Prior to the mid 15th century, the region that is now Bikaner was a barren wilderness called
Jangladesh. Rao Bika established the city of Bikaner in 1488. He was the first son of
Maharaja Rao Jodha of the
Rathore clan, the founder of
Jodhpur and conquered the largely arid country in the north of Rajasthan. As the first son of Jodha he wanted to have his own kingdom, not inheriting Jodhpur from his father or the title of Maharaja. He therefore decided to build his own kingdom in what is now the state of Bikaner, in the area of Jangladesh. Though it was in the
Thar Desert, Bikaner was considered an
oasis on the trade route between
Central Asia and the
Gujarat coast as it had adequate spring water. Bika's name was attached to the city he built and to the state of Bikaner ("the settlement of Bika") that he established. Bika built a fort in 1478, which is now in ruins, and a hundred years later a new fort was built about 1.5 km from the city centre, known as the Junagarh Fort. Around a century after Rao Bika founded Bikaner, the state's fortunes flourished under the sixth Raja, Rai Singhji, who ruled from 1571 to 1611. During the
Mughal Empire's rule in the country, Raja Rai Singh accepted the
suzerainty of the Mughals and held a high rank as an army general at the court of the Emperor
Akbar and his son, the Emperor
Jahangir. Rai Singh's successful military exploits, which involved winning half of
Mewar kingdom for the Empire, won him accolades and rewards from the Mughal emperors. He was given the
jagirs (lands) of Gujarat and
Burhanpur. With the large revenue earned from these jagirs, he built the
Chintamani Durg (Junagarh fort) on a plain that has an average elevation of . He was an expert in arts and architecture, and the knowledge he acquired during his visits abroad is amply reflected in the numerous monuments he built at the Junagarh fort. Maharaja Karan Singh, who ruled from 1631 to 1639, under the suzerainty of the
Mughals, built the Karan Mahal palace. Later rulers added more floors and decorations to this Mahal.
Anup Singh, who ruled from 1669 to 1698, made substantial additions to the fort complex, including new palaces and the
Zenana quarter, a royal dwelling for women and children. He refurbished the Karan Mahal with a Diwan-i-Am (public audience hall) and called it the Anup Mahal. Maharaja Gaj Singh, who ruled from 1746 to 1787 refurbished the Chandra Mahal (the Moon Palace). During the 18th century, there was an internecine war between the rulers of Bikaner and Jodhpur and also among other
thakurs, which was put down by British troops.
Dungar Singh, who reigned from 1872 to 1887, built the Badal Mahal, the 'weather palace', so named in view of a painting of clouds and falling rain, a rare event in arid Bikaner.
General Maharaja Ganga Singh, who ruled from 1887 to 1943, was the best-known of the Rajasthan princes and was a favourite of the British
Viceroys of India. He was appointed a
Knight Commander of the
Order of the Star of India, served as a member of the
Imperial War Cabinet, represented India at the Imperial Conferences during the
First World War and the
British Empire at the
Versailles Peace Conference. His contribution to the building activity in Junagarh involved separate halls for public and private audiences in the Ganga Mahal and a
durbar hall for formal functions. He also built the Ganga Niwas Palace, which has towers at the entrance patio. This palace was designed by
Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, the third of the new palaces built in Bikaner. He named the building
Lalgarh Palace in honour of his father, and moved his main residence there from
Junagarh Fort in 1902. The hall where he held his Golden Jubilee (in 1938) as Bikaner's ruler is now a museum.
Ganga Singh's son,
Lieutenant-General Sir Sadul Singh, the
Yuvaraja of
Bikaner, succeeded his father as
Maharaja in 1943, but
acceded his state to the
Union of India in 1949. Maharaja Sadul Singh died in 1950, being succeeded in the
title by his son,
Karni Singh (1924–1988). The royal family of Bikaner still lives in a suite in Lalgarh Palace, which they have converted into a heritage hotel. ==Geography==