Avantivarman was the grandson of Utpala, one of the five brothers who had taken control of the
Karkota throne. Raised by Utpala's minister Sura, Anantivarman ascended the throne of
Kashmir in 855, establishing the
Utpala dynasty and ending the rule of the Karkotas. Avantivarman appointed Suyya, an engineer and architect as his prime minister. The country had been badly affected due to civil wars over the prior forty years. Avantivarman's reign restored the economy. Suyya carried out desilting of the
Jhelum River and diverted its course. He took various steps to tone up the administration, establish internal security and rehabilitate the state resources. He effectively curbed the power of the Damaras, a turbulent class of rural aristocrats. But his greater claim to fame was the great engineering works carried out by his skilful minister Suyya. He removed the boulders which obstructed the normal flow of the river Vitasta
(Jhelum) and built high embankments along the river to prevent
landslides. He even changed the course of the river Jhelum so that it met Indus and thereby made the extensive lands in the neighbourhood fit for cultivation. Suyya even arranged, on a permanent basis, the distribution of water for each village according to its need. Kalhana perhaps is not magniloquent when he says of him 'Suyya, who possessed accumulated religious merit (achieved) in a single birth that holy work which Vishnu accomplished in four incarnations.' The memory of Suyya is preserved in the new town of Suyyapura (modern-day
Sopore) in
Baramulla district of
Jammu and Kashmir called after its builder Suyya. Notable poets, Ranakar and Ananvardhana, were part of his court. During this time, the price of paddy declined from 36 to 20 dinars. Suyya is said to have drained a large chunk of wasteland as prime minister.
Suyyapur or Sopore township in Baramulla district was named for him. While Suyya was working in Sopore, no one came to bathe in the water. The king ordered that a part of his treasury be thrown into the water, leading a large number of people into the river to get as many coins as they could. Suyya continued and cleared the river of silt. ==Art and architecture==