Karnal

At the end of 6th century A.D., the area was under the rule of the Vardhanas of Thanesar.[7] The 7th century was a period of religious eclecticism, as Buddhism was declining and Hinduism was resurging in the Indo-Gangetic plains. The region was under Kanauji rule under the Pala Emperors of Bengal from 770 to 810 AD. The authority of Mihira Bhoja, the Pratihara ruler of Kanauj from 836 to 885 AD, penetrated as far as Pehowa, including Karnal.[8]

The Tomaras, a dynasty descending from Raja Jaala, established themselves as rulers of this region in the middle of the 9th century.[8] About the beginning of the 10th century, as the Pratyahara power began to decline, the Tomaras assumed independence. One of the Tomara rulers, Amanpal Tomar, found the city of Delhi and made it his capital, with the area of Karnal and modern-day Haryana being under his realm. The Tomaras came into conflict with the Chauhan's of Shakambhari, but continued to rule the Haryana country until the middle of 12th century when they were overthrown by the Chaha mana Vighnaraja IV.[9] The country between the Satluj and the Yamuna including Karnal experienced relative peace for a century and a half except the plundering invasions and eventual conquests of Mahmud of Ghazi. The region then came under Ghurid rule after the Second Battle of Tarani when Muhammad Ghori captured the area. It remained under the Delhi Sultanate until 1526.

In 1526 at the First Battle of Panipat, Mughal emperor Babur defeated the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi, and captured India along with Delhi and Panipat. He then established the Mughal Empire.

Karnal is listed in the Mughal Ain-i-Akbari as a pargana under Delhi sarkar, producing a revenue of 5,678,242 dams for the imperial treasury and supplying a force of 800 infantry and 50 cavalry.[10]

Daria-i-Noor diamond was seized by Persia's Nader Shah from the Mughal dynasty following the Battle of Karnal and subsequent sack of Delhi (1739)

In A.D. 1739, Nader Shah of Persia invaded the Mughal empire and Karnal was the scene of the famed Battle of Karnal, in which Nader Shah decisively defeated the Mughal Emperor, Muhammad Shah.[11] Muhammad Shah along with an enormous army occupied a strongly fortified camp at Karnal, but he yielded to the invader as his supplies were cut off from the open country by Shah and was starved into submission.[11] The tactical defeat drastically weakened the Mughal Empire, while the Persian Empire prospered and subsequently hastened the establishment of the British Empire in India. The region then came under Afghan rule.

Sikhs appeared on the scene in the 18th century. The importance of Karnal grew in the time of Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind State who after its capture in A.D. 1763 built the boundary wall and a fort and under whose rule the town increased considerably in size.[12] On 14 January 1764, Sikh Chiefs defeated and killed Zain Khan Sirhindi, the Durrani Governor, and took possession of the whole of Sirhind province as far south as Panipat including Karnal.

During the Indian independence movement, a district political conference was organized at Karnal with Lala Lajpat Rai as its chairman.