Sena dynasty

Senas of Bengal
1070 CE–1230 CE
Coat of Arms of Sena dynasty during Laxmana Sena's reign Copperplate (left) and digitalised (right)
Map of the Senas of Bengal.[1]
Capital	Gauda, Bikrampur, Nabadwip, Lakhnauti
Common languages	Sanskrit, Bengali
Religion	Hinduism
Government	Monarchy
Maharaja (King)
• 1070–1095 CE	Samanta Sena
• 1095–1096 CE	Hemanta Sena
• 1096–1159 CE	Vijaya Sena
• 1159-1179 CE	Ballala Sena
• 1179-1204 CE	Lakshmana Sena
• 1204-1225 CE	Vishvarupa Sena
• 1225–1230 CE	Keshava Sena
•	Surya Sena[2]
•	Narayana Sena[2]
•	Laksmana Sena ।।[2]
Historical era	Middle Kingdoms of India
• Established	1070 CE
• Disestablished	1230 CE
Preceded by Succeeded by Pala Empire Varman Dynasty (Bengal) Samatata Deva dynasty Khalji dynasty of Bengal

The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries.^[3] The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The rulers of the Sena Dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.^[4]

The dynasty's founder was Samanta Sena. After him came Hemanta Sena, who usurped power and styled himself king in 1095 AD. His successor Vijaya Sena (ruled from 1096 AD to 1159 AD) helped lay the foundations of the dynasty and had an unusually long reign of over 60 years. Ballala Sena conquered Gaur from the Pala, became the ruler of the Bengal Delta, and made Nadia the capital as well. Ballala Sena married Ramadevi a princess of the Western Chalukya Empire which indicates that the Sena rulers maintained close social contact with south India.^[5] Lakshmana Sena succeeded Ballala Sena in 1179, ruled Bengal for approximately 20 years, and expanded the Sena dynasty to Odisha, Bihar and probably to Varanasi. In 1203–1204 AD, Bakhtiyar Khalji, a general under the Ghurid Empire, attacked and captured the capital City of Nadia. The detailed account of this invasion is given in Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.^[6]