History

During the British Raj

British Raj

British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

, Jaipur was the capital of a princely state

Princely state

A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

 of the same name. Jaipur state, which existed from the twelfth century until Indian Independence in 1947, took its name from the city. It had a total area of 15,579 square miles (40,349 km²) in 1900. The maharajas of Jaipur belonged to the Kacchwaha clan of Rajput

Rajput

A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

s, claiming descent from Rama

Rama

Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...

, king of Ayodhya. The state is said to have been founded about 1128 by Dūlaha Rāya, who hailed from Gwalior; he and his Kachwaha

Kachwaha

Kachwaha are a Suryavanshi Kshatriya clan who ruled a number of kingdoms and princely states in India such as Alwar, Maihar, Talcher, while the largest kingdom was Jaipur which was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727...

 kinsmen are said to have absorbed or driven out the local Meenas

Meenas

Meenas, Meena, Meenoat or Mina is a caste and community mainly found in Rajasthan, India. The name Mina is derived from Meen,meaning 'fish' in Sanskrit, and the Minas claim descent from the Matsya Avatar, or fish incarnation, of Vishnu.Meenas celebrate Meenesh Jayanti in the name of Vishnu on 3...

 and Rajput chiefs. In which the Meenas were to become a key ally of the Kacchwahas. Their original capital in the Dhundhar

Dhundhar

Dhundhar is a historical region of Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the districts of Jaipur, Dausa, Sawai Madhopur, and Tonk and the northern part of Karauli District...

 region was Dausa

Dausa

Dausa is a city and administrative headquarters of Dausa District in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is 55 km from Jaipur,240 km from Delhi and situated at NH-11. It is also known as "Dev Nagari."- History :...

, Ramgarth then Amber before the shift to Jaipur. The ruling dynasty of Jaipur provided the Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 with some of their most distinguished generals. Among them were Man Singh I, who fought and governed from Kabul

Kabul

Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

 to Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

 and Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

; Jai Singh I, commonly known by his imperial title of Mirza Raja, whose name appears in all the wars of Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...

 and Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...

; and Jai Singh II, or Sawai Jai Singh, the famous mathematician and astronomer, and the founder of Jaipur city. Throughout the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, the armies of Jaipur were in a constant state of warfare. Towards the end of the 18th century, the Jats of Bharatpur

Bharatpur

Bharatpur may refer to:Nepal*Bharatpur, Nepal, a city in Nepal.*Bharatpur, Dhanusa, village in Nepal*Bharatpur, Mahottari, village in NepalIndia*Bharatpur, Rajasthan, a city, Rajasthan, India....

 and the chief of Alwar (Also a Kachwaha) declared themselves independent from Jaipur and each annexed the eastern portion of Jaipur's territory. This period of Jaipur's history is characterized by internal power-struggles and constant military conflicts with the Marathas, Jats, other Rajput states, as well as the British and the Pindaris (Jaipur's former mercenary allies). Nevertheless enough wealth remained in Jaipur for the patronage of fine temples/palaces, continuity of its courtly traditions and the well-being of its citizens and merchant communities. A treaty was initially made by Maharaja Sawai Jagat Singh and the British under Governor general Marquis Wellesley in 1803, however the treaty was dissolved shortly afterwards by Wellesley's successor, Cornwallis. In this event, Jaipur's Ambassador to Lord Lake observed that This was the first time, since the English government was established in India, that it had been known to make its faith subserveint to its convenience(Tillotson). It was later in 1818, that the Jaipur state entered into subsidiary alliance with the British. In 1835 there was a serious disturbance in the city, after which the British government intervened. The state later became well-governed and prosperous. During the Revolt of 1857 when the British invoked the treaty to request assistance in the suppression of rebellious sepoys,the Maharaja opted to preserve his treaty, and thus sent in troops to subdue the uprisings in the area around Gurgoan. The Jaipur forces also secured and kept open the strategic Agra

Agra

Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...

-Ajmer

Ajmer

Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...

 highway, and shelter was given to Europeans fleeing from the menace of the mutineers in the Nahargarh Fort

Nahargarh Fort

Nahargarh Fort stands on the edge of the Aravalli Hills, overlooking the pinkest city of Jaipur in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The view of the city from the fort is breath taking. Along with Amber Fort and Jaigarh Fort it formed a strong defence ring for the city...

.

Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II (1922-1949), in 1948, shortly after India's independence, acceded the state of Jaipur to the Government of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and Jaipur became the capital of Rajasthan.
Jaipur's current (albeit titular) Maharaja is H.H. Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur

Bhawani Singh of Jaipur

Brigadier Sawai Bhawani Singh Bahadur, MVC was the Maharaja of Jaipur and head of the Kachwaha clan of Rajputs. He died at age 79 due to multi-organ failure. The title technically ended in 1971 when royal entitlements were abolished along with privy purses through a constitutional amendment...

. He has no official powers, but is seen as a Father-figure by the people of Jaipur.