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Founding
Founding of Kingdom of Marwar
former Indian kingdom
- 1250
- Jodhpur
- South Asia
Founding
former Indian kingdom
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Kingdom of Marwar, also known as Jodhpur State during the modern era, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1243 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by Rao Siha, possibly a migrant Gahadavala noble, in 1243. His successors continued to struggle against regional powers for domination and 9 out of 15 rulers till 1438 died in combat. In 1395, its capital was changed to Mandore by Rao Chunda of Mandore and to Jodhpur in 1459 by Rao Jodha. The kingdom was established and ruled by Rathore clan of Rajputs.
Marwar struggled and resisted against the Mughals under the rule of Rao Ganga and Maldeo Rathore who is known to be one of the greatest warriors of the time. The kingdom remained independent until it was annexed by the Mughal Empire in 1581 after the death of Chandrasen Rathore. It remained under direct Mughal control until Udai Singh was restored to the throne as a vassal and given the title of Raja in 1583. During the late 17th century it was under the strict control of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but the ruling house of Rathore was allowed to remain semi-autonomous in their territory.
Marwar came into a long period of dispute and war with the Mughals when Raja Jaswant Singh died in 1678 and was supposed to be succeeded by his posthumous-born son Ajit Singh but Ajit was not appointed the ruler by Aurangzeb. During this time Durgadas Rathore struggled to preserve the Rathore dynasty and freed Marwar from the Mughal Empire after 31 years of war.
The British had no role in the state's affairs until 6 January 1818, when the Raja at that time, Man Singh, entered into a subsidiary alliance, after which the Rajas of Marwar (or Jodhpur) continued as rulers of a princely state. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Rajput Nobles under Thakur Kushal Singh of Auwa led a rebellion against Maharaja Takht Singh and the British, however the rebellion was put to an end by the British armies under Colonel Holmes after a siege of the Thakur's fort in Auwa. The armies of Jodhpur State fought in World War I for the British. They actively fought in Afghanistan and the Middle-east and scored a series of victories for the British empire. The Jodhpur lancers with the support of the Mysore lancers defeated a large host of Turks and Germans in the Battle of Haifa (1918). Some of the other battles they participated in were the battles of Suez, Gaza, Jordan Valley, Abu Tellul and Megiddo.
Following Indian independence in 1947 Maharaja Hanwant Singh, the last ruler of Jodhpur state signed the Instrument of Accession on 11 August 1947 and merged his state in the Union of India.
Covering an area of 93,424 km2 (36,071 sq mi), Jodhpur State was the largest state under the Rajputana Agency and the third largest state in British India, after Jammu and Kashmir State and Hyderabad State. The state's revenue was 5 crores during its peak; however, it halved due to decline by the time of Maharaja Bijai Singh. The average revenue of the state during the British era was Rs.56,00,000 in 1901. The Maharaja's of Jodhpur originally had a gun salute of 19 guns with 21 personal. However the gun salute was reduced to 17 guns and 19 personal in 1870, due to a quarrel with the Maharana of Udaipur.
Recent genealogists believe that the Rathores are connected to the Gahadavala dynasty of Kannauj. A connection is often established between Rajput ruler Jaichand and the Rathores. Jaichand was later defeated by Muhammad of Ghor in the Battle of Chandawar. The one branch of the defeated rulers of Kannauj migrated westwards into Rajputana and were invited to settle in Pali. Siha is regarded as the first emigrant in the region to establish his kingdom in Pali in 1243 when he helped the locals drive away the Meds and Meenas and assumed the title of Rao. He died fighting an invading Muslim force in 1273. In this invasion large amounts of Brahmins in the region were massacred. Siha's son Rao Asthana captured Khed from the Guhilas and Idar from the Bhils. He died fighting a force of Jalaluddin Khilji in 1291 and was succeeded by his son Dhuhar. Dhuhar captured Mandore from the Pariharas but lost it later.
Dhuhar's son Raipal (r.1309-1313) and grandson Karanpal followed by Karanpal's son Bhim who continued to fight the Kingdom of Malwa and the Turkic invaders. Karanpal's son Jhalansi defeated the Sodha Rajputs, and the ruler of Multan but died fighting the Turks in 1328. His son Chhada defeated the Sodha's, the ruler of Jaisalmer, Nagaur and Jalore. He died fighting the Songaras in 1344. Chhada's son Rao Tida avenged his father's death by defeating the Songara's. Tida was succeeded by his son Tribhuvan and his grandson Mallinath. Mallinath fought with the Songaras, Deoras, Bhatis and the Tughluqs.
