The Mediaeval Period
Part I

From the fall of the Yadavas till the entry of the Moghals in Gondavana, the Gond Rajas were more or less free from any political domination. Even during the hey-day of the Yadavas, it seems that they were never completely subjugated as their habitat was in the fastness of hills and forest.

Gondavana roughly includes the area bound by the line running from Jabalpur to Telangana, North to South, and from West to East by the line joining the Satapuda hills and the Chattisgadh region. The Gonds are mainly divided into the Raja Gonds and the Khatoles. The formers consider themselves as Rajputs or Kshatriyas.

The principal Gondi kingdoms in the Gondvana area had their seats at Gadha, Mandla, Devgad, Chandrapur or Chanda and khedrala, on the northern sloped of the Satapuda. Besides there were petty Gond naiks in the Melghat styling themselves as Rajas. Of these kingdoms Gadha is noted in history because of its brave Rani Durgavati. The ambitious Moghal Emperor, Akbar, Appointed Khvaja Abdul-Majid as the Governor of Krra conferring upon him the title of Asaf Khan. One of his valuable services was the conquest of Gadha ruled by Rani Durgavati. The Rani fought valorously against heavy odds and when helpless killed herself in order to escape the disgrace she would have been put to if taken a captive. Gadha had given no provocation to Akbar. Its conquest was an act of imperial aggression, pure and simple. Thjis historic incident is described in Tarikh-i-Alfi. After the Ram's death her son Bir narayan rsisted from the fort of Cauragad till the fell fighting. The kingdom of Gadha was offered to Chandra sah as the Moghal vassal.

During the reign of sah Jahan the unfortunate ruler of Gadha, Hirde sah was attacked by Raja Pahad Sing Bundela. Hirde sah shifted his capital to Mandla. His successors fought among themselves inviting alternately Aurangzeb and the Marathjas for help to put down the rival party. With the rise of Raguji Bhosle these kingdoms lost their independencer and were redusced to the status of vassals.

The Gond rulers of Devagad are directly related with the history of Nagpur. With the history of Nagpur. With the loss of independence of Gadha and Mandla, Devagad, too, was destined to go the same way. The Devagad house hailed from Harayagad, but shifted its seat to Devagad under its founder Jatba. Originally Devagad was a feudal state under Gadha. However, when the latter passed under the Moghal rule, Devagad automatically became part of the moghal territory. According to the Ain-i-Akbari when Aakbar was the Emperor, Jatba, the ruler of Devagad, possessed two thousand horses, fifty thousand foot-soldiiers and a hundred elephants.. Jatba extended his kingdom as far as Nagpur and constructed there a fort as an outpost. The descendants of this family are yet known as "Killevale Raje" in Nagpur.