History of Jodhpur, India

In 1459, Rao Jodha of the famous Rathore clan of the Rajputs moved the capital of the Marwar principality several kilometers from the vulnerable site of Mandore to a gigantic steep-sided escarpment, where he named his new capital after himself. Thus was born Jodhpur. He built a highly barricaded fort which proved virtually impregnable, and the city soon become a great center of trade and commerce due to its strategic location on the Delhi - Gujarat trade route. As a result prosperity reigned supreme in the region.

However, the ecstasy was not without agony. The progress and prosperity invited the jealousy of the Mughals who also coveted the riches and the territory of the once largest Rajput state in Rajasthan. But given the impregnability of the fort and his policy of maintaining harmonious relations with the Rajputs, the Mughal Emperor Akbar thought it prudent not to attack the principality and instead entered into marriage alliance with the Rathores. A marriage alliance between Udai Singh's sister and Akbar in 1561 ensured the most friendly of terms.

But fortunes changes in the seventeenth century when Jaswant Singh, the ruler of Jodhpur, supported the wrong prince in the fierce war of succession to the Mughal throne among the four sons of Shah Jahan. When Aurangzeb finally became victorious and ascended the throne after imprisoning his father at the Agra fort, he set out to purge his enemies who had given helping hands to his rival claimants to the throne. As a corollary to this Jodhpur was sacked by the Mughal armies in 1678 and its entire populace was forced to embrace Islam. However, the Jodhpur was able to assert its independence with the weakening of the Mughal Empire after the death of Aurangzeb. It was restored to its past glory by Ajit Singh, the grandson of Jaswant Singh. When he died in 1731, his six wives and fifty-eight concubines performed sati on his funeral pyre. This may be shocking now, but at that time it was testimony to his heroism.

After the decline of the Mughals, Marathas became dominant power in India. So a fight with the Marathas was a forgone conclusion. This resulted in the signing a treaty with the Marathas who were to get the ransom in lie of the security of the Jodhpur. The fall of the Marathas paved the way for the rise of the British. The ruling family of Jodhpur signed a treaty with the British East India Company in 1818, which guaranteed its safety, albeit at a cost to Rathore honor.

After Indian Independence, in 1949 it became a part of the newly created state of Rajasthan.