in the hands of an unscrupulous queen named Didda, the granddaughter of a Shahiya king, who, first as queen-consort, then as regent, and ultimately as sovereign for twenty-three years, misgoverned the un- happy state for half a century. In the reign of her nephew, Sangrama, the kingdom suffered an attack from Mahmud of Ghazni, and, although its troops were defeated by the invader, preserved its independence, which was protected by the inaccessibility of the moun- tain barriers. During the eleventh century, Kashmir, which has