Ruled the Malwa region from Dhara, becoming sovereign under Siyaka after sacking the Rashtrakuta capital Manyakheta c. 972; reached cultural apogee under the scholar-king Bhoja.
Progressively weakened by Chaulukya, Yadava and Vaghela pressure; the last known king Mahalakadeva was defeated and killed by Alauddin Khalji's forces in 1305.
John Keay's acclaimed single-volume history of India places this dynasty within the sweep of the subcontinent's past.