Kingdoms of South Asia - Rajputana (Marudesh)

Rajputana is the medieval name for what is now better known as the modern Indian state of Rajasthan. It borders Pakistan in the north-west, and the Indian states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to the south, south-east, east, and north, respectively.

It is the land of the Kshatriya-warrior Rajputs, with other notable communities including the region's earlier masters, the Meenas, plus Brahmins, Ahirs, Bhils, Bishnois, Gujars, Jats, Yadavs, and others. The Rajputs derive their name from their state, with 'Rajputana' literally meaning the 'land of the princes', with 'raj' meaning 'king' and 'put' meaning 'son'). The modern capital of Rajasthan is Jaipur.

The name Marudesh translates as 'country of the desert' or 'deadly land', with 'maru' meaning 'desert' and 'desh' meaning 'country, region'. This designation primarily covered the Thar desert tracts which correspond approximately with the historic region of Marwar and some of its local early modern Rajput states, along with surrounding arid expanses.

Whilst Rajputana was the umbrella political and historical term being used during the medieval and British periods to cover the entire collection of Rajput princely states, Marudesh specifically named the western desert homeland which largely was dominated by clans such as the Rathores and Bhatis.

Rajputana bears signs of settlement from the very earliest stages of human existence in ancient India. The phases of settlement can be broadly categorised, with aboriginal tribes such as the Bhils, the Meenas, and others being the first to arrive. The second millennium BC witnessed Indo-European tribes migrating from Central Asia into India, where they became known to later historians as Indo-Aryans (although the entire Aryan migration period is a matter of hot contestation within modern India).

In the late fourth century BC the Malavas and then the Yaudehas ruled the area, followed by the Mauryans, who controlled the region as part of India's first true empire. Rajputana subsequently was subjected to invasions by several waves of Central Asian horsemen, including the Kidarites, Sakas, and Kushans.

The Guptas took over the former Mauryan empire, with their own empire still including Rajputana. They were followed by the emergence of local kingdoms which included the Gurjara Pratiharas under Harishchandra who established the kingdom of Kannauj, a Rajput kingdom which was not located within Rajputana.

This was the earliest of the Rajput kingdoms even though it was located in Gujarat. The Pratiharas were succeeded by the Gahadavalas. The Meenas, Gurjars, Bhils, and Jats, also formed important regional states here. The Islamic invasions into these regions began in the sixth century AD, and Rajasthan suffered several attacks by Arabs, Turks, Afghans and, later on, the Moghuls from Transoxiana (in the sixteenth century).

During his reign in the first half of the seventh century AD, Harshavardhana of Thaneshwar shifted his capital to Kannauj, underlining the fact that it was his empire which dominated this region during his lifetime. His death in AD 647 changed everything because he had no direct heir. His former minister seized the throne, causing the empire to break up into a patchwork of fighting states and petty kingdoms which would not reform into one kingdom.

The starting point for the emergence of the Rajput kingdoms can be pinned to this one event. Then came the rise of the medieval Rajput clans: the Bhatis, Chauhans, Guhilots, Hadas, Kachwaha, Parmaras, Rathores, and Shekhawats, plus the Sisodiyas (of Mewar) and the Solankis.

The Rajput kingdoms which formed out of this clan mix included Ajmer (one of the most important early Rajput states), Alwar, Banswara, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Bundi, Dholpur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jhalawar, Karauli, Kishangad, Kotah, Marwar, Mewar (Udaipur - the senior Rajput kingdom), Pratapgarh, Tonk, Taranga, and several more minor names (and see feature link on the warriors of Rajputana).

The reign of Moghul Emperor Akbar witnessed several inter-religious matrimonial alliances between the Rajputs and the Moghuls. The Rajputs remained vassals of the Moghuls for centuries, serving in their armies in various positions.

Later the Moghuls were forced to make way for Maratha dominance, at least for a fairly short period, before a more general submission to British dominion. Rajputana eventually was converted into the state of Rajasthan, after India gained independence in 1947. Today the total area of Rajasthan's territory amounts to 342,269 square kilometres and comprises desert (the Thar desert) and fertile land.

During the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, Rajputana acted as an agency under the domination of the British Raj. It was formed of a group of kingdoms which owed allegiance to the British crown, but which were autonomous enough to run their own administration.

The language spoken here is a dialect of Hindi. Some historians have posited that the Rajputs were remnants of the Sakas (Indo-Scythians) who arrived in India from Central Asia in the second century BC, but the gap between that and the full appearance of Rajput states makes unlikely any direct link.

Far East Kingdoms

South Asia

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