Origins The
Kachwaha Rajputs claim descent from
Kusha, son of the legendary
Rama. Their ancestors allegedly migrated from Rama's kingdom of
Kosala and established a new dynasty at
Gwalior. After 33 generations, they migrated to
Rajputana in 1028 AD. Some historians associate
Dulha Rao, the founder of the Jaipur Kachhwaha lineage, with the
Kachchhapaghata dynasty that ruled over a part of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in 10th century. It is possible that Dulha Rao descended from the Narwar branch of this dynasty. V. S. Bhargava associates Dulha with the successor of the last ruler of the Narwar branch,
Tejaskaran. According to
Jadunath Sarkar, Dulha's grandfather Ishwar Singh, the ruler of Narwar, renounced his throne and divided his estate among his younger brother and his nephew and travelled North of
Chambal to live a life of religious recluse. After his death, his son Sodo crowned himself king again but soon died and was succeeded by his son Dulha who built support for his cause and soon received the fort of
Dausa in dowry from the Chauhans of Lalsot. M. L. Sharma suggests that Dulha was placed in Dausa particularly to help fight the
Bargujar chief who partly controlled the city. Dulha Rao soon defeated the
Meenas of
Khoh and Manchi and later completed the conquest of Dhundhar by defeating the
Bargurjar after which he was granted the captured land by the Chauhans. Dulha chose Khoh as his capital after Dausa.
Early rulers Dulha's successor,
Kakil captured Amber from the Meenas and laid foundation of the future capital. But some sources attribute the change of capital from Khoh to Ambar to Rajdeo who was the third in succession after
Pajawan. The early rulers of Dhundar may have been feudatories of the
Chahamanas of Shakambhari as its ruler
Pajjun is referred as such in the
Prithviraj Raso. Pajjun's successor
Malesi consolidated power in Dhundar by marrying into neighboring regions and also may have defeated the ruler of Mandu in the battle of Rutroli. Udaikaran ascended to the throne in 1367. He defeated the Khyam-Khanis to secure Dhundar as a Kachhwaha territory. Under Rai Chandrasen in the 15th century, Kachhwahas were defeated by
Kumbha of Mewar and he extracted tribute from Dhundar. Chandrasen was succeeded by Prithviraj Singh in 1503. Rima Hooja explains that the relation between Prithviraj and Sanga was not exactly a feudal-chief relation in modern understanding but closer to a junior ally. Prithviraj joined the Rajput Confederacy of 1527 led by
Rana Sanga against
Babur and fought in the
Battle of Khanwa in which they were defeated. He, along with
Maldeo Rathore, rescued Rana Sanga from the battlefield of Khanwa in 1527. Rana Sanga was poisoned by his nobles two months after the battle for insisting to continue fighting a lost war and Prithviraj died in November of the same year. V. S. Bhatnagar suggests that the death of Prithviraj may have been similar to Sanga's as his multiple nobles readily joined the Mughals soon after his death. He was succeeded by his preferred son
Puranmal, son of his favorite wife. Eventually,
Humayun assisted Puranmal achieve stability. Puranmal could only rule for 7 years. According to conflicting sources, he either died fighting for or against Humayu's brother
Hindal Mirza or was overthrown by his brother
Bhim Singh. Bhim Singh was quickly succeeded by his son Ratan Singh in 1537. During his reign,
Sher Shah Suri invaded Rajputana and established control over Mewar and Marwar.
Ratan Singh also accepted Suri suzerainty. During his reign, his uncle and son of Prithviraj, Sanga captured a part of territory and called it
Sanganer where he was succeeded by his brother
Bharmal. Ratan Singh was incompetent and was not able to control the actions of his uncles. Ratan Singh was poisoned by his half-brother
Askaran but he was quickly deposed by the nobles who placed Bharmal on the throne.
