Ancient times Parts of what is now Rajasthan were partly part of the
Vedic Civilisation and the
Indus Valley civilisation.
Kalibangan, in
Hanumangarh district, was a major provincial capital of the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Topsfield 3 of Ashoka, found on the platform in front of the
Bairat Temple of
Viratnagar, Rajasthan. The
Matsya kingdom of the
Vedic civilisation of India is said to roughly correspond to the former state of
Jaipur in Rajasthan and included the whole of Alwar with portions of
Bharatpur. The capital of Matsya was at
Viratanagar (modern Bairat), which is said to have been named after its founder King
Virata. Bhargava identifies the two districts of
Jhunjhunu and
Sikar and parts of
Jaipur district along with Haryana districts of
Mahendragarh and
Rewari as part of
Vedic state of
Brahmavarta. Bhargava also locates the present day
Sahibi River as the Vedic
Drishadwati River, which along with
Saraswati River formed the borders of the Vedic state of Brahmavarta. Manu and
Bhrigu narrated the
Manusmriti to a congregation of seers in this area. The ashrams of Vedic seers
Bhrigu and his son Chayvan Rishi, for whom
Chyawanprash was formulated, were near
Dhosi Hill, part of which lies in Dhosi village of
Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan and part of which lies in
Mahendragarh district of
Haryana. The
Western Kshatrapas (405–35 BCE), the
Saka rulers of the western part of India, were successors to the
Indo-Scythians and were contemporaneous with the
Kushans, who ruled the northern part of the
Indian subcontinent. The Indo-Scythians invaded the area of
Ujjain and established the
Saka era (with their
calendar), marking the beginning of the long-lived Saka
Western Satraps state. The
Allahabad Pillar Inscription (also known as the Prayaga Pillar Inscription) of
Samudragupta, AD 360, records that the
Abhiras were a powerful tribe who ruled over the whole of Rajasthan.
Classical era Gurjara-Pratihara . The temples were built between the 10th and 11th centuries by the
Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty. The
Pratiharas ruled for many dynasties in this part of the country; the region was known as
Gurjaratra. Up to the 10th century, almost all of
North India acknowledged the supremacy of the Imperial Pratiharas, with their seat of power at
Kannauj. The
Gurjara Pratihar Empire acted as a barrier for
Arab invaders from the 8th to the 11th century. The chief accomplishment of the Gurjara-Pratihara Empire lies in its successful resistance to foreign invasions from the west, starting in the days of
Junaid. Historian
R. C. Majumdar says that this was openly acknowledged by the Arab writers. He further notes that historians of India have wondered at the slow progress of Muslim invaders in India, as compared with their rapid advance in other parts of the world. Now there seems little doubt that it was the power of the Pratihara army that effectively barred the progress of the Arabs beyond the confines of
Sindh, their only conquest for nearly 300 years.
Medieval and early modern eras The
Ghurids had made an attempt to invade India through southern Rajasthan, however they were defeated in the
Battle of Kasahrada on 1178 by a confederacy of Rajputs under
Mularaja II of the Kingdom of Gujarat.
Prithviraj Chauhan led a confederacy of Rajput clans and defeated the invading Ghruids under
Muhammad Ghori in the
First Battle of Tarain in 1191. In 1192, Muhammad Ghori decisively defeated Prithviraj at the
Second Battle of Tarain. After the defeat of Chauhan in the same year, a part of Rajasthan came under Muslim rulers. The principal centres of their powers were
Nagaur and Ajmer.
Ranthambhore was also under their suzerainty. At the beginning of the 13th century, the most prominent and powerful state of Rajasthan was
Mewar. Since the invasion of the Muslim Turks from the 13th century onwards, the Rajputs resisted the Muslim incursions into India, and preserved
Hindu culture at their courts. The Rajputs put up resistance to the Islamic invasions with their warfare and chivalry for centuries. The Ranas of Mewar led other kingdoms in their resistance to outside rule. Rana
Hammir Singh defeated the
Tughlaq dynasty and recovered a large portion of Rajasthan. The indomitable
Rana Kumbha defeated the Sultans of
Malwa, Nagaur and
Gujarat and made Mewar the most powerful Rajput Kingdom in India. The ambitious
Rana Sanga united the various Rajput clans, including the
Muslim Khanzadas of Mewat under
Raja Hasan Khan Mewati, and fought against the foreign powers in India. Rana Sanga defeated the Afghan
Lodi Empire of Delhi and crushed the Turkic Sultanates of Malwa and Gujarat. Rana Sanga then tried to create an Indian empire but was defeated by the first
Mughal Emperor
Babur at
Khanwa. The defeat was due to betrayal by the Tomar King
Silhadi of Raisen. After
Rana Sanga's death,
Marwar rose as a power centre in Rajasthan under Rao
Maldeo Rathore. He conquered Jaisalmer, parts of Gujarat, Jalore, Nagaur, Ajmer, Sanchore, Bhinmal, Radhanpur, Bayana, Tonk, Toda and Nabhara. He expanded the territories of Marwar up to Sindh-Cholistan in west and his northern boundary was just fifty kilometres from Delhi. After defeating Humayun, Sher Shah came towards Rajputana. He defeated Chiefs of Rathore army by trickery in
Battle of Sammel and captured some territory of Marwar but it was recovered by Rathores in 1545.
Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, the Hindu emperor, was born in the village of Machheri in
Alwar District in 1501. He won 22 battles against Afghans, from
Punjab to
Bengal including the states of
Ajmer and
Alwar in Rajasthan, and defeated Akbar's forces twice, first at
Agra and then at
Delhi in 1556 at
Battle of Delhi before acceding to the throne of
Delhi and establishing the "Hindu Raj" in
North India, albeit for a short duration, from
Purana Qila in Delhi. Hem Chandra was killed in the battlefield at
Second Battle of Panipat fighting against Mughals on 5 November 1556. shoots the Rajput commander
Jaimal using a
matchlock, during the
Siege of Chittor (1567–1568). During
Akbar's reign most of the Rajput kings accepted Mughal suzerainty, but the rulers of Mewar (Rana
Udai Singh II) and Marwar (Rao
Chandrasen Rathore) refused to have any form of alliance with the Mughals. To teach the Rajputs a lesson Akbar attacked Udai Singh and killed Rajput commander Jaimal of Chitor and the citizens of Mewar in large numbers. Akbar killed 20,000–25,000 unarmed citizens in Chittor on the grounds that they had actively helped in the resistance.
Maharana Pratap took an oath to avenge the citizens of Chittor; he fought the Mughal empire till his death and liberated most of Mewar apart from Chittor itself.
Maharana Pratap soon became the most celebrated warrior of Rajasthan and became famous all over India for his sporadic warfare and noble actions. According to
Satish Chandra, "Rana Pratap's defiance of the mighty Mughal empire, almost alone and unaided by the other Rajput states, constitutes a glorious saga of Rajput valor and the spirit of self-sacrifice for cherished principles. Rana Pratap's methods of sporadic warfare were later elaborated further by Malik Ambar, the Deccani general, and by Shivaji". Rana
Amar Singh I continued his ancestor's war against the Mughals under
Jehangir, he repelled the Mughal armies at Dewar. Later an expedition was again sent under the leadership of Prince
Khurram, which caused much damage to life and property of
Mewar. Many temples were destroyed, several villages were put on fire and women and children were captured and tortured to make Amar Singh accept surrender. During
Aurangzeb's rule Rana
Raj Singh I, Veer
Durgadas Rathore and Patshah
Akheraj Singh Rajpurohit were chief among those who defied the intolerant emperor of Delhi. They took advantage of the Aravalli hills and caused heavy damage to the Mughal armies that were trying to occupy Rajasthan. After Aurangzeb's death
Bahadur Shah I tried to subjugate Rajasthan like his ancestors but his plan backfired when the three
Rajput Rajas of
Amber,
Udaipur, and
Jodhpur made a joint resistance to the
Mughals. The Rajputs first expelled the commandants of
Jodhpur and
Bayana and recovered
Amer by a night attack. They next killed Sayyid Hussain Khan Barha, the commandant of
Mewat and many other Mughal officers.
Bahadur Shah I, then in the
Deccan was forced to patch up a truce with the Rajput Rajas. The
Jats, under
Suraj Mal, overran the Mughal garrison at Agra and plundered the city taking with them the two great silver doors of the entrance of the famous
Taj Mahal which were then melted down by Suraj Mal in 1763. Over the years, the Mughals began to have internal disputes which greatly distracted them at times. The Mughal Empire continued to weaken, and with the decline of the Mughal Empire in the late 18th century,
Rajputana came under the influence of the
Marathas. The Maratha Empire, which had replaced the Mughal Empire as the overlord of the subcontinent, was finally replaced by the
British Empire in 1818. In the 19th century, the Rajput kingdoms were exhausted financially and in manpower after continuous wars and due to heavy tributes exacted by the
Maratha Empire. To save their kingdoms from instability, rebellions and banditry the Rajput kings concluded treaties with the British in the early 19th century, accepting British
suzerainty and control over their external affairs in return for internal autonomy. File:Maharana Kumbhakarna of Mewar.jpg|
Rana Kumbha was the vanguard of the fifteenth century Rajput resurgence. File:Maharaja Hemu Bhargava - Victor of Twenty Two Pitched Battles, 1910s.jpg|The emperor
Hemu, who rose from obscurity and briefly established himself as ruler in northern India, from Punjab to Bengal, in defiance of the warring
Sur and
Mughal Empires. File:Durgadas Rathore painting.jpg|Durgadas Rathore, a Rathore Rajput warrior of
Jodhpur who played an important role in protecting the
Rathore dynasty of
Marwar and for his rebellion against
Aurangzeb. File:RajaRaviVarma MaharanaPratap.jpg|
Maharana Pratap Singh, sixteenth-century Rajput ruler of
Mewar, known for his defence of his realm against Mughal invasion. File:Maharaja Suraj Mal.jpg|
Suraj Mal was ruler of
Bharatpur. Some contemporary historians described him as "the
Plato of the
Jat people" and by a modern writer as the "Jat
Odysseus", because of his political sagacity, steady intellect and clear vision.
Modern era The State of Rajasthan was formed on 30 March 1949 when the states of the
Rajputana Agency of the erstwhile
British Empire in India were merged into the new
Indian Union. Modern Rajasthan includes most of
Rajputana, which comprises the erstwhile nineteen
princely states, three chiefships, and the British district of
Ajmer-Merwara.
Jaisalmer,
Marwar (Jodhpur),
Bikaner,
Mewar (Chittorgarh),
Alwar and
Dhundhar (Jaipur) were some of the main Rajput princely states.
Bharatpur and
Dholpur were Jat princely states whereas
Tonk was a princely state under
Pathans. The three chiefships were Lawa, Neemrana and Kushalgarh. == Geography ==