Mithila (IAST: mithilā, also known as Mithilanchal, Tirhut and Tirabhukti) is a geographical and cultural region located in the Indian subcontinent. The native language is known as Maithili and its speakers are referred to as Maithils.^[1] The majority of the Mithila region falls within modern-day India, more specifically in the state of Bihar.^[2] Mithila is bounded in the north by the Himalayas, and in the south, west and east by the Ganges, Gandaki and Mahananda respectively.^[3][4] It extends into the southeastern Terai of Nepal.^[5][6][7] This region was also called Tirabhukti, the ancient name of Tirhut.^[8]

The name Mithila is believed to be derived from the King Mithi. He established Mithilapuri.^[9] Since he was born out of the body of his father, he was called Janaka.

After this, the later kings of Mithila adopted the title Janaka. The most famous Janaka was Seeradhwaja Janaka, father of Sita. There were 52 kings in the dynasty of Janaka.^[10]

The region was also known as Videha. The kingdom of Videha is mentioned for the first time in Yajurveda Samhita. Mithila, is mentioned in Buddhist Jatakas, the Brahamanas, the Puranas (described in detail in Brhadvisnu Purana) and various epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

However, according to the Shatapatha Brahmana, a chieftain named Videgha Mathava migrated from the Saraswati Valley to Mithila during the Vedic period and established the Videha kingdom.^[11]

A list of kings is mentioned in Mahabharata and Jatakas. All the kings either adopted the title Videha or Janaka.^[9]

During the Vedic period, Mithila was the centre of the Videha kingdom.^[12]

Following the fall of the Videhas, Mithila came under the control of the Vajjika League which was a confederacy of clans the most famous of which was the Licchavi.^[13] The capital was in the city of Vaishali in modern-day Bihar.^[14] Mithila under Vajji was eventually conquered by the king of Magadha, Ajatashatru.

Mithila was a tributary of the Pala Empire until the empire disintegrated in the 12th century under the attack of the Sena Dynasty.^{[citation needed]}

The Karnata or Simroon dynasty was founded by Nanyadeva with the capital being in Simraon in Mithila.^[15]

In the court of Hari Singh Deva the Royal Priest was Jyotirishwar, the author of Varna Ratnakar. Upon Ghiyasuddin Tughlak's invasion of Mithila (Tirhut), King Harisimhadeva , along with many Maithils, fled to Nepal and founded a new dynasty in Nepal.^[16]

The dynasty had six kings of note:^[17]

• Nanyadeva (Nanya Singh Dev) apart from being a great warrior, also had a keen interest in music. He classified and analyzed the Ragas and opines Madhya Laya is chosen for Hasya (humorous) and Sringar (libido) rasa, Bilambit is chosen for Karun (compassion) rasa and Drut is chosen for Veer (brave), Rodra (anger), Adbhut (marvellous) and Bhayanak (fearful) rasas. He wrote a treaty on music 'Saraswati Hridayalankar' which is preserved in the Bhandarkar Research Institute of Pune.^[18] Nanya Dev is also considered to be the "forgotten King of Mithila".
• Gangadeva (Ganga Singh Dev)
• Narasimhadeva (Nar Singh Dev)
• Ramasimhadeva (Ram Singh Dev)
• Shaktisimhadeva (Shakti Singh Dev)
• Harisimhadeva (Hari Singh Dev) was instrumental in initiating and implementing Panji Vyavastha or Panji Prabandha in Maithil Brahmins and Maithil Kayasthas (Karn Kayasthas). He was also great patron of art and literature.

In 1325, following the collapse of the Karnat dynasty in 1324,^[19] Nath Thakur became the first Maithil ruler. The dynasty that followed from him was called Oiniwar Dynasty, and comprised a further 20 rulers.^[20]

The Khandwala dynasty ruled as the Raj Darbhanga, beginning with Mahesh Thakur, who died in 1558. The last ruler was Kameshwar Singh, whose reign from 1929 came to an end in 1947 with the independence of India, when all the princely states merged with Union of India.^{[citation needed]}