As a Mughal ally under Bharmal and Bhagwant Das Bharmal had to initially deal with Sur general Haji Khan Pathan but was able to make peace with him. Soon, governor of Mewat, Mirza Muhammad Sharif-ud-din Hussain, who supported the cause of the son of Puranmal, Suja attacked Amber in 1558. Bharmal surrendered to Sharif-ud-din and also had to give up his son and nephews as hostages. Feeling insecure after Sharif-ud-din's treaty, Bharmal, through his brother
Rupsi, arranged a meeting with Mughal Emperor
Akbar at Sanganer where they met in 1562. Here, Bharmal offered his daughter
Jodha Bai's hand in marriage. The marriage took place in the same year in
Sambhar. Bharmal's sons Bhagwant Das and Jagannath along with his grandson Man Singh were inducted into the Imperial court. The Kachhwaha princes in the Mughal court proved very vital because of their administrative and military skills and the Kachhwahas rose in prominence. Jodha Bai, now named
Mariam-uz-Zamani also gained prestige in the Mughal court both during the reign of her husband and that of her son as Empress and Queen mother respectively. Bharmal died in 1574 and was succeeded by his son
Raja Bhagwant Das, a trusted ally of Akbar. Bhagwant Das was an exceptional military general and he accompanied Akbar throughout his expansion of the Mughal Empire across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Kashmir and the Punjab. In order to strengthen the ties with Mughals, he married his daughter
Manbhavati Bai to Akbar's son
Prince Salim. Bhagwant Das headed the Kashmir expedition of Akbar where in 1586, he defeated
Yousuf Shah Chak and captured Kashmir. Das was appointed the subedar of Punjab in 1583 where he died in 1589., a long-time ally of the Kachhwahas of Amber|317x317px (1550–1614) was a trusted general of the
Mughal emperor
Akbar, who included him among the
Navaratnas, or the nine gems of the royal court of Akbar.|left
Raja Man Singh Initial campaigns under Akbar Bhagwant was succeeded by his son
Man Singh I who was an instrumental part of the Mughal Army and diplomacy. He took part in Akbar's conquest of Chittor in 1568 and Ranthambhore in 1569. He was the part of negotiations with
Mewar which failed, resulting in the
Battle of Haldighati. Man Singh was also given the command of the Mughal forces in Haldighati where he fought against Pratap Singh on 18 June 1576. In the ensuing battle, Man Singh was able to force Pratap to retreat and killed several of his commanders. Pratap had to retreat back to the hills of Gogunda and the battle was won by the Mughals.
Campaigns in Kabul, Bihar, Orissa and Bengal In 1580, the Islamic orthodoxy of the Mughal empire, upset with Akbar's liberal policies, declared Akbar's step brother
Mirza Muhammad Hakim as the emperor instead. Man Singh was deputed in the North-Western section of the Mughal Empire under his father. Man Singh defeated Shadman Khan at Neelab in December 1580. Soon, Hakim himself marched to Punjab and laid siege to Lahore but later retreated. Man Singh followed and defeated him in 1581. Eventually, Hakim swore allegiance to Akbar once again and he was reappointed the Governor of Kabul. Hakim held this position till 1585 when he died. Soon after Hakim's death, the Yusufzai tribe of Afghanistan rebelled against the Mughals and launched attacks against Mughals stationed in the region. One of the attacks ended up killing
Raja Birbal with 8000 Mughal troops. Man Singh along with Raja
Todar Mal were sent to defeat the Yusufzai's in 1586. By 1587, Man Singh's service in Kabul was over and he was deployed in the Subah of Bihar. In Bihar, Man Singh first defeated several rebellious rulers like Puranmal followed by the Raja of Khadagpur and the Raja of Gaya and Sabhupuri in 1590. Next, Man Singh was sent to capture Orissa which was under the control of Afghan chief Qutlu Khan and his son Nasir Khan. After Qutlu Khan's death, Nasir Khan who decided to make peace with Man Singh and accepted Mughal supremacy. Man Singh acquired the
Jagannath temple at Puri. In 1591, after the death of Isa Khan, the Afghan chiefs rebelled again and Man Singh invaded again and beat them conclusively. Man Singh was soon transferred to Bengal in 1594 where he first shifted his capital to
Rajmahal from
Tandah. He subdued ruler of Dacca and Cooch Bihar. While in Bengal, Man Singh's eldest son, Jagat Singh died due to excessive drinking, after which he returned to Amber temporarily but soon had to return to deal with a rebellious Usman Khan whom he defeated in 1601 in Sherpur followed by defeating Kedar Rai in Dacca. By 1604, Bengal was again completely under Mughal control.
