<P> Gurjara - Pratihara are known for their sculptures, carved panels and open pavilion style temples . The greatest development of their style of temple building was at Khajuraho, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site . </P> <P> The power of the Pratiharas was weakened by dynastic strife . It was further diminished as a result of a great raid led by the Rashtrakuta ruler Indra III who, in about 916, sacked Kannauj . Under a succession of rather obscure rulers, the Pratiharas never regained their former influence . Their feudatories became more and more powerful, one by one throwing off their allegiance until, by the end of the 10th century, the Pratiharas controlled little more than the Gangetic Doab . Their last important king, Rajyapala, was driven from Kannauj by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 . </P> <P> The origin of the dynasty and the meaning of the term "Gurjara" in its name is a topic of debate among historians . The rulers of this dynasty used the self - designation "Pratihara" for their clan, and never referred to themselves as Gurjaras . The Imperial Pratiharas could have emphasized their Kshatriya, instead of Gurjara, identity for political reasons . However, at local levels Pratiharas were not wary of projecting their tribal (Gurjara) identity . They claimed descent from the legendary hero Lakshmana, who is said to have acted as a pratihara ("door - keeper") for his brother Rama . K.A. Nilakanta Sastri theorized that the ancestors of the Pratiharas served the Rashtrakutas, and the term "Pratihara" derives from the title of their office in the Rashtrakuta court . </P> <P> Multiple inscriptions of their neighbouring dynasties describe the Pratiharas as "Gurjara". The term "Gurjara - Pratihara" occurs only in the Rajor inscription of a feudatory ruler named Mathanadeva, who describes himself as a "Gurjara - Pratihara". Another Pratihara king named Hariraja is also mentioned as a "ferocious Gurjara" (garjjad gurjjara meghacanda) in the Kadwaha inscription . According to one school of thought, Gurjara was the name of the territory (see Gurjara - desha) originally ruled by the Pratiharas; gradually, the term came to denote the people of this territory . An opposing theory is that Gurjara was the name of the tribe to which the dynasty belonged, and Pratihara was a clan of this tribe . Several historians consider Gurjaras to be the ancestors of the modern Gurjar or Gujjar tribe . The proponents of the tribal designation theory argue that the Rajor inscription mentions the phrase: "all the fields cultivated by the Gurjaras". Here, the term "Gurjara" obviously refers to a group of people rather than a region . The Pampa Bharata refers the Gurjara - Pratihara king Mahipala as a Gurjara king . Rama Shankar Tripathi argues that here Gurjara can only refer to the king's ethnicity, and not territory, since the Pratiharas ruled a much larger area of which Gurjara - desha was only a small part . Critics of this theory, such as D.C. Ganguly, argue that the term "Gurjara" is used as a demonym in the phrase "cultivated by the Gurjaras". Several ancient sources including inscriptions clearly mention "Gurjara" as the name of a country . Shanta Rani Sharma notes that an inscription of Gallaka in 795 CE states that Nagabhata I, the founder of the Imperial Pratihara dynasty, conquered the "invincible Gurjaras," which makes it unlikely that the Pratiharas were themselves Gurjaras . However, she does concede that Imperial Pratiharas were indeed known as Gurjaras, on account of their nationality . She mentions two groups of people who were known as Gurjaras, and draws a line between them; i.e. Gurjaras who were an ethnic people and Gurjaras who were nationals of Gurjaradesa (Gurjara Country). According to her, Gujjars are the descendants of ethnic Gurjaras, and have nothing to do with imperial Pratiharas and Chalukyas who were also known as Gurjaras (due to their Gurjara nationality). </P>

Who were the pratiharas describe how and where they came to power and how their kingdom ended