The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended to the Malwa region in present-day Madhya Pradesh. The family is also known as the "Solanki dynasty" in the vernacular literature. They belonged to the Solanki clan of Rajputs.
Mularaja, the founder of the dynasty, supplanted the last ruler of the Chavda dynasty around 940 CE. His successors fought several battles with the neighbouring rulers such as the Chudasamas, the Paramaras and the Chahamanas of Shakambhari. During the reign of Bhima I, the Ghaznavid ruler Mahmud invaded the kingdom and raided the Somnath temple during 1024–1025 CE. The Chaulukyas soon recovered, and the kingdom reached its zenith under the rule of Jayasimha Siddharaja and Kumarapala in the 12th century. Several minor dynasties, such as the Chahamanas of Jalor and the Chahamanas of Naddula, served as Chaulukya vassals during this period. After Kumarapala's death, the kingdom was gradually weakened by internal rebellions; uprisings by feudatories; and invasions by the Paramaras, the Ghurids, the Yadavas and others. Taking advantage of this, the Vaghelas, who had earlier served as Chaulukya generals, usurped the power and established a new dynasty in the 1240s.
Several princely state rulers of the Solanki clan claimed descent from the Chaulukyas.
Name
The dynasty used the self-designation "Chaulukya" in all but four of its records. The four exceptions are:
"Chaulukika" in the Kadi grant of Mularaja "Saulkika" in a grant of Chamundaraja "Chaulakya" in the Sambhar inscription of Jayasimha "Chaullakya" in the Jalor inscription of Kumarapala
Hemachandra, a Jain scholar in the Chaulukya court, generally used the terms "Chaulukya" and "Chulukya". His Dvyasraya Mahakavya mentions the variants "Chulakya", "Chalukka", and "Chulukka"; his Kumarapala-Charita mentions another variant "Chuluga". The Chaulukya court poet Someshvara describes the dynasty as "Chaulukya" (in Kirti-Kaumudi) and "Chulukya" (in the Abu inscription of Vastupala and Tejapala).
"Solanki" or "Solankhi" is a vernacular form of the term.
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] } The word "Chaulukya" is thought to be a variant of the word "Chalukya". Several other dynasties were known by the name "Chalukya", including the Chalukyas of Vatapi, Navasarika, Vemulavada, Kalyani, Vengi and Lata. These dynasties are sometimes thought to be branches of the same family, but the relationship between all of them is not certain. Unlike the Chalukyas of Kalyani and Vengi, the Chaulukyas of Gujarat never claimed a shared descent or any other association with the earliest Chalukya dynasty—the Chalukyas of Vatapi. Moreover, they never used the term "Chalukya" to describe themselves.