Far East Kingdoms

Jaisalmer (Rajputana) (India)

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The name of Rajputana is the old form of today's 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 communities including Meenas, Gujars, Brahmins, Jats, Yadavs, Bhils, Bishnois, and Ahirs). The Rajputs derive their name from their state: Rajputana literally means the 'land of the princes' (with 'raj' meaning 'king' and 'put' meaning 'son'). The modern capital of Rajasthan is Jaipur, while the earliest Rajput kingdom was at Kannauj in today's Uttar Pradesh.

Those Rajput kingdoms which emerged following the break-up of the Thaneshwar empire in the sixth century AD 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, and Taranga, with that list not even being exhaustive.

All were eventually conquered by the Moghuls but, during the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth, Rajputana acted as an agency under 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.

Jaisalmer was centred around the city of the same name in today's south-western Rajasthan. It has been nicknamed the 'Golden City' thanks to its yellow sandstone structures and the gold-coloured desert which surrounds them. It was once the royal seat of the Bhatti Rajputs (the Yaduvanshi), a sect which had one or two notable warrior leaders.

Today's Jaisalmer Rajputs claim descent from these Bhatti Rajputs, including early medieval kings such as Jaisimha, Devraj (who is considered to be the founder of the Jaisalmer royal line), Rawal Jaisal (who established the city of Jaisalmer in 1156), and Rawal Jethsi (who faced an eight-year siege by Sultan Aladin Khilji of Delhi around 1294).

Patiala in the south-eastern area of the modern state of Punjab was a Jat Sikh state which was founded by Sardar Baba Ala Singh. The line of kings for this state traces its ancestry to the aforementioned Rawal Jaisal, founder of the city of Jaisalmer.

Please note that the History Files does not regularly monitor changes in modern heads of state or their representatives. Get in touch here if this section requires updating.

Principal author(s): Page created: Page last updated:

(Information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha and Peter Kessler, with additional information by Siddharth Singh Rathore (grandson of Major Maharaj Udai Singh of Bikaner (Ridi) of the erstwhile royal family), from Maharana Pratap, Bhawan Singh Rana (containing a list of rulers of Mewar), and from External Links: India History Blogspot (formerly full of information by Abhijit Rajadhyaksha but now seemingly emptied).)

Notable chieftain and early Bhatti Rajput warrior.

While the genealogy of the Bhatti Rajputs is known, it does seem to be approximate and is poorly dated. Only a few names stand out and can be linked to historical events, and not reliably so until the twelfth century.

The fort of Jaisalmer in the Rajput city of the same name built by Rawal Jaisal in the twelfth century AD when he required a new capital

Son.

Son.

Son.

Son.

Son.

Son. Ruled from Lahore in Punjab.

Son.

Son.

fl 731

Son. Founded Tanot in 731.

c.806 - 821

Son.

c.821 - 853

Son.

c.853 - 908

Son. Founder of the Jaisalmer royal line. Made Lodorva the capital.

908 - 979

Son.

979 - 1044

Son.

1044 - 1123

Son.

Son.

Son.

fl 1156

Uncle. Established the city of Jaisalmer.

The early Bhatti capital at Lodorva (Ludarva) is ransacked and laid waste by Shihab ud-Din Muhammad (Shihabuddin), the Afghan chief of Ghor. Nevertheless, he and Jaisal patch up their differences and Jaisal goes on to kill his own brother and nephew in battle with the help of Shihab ud-Din Muhammad. A new capital is established when Jaisal founds the city of Jaisalmer.

Son. Encouraged the arts in his kingdom.

fl c.1200

Son. His brother Mokal was said to be a great general.

fl 1294

Bhatti Rajput.

1293/4 - 1301/2

The Bhatti Rajput leader, Jethsi, faces an eight-year siege by Sultan Aladin Khilji of Delhi. Tradition has it that when the Bhatti Rajputs are sure of their impending defeat, they kill their womenfolk, with some committing jauhar by jumping into the fire lest they be defiled by the enemy. The males, the warriors, march from the fort, heading straight for their enemy and a final massacre. Eventually some surviving Bhattis reoccupy the fort.

c.1350s-1380s

The second jauhar takes place under similar circumstances as the first only half a century beforehand, this time against Sultan Ferozshah of Delhi.

Adopted.

? - 1436

Founded Satalmer.

1436 - 1448

1448 - 1457

1457 - 1497

1497 - 1530

1530 - 1551

The third jauhar takes place when a local Afghan chief by the name of Amir Ali attacks Jaisalmer, one of many Afghans settled in north-western India. This time around the army of Jaisalmer is victorious in its defence. Lunakaran also fights Moghul emperor, Humayun as the emperor passes through on his way to Ajmer.

1551 - 1562

Son.

1562 - 1578

Son.

by 1570

The Moghul emperor, Akbar, has taken on the might of the Rajputs, initially by sending his emissaries to various Rajput princes to ask them to accept his suzerainty. By 1570 he has gained the submission of Jaisalmer, along with the other Rajputs of Bikaner, Bundi, and Jodhpur.

1578 - 1624

Son.

Bhim Singh forms a matrimonial alliance with the Moghuls when he marries his daughter to Raja Raj Singh of Bikaner. The raja's own daughter is married to Prince Salim, son of Akbar (later to be the Emperor Jehangir).

1624 - 1634

1634 - 1648

Son.

1648 - 1651

1651 - 1661

Sahal Singh assists Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan in his peshawar campaign. He also extends his kingdom and comes into conflict with the Bikaner Rathores.

1661 - 1702

Son. Warded off an attack by Anup Singh of Bikaner.

1702 - 1708

Son. m daughter of Jai Singh of Mewar.

1708 - 1722

Son.

1722 - 1762

Brother. Concluded peace with Bikaner.

1762 - 1819

Son. m daughter of Ajit Singh of Jodhpur.

Attacks by the Jodhpur Rathores begin during the reign of Mulraj Singh II. When searching for support, Mulraj Singh decides to sign a treaty with the British for protection.

1819 - 1846

Grandson.

1846 - 1864

Son.

1864 - 1891

1891 - 1914

Adopted son.

1914 - 1949

Adopted son. Acceded to the Indian union.

1948 - 1949

India achieves independence from Britain and begins the process of taking control of the princely states. Mewar is one of the first of those states to merge with the new dominion.

Later in 1949 a total of twenty-two princely states of Rajasthan merge to form the 'Union of Greater Rajasthan', acknowledging as their head the maharana of Udaipur in Mewar. Those states which cease to exist include Alwar, Amer, Bikaner, Bundi, Dewas, Dhar, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Malwa.

Shalivahan III whi died in 1914 was one of the last of several centuries of independent Rajput rulers of the principality of Jaisalmer

1949 - 1950

Son.

1950 - 1982

Son. Last ruling maharawal of Jaisalmer.

1956

The state of Rajasthan comes into being on 1 November 1956, incorporating the Rajput states within its borders. The Rajasthan rulers give up their sovereignty but continue to enjoy privy purses in exchange for that handover of power.

1970 - 1971

The Indian parliament in 1970 decides to abolish the institution of royalty, and in the following year the rulers of the former princely states are de-recognised, with their privy purses and titles being snatched away from them.

1982 - 2020

Son. Born 1968. Died aged 52.

2020 - Present

Son. Born 1993.