After Akbar's death Towards the end of 1604, Akbar fell ill. Man Singh planned on placing his grandson
Prince Khusrau on throne instead of his rebellious son Salim. He made several attempts like transferring Salim to Bengal, lobbying in the court, and trying to muster support but nothing worked. Eventually, disappointed, he left for Bengal and Akbar died in 1605 and was succeeded by Salim as
Emperor Jahangir. Jahangir treated Man Singh well and also included him in the Deccan frontier. But after 1605, Man Singh could not lead any glorious ventures and died in
Elichpur in 1614 and was succeeded by his only surviving son
Bhau Singh overlooking a grandson Maha Singh. Man Singh was a great builder and built several forts and temples across India. He built the
Govind Dev Ji Temple in Brindavan and renovated the
Sarovar Ghat in Varanasi and built several temples there. Bhau Singh was sent on a campaign against
Malik Ambar but failed because Ambar's army was much more efficient. He died in 1621 and had no heirs, so he was succeeded by Maha Singh's son
Jai Singh. , the most decorated military general of the Mughal army in the 17th century who commanded the army under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.|397x397px escaped from Agra.
Mirza Raja Jai Singh After ascending to the throne of Amber at the age of 11, his first task was to defend against the rebellious
Prince Khurram. Khurram looted Amber in 1623 but was defeated by Jai in 1624. After Jahangir's death in 1627, instead of joining Noor Jahan's son
Shahryar, Jai supported Khurram who went on to become
Shah Jahan. Soon, Jai Singh would become one of the most decorated generals of the Mughal Imperial army and received many decorations from Shah Jahan.
Facilitation under Shah Jahan Jai was first deputed to suppress a rebellion in
Mahaban and then sent to fight Nazr Muhammad in Kabul. Jai was also tasked with dealing with the rebellious Khan-i-Jahan in Ghatpur. In 1631, he was part of the campaign against
Bijapur Sultanate. He commanded his forces and distinguished himself during the Siege of
Parenda and
Daulatabad in 1635. After the command of the army was handed to Prince Aurangzeb in 1636, Jai Singh also won the fort of
Nagpur and Devgarh in 1637. In 1639, because of his display of immense valor, he was bestowed upon, the unique title of
Mirza Raja by Shah Jahan. In 1654, he was sent to Chittor to confront
Maharana Raj Singh for violating the 1616 treaty by carrying out repairs to the
Chittorgarh.
The war of succession of Shah Jahan When the war of succession of 1657 broke out, Jai Singh was deputed to convince Prince Shuja to end his rebellion but failed. He later defeated Shuja in Bahadurpur in 1658. Later, Shuja surrendered to
Dara Shikoh and was given the charge of Bengal.
Raja Jaswant Singh of Marwar was defeated by Prince Aurangzeb and Murad in 1658 and they marched towards Agra. Jai Singh could not reach Agra in time and Dara Shikoh was defeated in the
Battle of Samugarh. Soon, Jai Singh presented himself in front of the new emperor
Aurangzeb and was tasked with capturing Dara Shikoh. He defeated Shikoh in the Battle of Deorai in 1659. Dara sought refuge under Malik Jeevan but he was betrayed and turned in with Jai Singh who brought him back to Agra.
