Jodhpur Brief History

	Jodhpur Brief History
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In 1459, Rao Jodha of the Rathore clan moved the capital of Marwar state several kilometers from the exposed site of Mandore to a massive steep-sided escarpment, where he named his new capital after himself. The high barricaded fort proved virtually impregnable, and the city soon amassed great wealth from trade en route to the ports of Gujarat. Not surprisingly, the Moghuls were eager to take over Jodhpur, but realizing there was little prospect of that, they presented treaties and riches to the Rathores in exchange for military aid in their onslaught on Gujarat. A marriage alliance between Udai Singh's sister and Akbar in 1561 ensured the most friendly of terms.

However, the tide turned in the mid-seventeenth century, after Jaswant Singh joined Shah Jahan's forces in an unsuccessful bid for power against his fellow Moghul Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb set out to purge his enemies, and demanded the death of Jaswant's young son, Ajit Singh . That demand was not satisfied, but Jodhpur was sacked in 1678 and its inhabitants forcibly converted to Islam. In the finest romantic tradition, Ajit Singh eventually recaptured his rightful kingdom after thirty years in hiding.

The performance of sati on his funeral pyre by six wives and fifty-eight concubines in 1731 may seem shocking now, but at the time was testimony to his heroism.

The eighteenth century saw many bloody battles between Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur, despite their policy of unification against the Moghuls. At its close, Jodhpur passed first into the hands of the Marathas and then the British; the signing of a friendship treaty with the East India Company in 1818 guaranteed its safety, albeit at great cost to.

Rathore honor.

The last maharaja before Independence, Umaid Singh , is commemorated by his immense Umaid Bhawan Palace; he set 3000 citizens to work for sixteen years on its construction, in part to alleviate problems during a severe famine by creating employment. Jodhpur is now a democratic union within the independent India, but its social fabric remains tinged with feudalism and a medieval atmosphere prevails.