Kingdom of Marwar

Kingdom of Marwar, also known as Jodhpur State during the modern era, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1243 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by Rao Siha, possibly a migrant Gahadavala noble, in 1243. His successors continued to struggle against regional powers for domination and 9 out of 15 rulers till 1438 died in combat. In 1395, its capital was changed to Mandore by Rao Chunda of Mandore and to Jodhpur in 1459 by Rao Jodha.

Marwar struggled and resisted against the Mughals under the rule of Rao Ganga and Maldeo Rathore who is known to be one of the greatest warriors of the time. The kingdom remained independent until it was annexed by the Mughal Empire in 1581 after the death of Chandrasen Rathore. It remained under direct Mughal control until Udai Singh was restored to the throne as a vassal and given the title of Raja in 1583. During the late 17th century it was under the strict control of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but the ruling house of Rathore was allowed to remain semi-autonomous in their territory.

Marwar came into a long period of dispute and war with the Mughals when Raja Jaswant Singh died in 1678 and was supposed to be succeeded by his posthumous-born son Ajit Singh but Ajit was not appointed the ruler by Aurangzeb. During this time Durgadas Rathore struggled to preserve the Rathore dynasty and freed Marwar from the Mughal Empire after 31 years of war. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the kingdom was overrun by the Maratha hordes of Scindia and Holkar. Marwar was financially bankrupt due to heavy tributes exacted by the Marathas and its once renowned army had now thinned down because of internal wars and rebellions by its nobles, forcing its rulers to ask the British for aid.

The British had no role in the state's affairs until 6 January 1818, when the Raja at that time, Man Singh, entered into a subsidiary alliance, after which the Rajas of Marwar (or Jodhpur) continued as rulers of a princely state. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Rajput Nobles under Thakur Kushal Singh of Auwa led a rebellion against Maharaja Takht Singh and the British, however the rebellion was put to an end by the British armies under Colonel Holmes after a siege of the Thakur's fort in Auwa. The armies of Jodhpur State fought in World War I for the British. They actively fought in Afghanistan and the Middle-east and scored a series of victories for the British empire. The Jodhpur lancers with the support of the Mysore lancers defeated a large host of Turks and Germans in the Battle of Haifa (1918). Some of the other battles they participated in were the battles of Suez, Gaza, Jordan Valley, Abu Tellul and Megiddo.

Following Indian independence in 1947 Maharaja Hanwant Singh, the last ruler of Jodhpur state signed the Instrument of Accession on 11 August 1947 and merged his state in the Union of India.

Covering an area of 93,424 km² (36,071 sq mi), Jodhpur State was the largest state under the Rajputana Agency and the third largest state in British India after Jammu and Kashmir State and Hyderabad State. The state's revenue was 5 crores during its peak however it halved due to decline by the time of Maharaja Bijai Singh. The average revenue of the state during the British era was Rs.56,00,000 in 1901. the Maharaja's of Jodhpur originally had a gun salute of 19 guns with 21 personal. However the gun salute was reduced to 17 guns and 19 personal in 1870 due to a quarrel with the Maharana of Udaipur.

Recent genealogists believe that the Rathores are connected to the Gahadavala dynasty of Kannauj. A connection is often established between Rajput ruler Jaichand and the Rathores. Jaichand was later defeated by Muhammad of Ghor in the Battle of Chandawar. The one branch of the defeated rulers of Kannauj migrated westwards into Rajputana and were invited to settle in Pali. Siha is regarded as the first emigrant in the region to establish his kingdom in Pali in 1243 when he helped the locals drive away the Meds and Meenas and assumed the title of Rao. He died fighting an invading Muslim force in 1273. In this invasion large amounts of Brahmins in the region were massacred.
Siha's son Rao Asthana captured Khed from the Guhilas and Idar from the Bhils. He died fighting a force of Jalaluddin Khilji in 1291 and was succeeded by his son Dhuhar. Dhuhar captured Mandore from the Pariharas but lost it later.

Dhuhar's son Raipal (r.1309-1313) and grandson Karanpal followed by Karanpal's son Bhim who continued to fight the Kingdom of Malwa and the Turkic invaders. Karanpal's son Jhalansi defeated the Sodha Rajputs, and the ruler of Multan but died fighting the Turks in 1328. His son Chhada defeated the Sodha's, the ruler of Jaisalmer, Nagaur and Jalore. He died fighting the Songaras in 1344. Chhada's son Rao Tida avenged his father's death by defeating the Songara's. Tida was succeeded by his son Tribhuvan and his grandson Mallinath. Mallinath fought with the Songaras, Deoras, Bhatis and the Tughluqs.