Struggle with Aurangzeb over Shivaji In 1664, Jai Singh was sent to command the campaign against
Shivaji. In 1665, Jai Singh laid siege to Purandar fort and was able to get Shivaji to sign the
Treaty of Purandar according to which Shivaji would surrender 23 forts, send his son
Sambhaji to Mughal court and enter Mughal service. Jai wanted to utilize Shivaji's forces against
Bijapur and wanted Shivaji to make peace with Aurangzeb. Jai Singh was able to convince Aurangzeb to meet Shivaji and vice-versa, after which he took Shivaji to Agra to meet the Mughal emperor. When Shivaji reached the Mughal court, he felt insulted and walked out of the hall without meeting Aurangzeb. While Jai tried to convince Aurangzeb to utilize Shivaji against Bijapur, several influential Mughal nobles wanted him killed. In a dilemma, Shivaji was housed with a Mughal noble. On 18 August 1665 Shivaji made a dramatic escape from Agra and both Jai Singh and his son Ram Singh fell out of Aurangzeb's favor. Jai Singh made several bad attempts at battle in the next one month and spent a lot of his personal resources trying to make his dream Bijapur invasion happen but failed. He was recalled to Agra and he died in 1667 in Burhanpur. His successor
Ram Singh was pardoned and was sent to fight Ahom force. Ram Singh was eventually defeated in the
Battle of Saraighat. Ram Singh grew sick of war and finally, in 1676 he was allowed to leave and return to his province. He was later posted in
Kohat where he died in 1688. His grandson
Bishan Singh was tasked with controlling the Jat revolt at Mathura in which he succeeded. Around this time, Aurangzeb grew hostile towards Bishan and ordered him to fight in the Deccan, which Bishan declined and was instead transferred to Afghanistan and his son Jai was ordered to fight instead. Bishan Singh died in 1700 and was succeeded by his son
Sawai Jai Singh. (1688–1743) founded the fortified city of
Jaipur and made it his capital.|left
Sawai Jai Singh II Bishan Singh was succeeded by his son
Jai Singh II also known as Sawai Jai Singh. During his rule, the new capital city of
Jaipur was founded in 1727. Bijai Singh was executed in 1729 for conspiring to overthrow Jai Singh.
Return to influence After Bahadur Shah's death in 1712 and Jahandar Shah's overthrowing in 1713 and subsequent crowning of
Emperor Farukhsiyar, Jai Singh regained his stature in the Mughal court and became an influential entity but he could never become as paramount as the
Sayyid Brothers in the Mughal court. Jai Singh was appointed as the
Subedar of Malwa in 1713 just in time to face and repel Maratha incursions in 1715. He was trusted with the task of dealing with the Jat chief
Churaman who was besieged at Thun. He used his influence over the Sayyid brothers to negotiate a peace deal. In 1719, Farrukhsiyar was murdered by Sayyid brothers and Ajit Singh and was replaced by Rafi-ud-Darjat and Rafi-ud-Daulah in quick successions and eventually settled for
Roshan Akhtar who became
Emperor Muhammad Shah. Till 1720, Muhammad Shah got rid of the Sayyid brothers and Ajit Singh fell out of this favor, making Jai Singh even more powerful. In 1722, Jai Singh was recalled to deal with Churaman. Jai Singh again laid siege to the fort of Thun and by 1722, Churaman committed suicide, his nephew Badan Singh accepted Mughal dominance and his son Mokham sought refuge in Mewar. By this time, Sawai Jai Singh II had become a very influential person in India and he was looked upon by all major leaders including the Peshwa, Nizam and other fellow Rajputs. It is also believed that Jai Singh had enough influence on Ajit Singh's son Abhay Singh that in 1724, he instigated him to murder and take over as the Raja of Marwar which he did with the help of his brother Bakht Singh. Jai Singh was again stationed at Malwa in 1729 to repel Maratha raids but this time, the Maratha force under
Malhar Rao Holkar and
Ranoji Scindia was much more powerful and Jai Singh II was defeated at the
Battle of Mandsaur in 1732 after which he had to pay
Chauth from 28
parganas. In 1734, Jai Singh tried to put forward a pact at Hurda for mutual cooperation against the Marathas but nothing came out of it and it was never enforced. Marathas raided Rajputana, this time striking close to Jaipur, eventually obtaining even larger amounts of tribute in the form of chauth. In 1736, Jai Singh met
Peshwa Baji Rao I at Bhambhola where he tried to convince him to sustain Muhammad Shah rule as a nominal head and take over the administration which appealed to the Peshwa but this was made unrealistic after
Nader Shah's sack of Delhi in 1740. In 1740, Jai Singh ousted Rao Budh Singh from Bundi and crowned Dalel Singh and placed Zorawar Singh in Bikaner and made Abhay Singh make peace with Bikaner. In 1741, Jai Singh fought
Bakht Singh of Marwar in the
Battle of Gangwana and suffered immense losses in the war. He never recovered from this battle and died 2 years later..|290x290px|left , an astronomical observatory constructed by Sawai Jai Singh for personal observations.
