Chauhan is one of the four Agnikula clans, deriving their origin from a sacrificial fire-pit at Mount Abu to fight against the Asuras or demons. According to few historians the agnikula clans were originally Gurjaras and Chauhan was prominent clan of the Gurjars.
The Chauhan dynasty dominated Delhi, Ajmer and Ranthambhor. They were also prominent at Godwar in the southwest of Rajputana, and at Hadoti in the east. This clan originated near Amber, which is now Jaipur in Rajasthan. The Chauhans of Gurjar clans are the Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh and the Neemrana in Alwar district of Rajasthan.
Chauhan dynasty had established themselves in various places in the Northern India and in the Western state of Gujarat in India .The Chauhans by winning various battles liberated themselves from the dominance of the Pratiharas in the early eleventh century. The kingdom of Chauhans became the leading state and a powerful kingdom in Northern India under Prithviraj Chauhan who was also called Rai Pithora .In 1192 Muhammad Ghori defeated Prithviraj at the Second Battle of Tarain and with this the Chauhan kingdom collapsed.
However till 1365 Chauhans remained in Ajmer as the feudatories of Mohammed of Ghori and the Sultans of Delhi .In 1365 Ajmer was captured by the rulers of Mewar. Govinda, who was the grandson of Prithviraj III, established themselves as the rulers of Ranthambhor from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century .Afterwards Ranthambhor was captured by the rulers of Mewar.The Hadas, another branch of the Chauhans moved in the Hadoti region in the twelfth century. In 1241 The Hadas captured Bundi and ruled there until the twentieth century .Hada Rajputs won Kota and ruled their till the merger of state in independent India. The last Chauhan king ruled in Mainpuri, a district in Uttar Pradesh of India.
Prithviraj`s defeat and capture at Tarain ushered in Muslim rule in North India by the Delhi Sultanate. The Chauhans of Ajmer remained in exile due to Muhammad of Ghori and his successors until when Ajmer was captured by the Sisodias rulers of Mewar, and it was then returned to the Chauhans.
The Chauhan Rajputs come from region around the lakes of Sambhar and Pushkar in Rajasthan, near Amber and Mewar Jaipur. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Neemrana in Alwar District of Rajasthan were other seats of Rajputs. There is a great village of the Chauhan clan by the name of Gura Sonigara near Pali in Rajasthan.
The Chauhan rulers of Ajmer are Ajay Pal, Prithviraj I, Jagdeva, Vigraharaja I, Apara Gangeya, Prithviraj II, and Someshwara. The Chauhan rulers of Mainpuri are Pratap Rudra, Veer Singh, Dhaarak Dev, Pooran Chand Dev, Karan Dev, Ghaatam Dev and Maharaja Tej Singh Chauhan.
The religion of the Chauhans varies from region to region .In India the majority of the Chauhans are Hindus but in Punjab they are the Sikhs. In Pakistan majority of the Chauhans are predominantly Muslims. The failure of the Chauhans ushered in the Muslim rule in North India in the form of the Slave dynasty, the first dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate.