In 1384, Mallinath's nephew Chunda gained the title of Rao and became the ruler. Chunda married in a Parihar Rajput clan from which he received the city of Mandore as Dowry. He shifted his capital to that city in 1395. In 1396, Zaffar Khan of Gujarat laid siege to Mandore but was repelled by Chunda. Chunda and Zaffar entered into a tribute with Zaffar but Chunda later counter-attacked Zaffar and captured Sambhar and Ajmer. Chunda's aggressive policy earned him enmity with his neignbours, namely Bhati Rao of Pugal, the Sankhlas of Janglu and the governor of Multan, Khidar Khan. These collectively invaded Nagaur. Chunda died defending Nagaur in 1428.
Towards the end of his life, he promised his throne to his younger son Kanha which angered his eldest son Ranmal who sought refuge in Mewar. Ranmals sister Hansa Bai had been married to Rana Lakha of Mewar so he was able to become a powerful member of the Mewar court. Karan died soon in the same year and Ranmal was able to gain the throne of Marwar. Ranmal attacked Bhati, Pugal and Jalore chiefs in his 10 year reign. Ranmal was called to help rule Mewar in 1433 when his sister Hansa Bai's son Mokal was assassinated. He helped rule the kingdom but his power was not received well by the Sisodia clan. Rana Kumbha, son of Mokal, got him assassinated in 1438.
After Ranmal's assassination, Mewar and Marwar's relations had gotten bitter and Ranmal's son Rao Jodha escaped Mewar and reached its borders. From there he started building his own power. He recollected allies and defeated his enemies one by one and consolidated power and by 1453, he was able to regain Mandore. To end this enmity, Kumbha and Jodha reached settlements and matrimonial alliance was established by marrying Jodha's daughter Shringar Devi to Kumbha's son Raimal in 1459. It was after this that Marwar was able to become a prosperous kingdom under the rule of Rao Jodha. Out of the 15 rulers that preceded Jodha, nine died on the battlefield, six of them against foreign armies. Jodha's son himself died after a battle in which he saved 140 women from Afghan raiders.
After restoring peace, Jodha constructed a new capital fort on a hilltop 6 miles south of Mandore named Mehrangarh. The city came to be known by his name. Thus the city of Jodhpur was settled. Soon, he expanded his territory greatly. One of his sons, Bika captured Janglu which he named Bikaner after himself and became its Rao.
He died in 1489 and was succeeded by his son Rao Satal who died in 1492 who was succeeded by Jodha's second son, Rao Suja. Suja's younger brother Bika laid siege to Jodhpur, demanding a separate kingdom in Bikaner, and in the ensuing negotiations, Bikaner was given to Bika as his independent kingdom. Suja outlived his eldest son Bagha and died in 1515 and was succeeded by his grandson Rao Ganga in 1515.
During the rule of Jodha's sons, many chiefs asserted their independence. This led to formations of factions which favored different candidates for succession. When Rao Ganga ascended to the throne, this factionalism led to a civil war like situation because the succession was disputed by another candidate called Biram Deo. Soon after Ganga's accession, Biram was expelled from Jodhpur. To avenge this, Biram started looting Jodhpur. Eventually, with the help of his son Maldeo, Ganga was able to defeat Biram.
Seeing Rana Sanga's success, Ganga decided to align Marwar with Mewar and assisted Sanga in war against Sultan of Gujarat in 1517, and Battle of Bayana in 1527 and the Battle of Khanwa in 1527 against Babur. His son Maldeo Rathore participated in the battle and later escorted an unconscious Rana Sanga from the battleground after defeat. After Sanga's death, Maldeo wanted to fill the vacuum of power in Rajputana and felt that his regnant father couldn't fill it. Ganga mysteriously died in 1531 after falling from his balcony. This fall could've been an accident but is believed that was an assassination by Maldeo.
Under Maldeo Rathore, Marwar rose to great power. He was regarded as a great and fearless warrior. According to Ferishta, He was the most potent prince of Hindustan. In 1531, when Bahadur Shah of Gujarat invaded Mewar, Maldeo assisted Rana Vikramaditya. In 1534-35, Maldeo was able to capture Ajmer and Nagaur.
During Maldeo's territorial expansion, Raja of Jaisalmer sued for peace and offered his daughter Umade for marriage. He attacked Jalore in 1538 and took it. Its ruler was imprisoned where he died a few years later. During his rule, Marwar captured a large part of western Rajputana.
