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History of Ancient & Medieval Period HISTORY OF RAJASTHAN Free e-book

HISTORY OF RAJASTHAN (Ancient & Medieval Period)

Rajasthan is located in the north-western part of the subcontinent. It is bounded on the west and northwest by , on the north and northeast by the states of , , and Uttar Pradesh, on the east and southeast by the states of Uttar Pradesh and , and on the southwest by the state of . The Tropic of Cancer passes through its southern tip in the Banswara district. The state has an area of 342,239 square kilometres (largest in the country). The capital city is .

The history of the Indian state of Rajasthan is about 5000 years old. The history of Rajasthan can be classified into three parts owing to the different epochs- Ancient, Medieval and Modern.

Ancient Period, up to 1200 AD

Rajasthan has seen settlements of humans since the paleolithic age. Several important prehistoric sites are found in Rajasthan. These include Didwana,Jayal, Bundi, Bhilwara, Nimbahera, Bagor, Tilwara and Mandia and .

Indus Valley Civilisation (3300 BCE to 1300 BCE)

• Rajasthan was a part of the ancient Indus Valley civilization • Kalibangan in Hanumangarh district, was a provincial capital of Indus valley civilization • Other Indus Valley sites in Rajasthan include Karanpura in Hanumangarh, 4MSR in Anupgarh and Ahad in .

Vedic period (3300 BCE - 500 BCE)

• At the time of the Vedic ancient period, Rajasthan had its own rivers named Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers which later dried up. There was mention of the Matsyas and the Salvas as located near river Sarawati in the . • Rajasthan was a part of the ancient Matsya kingdom, established by Matsya Dwaita. • Relics of painted grey ware culture have also been reported from the dried up beds of Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers, Noh in Bharatpur, Jaipur and .

Mauryan empire ( 322 BCE -185 BCE)

The Mauryan empire established by consolidated much of , especially including Rajasthan.

Western (405 BCE - 35 BCE)

Parts of Rajasthan came under the rulers, Indo-Scythian (Saka) rulers of southern Pakistan ( and eastern ), who ruled most of the during the rule of the Kushans.

Gupta empire (320 AD–550 AD )

Sri-Gupta established the in , with its capital in Pataliputra. Gupta empire, known as the ‘Golden age of India’ consolidated major parts of India including Rajasthan

HISTORY OF RAJASTHAN Free e-book

Ancient warrior kingdoms (500 BCE–300 AD)

• Rajasthan was ruled by several warrior kingdoms before the advent of Pratihara kingdom during the rule of Kushans and . • Salwa, Kanyaka, Nishadha, Nishad, Abhira, Sudra, Malava, were some of the kingdoms established in Rajasthan.

Other major republics that dominated this region include the , Arjunyas, Yaudhyas, Kushans, and Hunas.

Medieval kingdoms (550 - 1526 AD)

The early medieval period saw the rise of many Rajput kingdoms like Pratihars, of Ajmer, Guhilot and of , Shekhawats of Shekhawati , Rathores of .

Rajput clans emerged and held their sway over different parts of Rajasthan from about 700 AD. The Rajput clan's ascendancy in Indian history was during the period from the eighth to the twelfth century AD. The went on to severely defeat the Arabs for three centuries and resisted the invasion by Mahmud Ghazni and Mohammad Ghori.

Between 1000-1200 AD, Rajasthan witnessed the struggle for supremacy between Chalukyas, Parmars and Chauhans.

Medieval Period, 1201 - 1707 AD

Rajput king Prithviraj (1149–1192 CE) defeated the invading Muhammad Ghori 16 times before being defeated by the invaders led by Ghori on the 17th occasion. After the defeat of Chauhan around 1200, a part of Rajasthan came under Muslim rulers for the first time.

The principal centers of their powers were Nagaur and Ajmer. Ranthambore was also under their suzerainty. At the beginning of the 13th century AD, the most prominent and powerful state of Rajasthan was Mewar.

Delhi Sultanate

Mamluk Dynasty (1206 - 1290 AD)

During the reign of , the Rajput states of Kalinjar, Bayana, Gwalior, Ranthambore and Jalore rebelled against the Turkish governors and gained independence. After Iltutmish's death, the Rajput states once again rebelled, and the Bhati Rajputs, conquered the areas around Delhi.

Khilji Dynasty (1290 - 1320 AD)

Khilji resisted the rebellion by Rajputs and managed to capture Golden fort, , , and .

Tughlaq Dynasty (1320 -1398 AD)

Under Rana Hammir, Rajputs reestablished their independence and established Rajput states as far east as Bengal and north into the Punjab. Mewar emerged as the leading Rajput state.

HISTORY OF RAJASTHAN Free e-book

Sayyid Dynasty (1414- 1451 AD)

Delhi sultanate captured several strongholds of Rajputs but the united Rajput clans recaptured them. They also captured several areas from the Delhi Sultanate and these became a part of Marwar.

Lodhi dynasty (1451 - 1526 AD)

Rajputs under managed to defend and expand their confederation against the Sultanates of , Gujarat. Sanga also defeated Ibrahim Lodi, Sultan of Delhi in two major battles at Khatoli and Dholpur and annexed a part of Delhi territory.

Mughal empire (1526 -1857)

Babur invaded Hindustan and defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the in 1526 and thus established the .

Babur (1526-1530 AD)

Friendly relations were not established between Rajputs and Babur due to constant rebellions by Rajputs. He fought the battles of Bayana (1526) and Khanwathe battles of Bayana (1526) and (1527). He beseiged and failed to beseige under the rule of Rao Jaitsi.

Humayun (1530- 1540 AD)

Humayun’s desire to consolidate the zamindars formed his basis for relations with Rajputs. He formed marital alliances with Rajputs and tried to build friendly relations with them. One primary cause of his success with Mughals was he did not try to annex their kingdoms. Those who accepted his reign were left free to follow their practices.

Akbar (1556 - 1605AD)

• Most Rajput kings except Rana Uday Singh II of Mewar and Rao Chandrasen Rathore of Marwar accepted Mughal hegemony under . The ones who accepted his sovereignty paid him an annual tribute and were left free to administer their kingdoms. • Akbar followed a broad liberal policy towards the Hindus. He also formed marriage alliances to form stable relations with the Rajputs. • He captured strong forts of the Rajputs like the forts of Chittor, Merta, Ranthambhor, and Kalinjar which weakened the power of the Rajputs to offer him resistance.

Jahangir (1605-1627)

Jahangir continued the liberal policy of his father towards the Rajputs. Jahangir’s rule saw the end of the 88-year-long enmity between Mewar and the Mughal with the signing of a peace treaty.

Shah Jahan (1628-1658)

Shah Jahan continued having good relations with the Rajputs and all Rajput rulers maintained friendly ties with the Mughals.

HISTORY OF RAJASTHAN Free e-book

Aurangzeb (1658-1707)

Aurangzeb reversed the policy followed by the previous rulers and became intolerant towards Rajputs. He lost the support of the Rajputs. The Rajput clans of Marwar, Mewar and Jaipur unitedly rebelled against Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb failed to subdue either Mewar or Marwar.

Failure of Aurangzeb resulted in weakening of the Mughal empire. During the rule of the later , the Rajput rulers gained virtual independence and owed only nominal obedience to the Emperor.

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