Astronomy, Science and Mathematics Sawai Jai Singh II was a great patron of Science, Mathematics, Scholarship, Art, Architecture and Literature. Well acquainted with Indian and Greek mathematics, Jai Singh was aware of contemporary developments in Europe in the field of mathematics. He also made contacts with the Portuguese king Emmanuel in 1727 comparing Portuguese astronomical observations with Indian and pointing out that Indian versions were better. He made several instruments to make astronomical observations including small brass instruments to 24-meter stone structures and observatories called
Jantar Mantar. Two Jatar-Mantars still exist in usable state, one in Delhi, one in Jaipur. In 1727, He planned and founded a new capital city called
Jaipur. He examined Indian traditions of architecture under the supervision of a Bengali Brahmin called Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. The city had streets and lanes that intersect each other at right angles and havelis, temples, gardens, civic buildings were built at pre-planned places. Much of this was completed by 1733. Sawai Jai Singh II died on 21 September 1743.
Civil War between Ishwari and Madho Singh , in the name of the Mughal emperor
Muhammad Shah. Sawau Jaipur mint, dated 1744-5 CE. His eldest son
Ishvari Singh ascended to the throne due to the right of primogeniture and was supported by the Mughals and the Marathas. His position was disputed by his younger brother
Madho Singh who claimed that his grandfather
Rana Amar Singh II was promised in 1708 that the son through his daughter
Chandra Kanwar would inherit the throne regardless of primogeniture rules. Madho Singh's cousin
Rana Jagat Singh II immediately presented his support for Madho. The Maharana invited Kota’s Rao Durjansal and Umaid Singh of Bundi against Ishwari Singh. Both sides were about to face each other in battle but the war was prevented by Madho accepting Toda and Tonk along with some other parganas in grant. The Maharana tried to lay siege to Jaipur but Ishwari Singh was able to get the Marathas to repel them. Eventually the Maharana was able to win the support of
Malhar Rao Holkar and the forces met at
Battle of Rajmahal in 1747 in which Madho Singh and his commanders had to retreat and were forced to pay tribute. Madho Singh tried again at the
Battle of Bagru and was able to defeat Ishwari Singh but Ishwari remained on throne. Malhar Rao again laid siege to Jaipur in 1750, and Ishwari did not have enough force to defend so he consumed poison and killed himself leaving his throne for his brother Madho Singh.
Decline at hands of the Marathas , the Maratha chief who raided the Rajputana throughout the late 18th century weakening Rajput states After the civil war, Sawai Madho Singh was unable to repay the Marathas who frequently raided Jaipur from 1751 to 1759 and extracted ransom money, hurting the financial situation of Dhundhar.