He continued his father's policy towards the Kingdom of Mewar by helping its legitimate heir Udai Singh II in taking the throne back from the usurper Banvir. He invaded Bikaner, ruled by a branch of the same family and annexed it in 1542.
In 1540, Maldeo helped Mughal Emperor Humayun against Sher Shah Suri by providing him 20,000 troops at Bhakkar. There are many reasons about why he provided this assistance including increasing the sphere of influence or avenging shelter given to fugitives in Sher Shah's court. Eventually, an expelled Humayun reached Phalodi, in Marwar, to seek assistance from Maldeo but couldn't secure much help from the Raja. Following a half hearted welcome for Humayun by Maldeo, Sher Shah marched down to Phalodi and asked Maldeo for handing over Humayun, who escaped to Amarkot.
Following Humayun's escape, Sher Shah returned to Delhi and consolidated power. He later planned to invade Maldeo because he was very ambitious. When Sher Shah reached Marwar, he devised a deceptive plan. He dropped several letters addressed to Marwari soldiers asking them to defect to Delhi. This made Maldeo suspect them and order them to retreat. A few thousand soldiers still held frontier who met Sher Shah Suri at the Battle of Sammel. Sher Shah won the battle and further pursued Marwar. Jodhpur was occupied for several months, but was retaken by Maldeo in 1545.
In 1550, Maldeo invaded Pokhran and Phalodi and took it over from its chiefs.In 1556, Haji Khan, an ally of Rana Udai Singh of Mewar, sought help from Maldeo to invade Mewar after differences arose between Udai and Haji. In the Battle of Harmada in 1557, Udai Singh was defeated and the territory of Merta was captured by Maldeo.
Akbar succeeded Humayun in 1556, many Rajput chiefs mustered around him with their grievances against the Rathore Chief of Jodhpur. Akbar used this as a casus belli against Maldeo. The Mughals conquered Ajmer and Nagaur in 1557 and soon after Akbar captured Jaitaran and Parbatsar. However the Mughals failed to capture the core territories of Marwar. Maldeo before his death held the districts of Jodhpur, Sojat, Jaitaran, Phalodi, Siwana, Pokhran, Jalore, Sanchore, Merta, Barmer, Kotra and some parts of Jaisalmer. These territories were later captured by Akbar due to the succession war between Maldeo's sons.
Maldeo Rathore died on 7 November 1562.
After the death of Maldeo, according to his will, his third son Chandrasen Rathore was crowned the Rao. But is first and second son Ram and Udai started a war of succession for the throne. They were defeated by Chandrasen by 1563. After the war of succession, Chadrasen did not accept the suzerainty of Akbar and hence Mughal army invaded Jodhpur and occupied it because of which Chandrasen shifted his capital to Bhadrajun.
While Chandrasen continued to defend his kingdom from the Mughal invasions, his neighbor Rana Pratap of Mewar fought a war with mughals in the Battle of Haldighati in 1576 which made a heavy loss to both the mewar and mughals. After the battle of Haldighati, Mughals turned their attention to Marwar and invaded in the same year. Chandrasen was dislodged from Bhadrajun and became a wanderer for the next 5 years with no capital, throne or shelter. He made several attempts to regain his kingdom, which included several raids on the imperial forces. Although his efforts went in vain and he died in 1581.
In 1583, Akbar formally recognized Chandrasen's rival brother Udai Singh as the ruler of Marwar as a Mughal state. This new ruler of Marwar recognized Akbar's supremacy readily as he was under him since 1570. Udai also contributed to Akbar's imperial force in the invasions of Sirohi. A matrimonial alliance was established between Mughals and Marwar in 1586 when Udai Singh's daughter Manvati bai was married to Jahangir. In 1592, Akbar tasked Udai to take care of the administrative affairs of his capital Lahore while he led conquest in Kashmir. Udai Singh died in Lahore in 1595.
Udai was succeeded by his son Sur Singh in 1595. Because of his military abilities, he was given the title Sawai Raja. In 1596, he was also given the control of Gujarat. In 1599, he was sent to assist Daniyal Mirza in the conquest of the Deccan for Emperor Akbar. In 1604 on the request of Daniyal Mirza, he was allowed to return to Jodhpur and was granted Jaitaran and western half of Merta pargana. During Udai and his son Sur's rule, their pradhan (prima minister) Govind Das Bhati reformed the Marwari administrative system and made it similar to the Mughal system. In 1613, he was deputed by the Mughal emperor along with Prince Khurram (son of Manvati Bai) to undertake the expedition of Mewar. Sur Singh died in 1619 and was succeeded by his son Gaj Singh.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Kingdom of Marwar”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.