Chieftaincy of Kumaon

29°35′50″N 79°39′33″E / 29.5971°N 79.6591°E / 29.5971; 79.6591 The Kumaon chieftaincy (English: /kuˈmaʊn/ koo-MAUWN; Kumaoni: कुमाऊं राज्य; Tibetan: ཀུ་མའོ་རྒྱལ་ཕྲན།; HT: Kumāū̃; [kʊˈmä.ʊ̃], also anglicised as Kemaon), also known as Kurmanchal (कूर्मांचल), was a chieftaincy in the Himalayas. The principality was established by Vasu Dev of the Katyuri dynasty in the 7th century after he unified many small principalities. After the fall of the Katyuris in the 11th century and about three centuries of fragmentation, the Chand dynasty managed to reunify Kumaon in the middle of the 15th century. They shifted the capital from Kartikeyapura (Baijnath) to Champawat in the 12th century, and finally to Almora in 1563. During their rule, Kumaon was spread sovereign from the river Tons to the river Karnali. The Kumaon chieftaincy had also accepted the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire and paid tribute to them as the writings of Abul Fazl state that from the reign of Rudra Chand onwards, Kumaon began to send gifts and was obedient to the Emperor in Delhi.

During the five-hundred-year Katyuri rule, Kumaoni culture began to form, with Shaivism as the dominant belief. Notable temples like those in Jageshwar and Katarmal were built, and Sanskrit and Pali were widely used. The administration was efficient, with well-built roads and bridges. After the Katyuris' decline, Kurmanchal fragmented into petty kingdoms. The Chand dynasty, present in Kumaon since the 8th century, unified the region, including Doti, in the 15th century. During their seven-hundred-year rule (four hundred years over united Kumaon), folk Hinduism flourished, and Kumaoni gained prominence while Sanskrit was reserved for religion and education. A party system government existed, and for a century, Kumaon thrived as a hub for trade, religion, and learning. Culture bloomed and Kumaon saw a century of Golden Age. However, political instability and financial crises weakened the principality by the 18th century, leading to its annexation by the newly unified Kingdom of Nepal in 1791. After twenty-four years of Nepalese rule, the British East Indian Company and later the British Crown took control.

The Katyuris and the Chands left a substantial legacy to modern-day Uttarakhand. Much of the Kumaoni culture, societal norms, and folk traditions, along with the Kumaoni language, derive from the practices and traditions of the Katyuris and the Chands.