Raghunath Rao,
Jankoji Rao Scindia and
Malhar Rao Holkar invaded Jaipur several times, extracting lakhs of rupees in
Chauth. Madho tried to invade Kota in 1761 but was defeated at the battle of Bhatwara. He tried to invade Bharatpur in 1767 but died in 1768 succeeded by his 5 year-old son
Sawai Prithvi Singh who died because of falling from a horse in 1778 and was succeeded by his 13 year-old brother
Sawai Pratap Singh. During this time, a senior noble of the Kachhwaha court,
Pratap Singh Naruka supported the rival claim of Prithvi Singh's son Man Singh and also invited
Mahadaji Shinde to attack Jaipur. Marwar and Dhundar joined hands to face Mahadji at the Battle of Tunga in 1784 in which they had a win with small margins. In 1787, Mahadji Scindia and his force led by
General Benoît de Boigne invaded Jaipur but had to retreat after failure at the
Battle of Lalsot. He again invaded and defeated Jaipur army at the Battle of Patan in 1790. Throughout the 1790s, the Marathas extracted a lot of tribute from Dhundar worsening its financial situation. In 1799, Maratha commander Vaman Rao and an Irish Commander
George Thomas who faced Pratap Singh at the
Battle of Fatehpur in 1799. The Rao-Thomas alliance faced difficulty and were advised by the commander of
Daulat Rao Sindhia,
General Pierre Perron to retreat. Next year, Daulat Rao and General Perron defeated Pratap Singh at the Battle of Malpura. Sawai Pratap Singh died in 1803 leaving the throne to his son
Sawai Jagat Singh. Jagat Singh had been chosen as the fiancé of
Krishna Kumari, the princess of Mewar after
Bhim Singh of Marwar died in 1803 but Bhim's successor
Man Singh of Marwar insisted that he must be the husband of Krishna Kumari. Soon, Jagat Singh, with the support of
Pindari chief
Amir Khan faced Man Singh at the battle of Gingoli. Marwar was defeated and
Mehrangarh was besieged. Shortly afterwards, Amir Khan changed sides and allied with Man Singh. Krishna Kumari was eventually poisoned to put an end to the conflict. From 1807 to 1813, Amir Khan, backed by
Yashwantrao Holkar raided Jaipur and extracted lakhs of rupees in chauth. Towards the end of the 18th century, the
Jats of
Bharatpur and the
Kachwaha chief of
Alwar declared themselves independent from Jaipur and each annexed the eastern portion of Jaipur's territory.
Under the British Empire Initial treaty A treaty was initially made by Maharaja Sawai Jagat Singh and the
British under
Governor General Marquis Wellesley in 1803, however the treaty was dissolved shortly afterwards by Wellesley's successor, Lord
Cornwallis. In this event, Jaipur's Ambassador to
Lord Lake observed that "This was the first time, since the English government was established in India, that it had been known to make its faith subservient to its convenience". In 1818, after the
Third Anglo-Maratha War Jagat Singh decided to enter the
subsidiary alliance with the British under which it was decided that • Jaipur state agreed to give rupees eight lakhs as khiraj annually to the East India Company. • It would receive British protection and support. Sawai Jagat Singh died 9 months after the signing of this treaty and left no heir. A faction of nobles in the court tried to place Mohan Singh, the son of the chief of Narwar on the throne but the widow of Jagat Singh declared that she was pregnant with the heir which was later confirmed.
Sawai Jai Singh III was born in 1819 and was recognized as the Raja.
Instability The Financial condition of Jaipur worsened after Prime Minister
Nazir Mohan Ram was ousted by the queen mother and eventually the troops of Jaipur started demanding pay and British had to militarily intervene. Most of Jai Singh III's reign was spent in court rivalries and instability of the state and in 1833, Queen-mother died and in 1835 Jai III also died. Soon rumors spread that Prime Minister
Jhutaram had poisoned Jai Singh III to ensure more power for themselves. The British had to intervene again. An Infant Sawai
Ram Singh II succeeded Jai III. Jaipur's last princely ruler signed the accession to the
Indian Union on 7 April 1949. , Maharani of Jaipur, born as Princess Gayatri of
Cooch Behar, with her husband
Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of Jaipur State.
Padmanabh Singh is the current head of the erstwhile royal family that once ruled Jaipur. Estimates of the royal family's wealth vary, but Singh is estimated to control a fortune of between $697 million and $2.8 billion. ==List of rulers ==