Dynasties of Jammu: Rai, Dhar and Dev

The three lines (Suryavanshi kings, as listed)

Notable Dev rulers

Suraj Dev (840 to 912): founder of the dynasty (840).

Brij Dev / Bijay Dev (1164 to 1215): became an ally of Muhammad Ghori against Prithviraj. He founded Bijaypur (Vijaypur).

Jodh Dev: a contemporary of Firoz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi. When Suhadeva of Kashmir fled to Kishtwar, Jodh Dev sheltered him and helped him return to the Valley (as the exam notes tell it).

Mal Dev (1361 to 1400)

• One of the most powerful kings of Jammu. His reign is a golden period.
• He moved the capital to Jammu and built the Purani Mandi, also called Mal Mandi.
• He attacked Nurpur, dismantled its fort, and brought the bricks to Jammu to build Purani Mandi.
• Timur invaded Jammu in his time.

Dhruv Dev (1707 to 1733)

• When Banda Bahadur was defeated in the Punjab in 1712, Dhruv Dev gave him shelter and helped him against the Mughals.
• He began the Mubarak Mandi complex and shifted the capital from Mal Mandi to Mubarak Mandi.

Maharaja Ranjit Dev (1733 to 1782)

• A great ruler of Jammu. His period was called Dar-ul-Aman / Dar-ul-Alam ("Abode of Peace") in the sources. (Some books give his dates as 1735 to 1781.)
• He was taken captive twice, once by the Mughals and once by the Afghans.
• A social reformer: he banned Sati and female infanticide.
• A religiously tolerant ruler, he allowed Muslims to build a mosque in the city, around which the Mohalla Mustgarh grew.
• The Dogri poet and scholar Pandit Dev Dutt stayed at his court.

Jeet Dev: a weak ruler; in his time Jammu finally passed to Maharaja Ranjit Singh.