Amber Fort

Early history

A view of the fort at Amer in Rajasthan; a watercolor by William Simpson, c.1860

Amber was a Meena state, ruled by a Susawat clan. After Kakil Deo defeated the Susawats he made Amber the capital of Dhundhar after Khoh. Kakil Deo was a son of Dulherai.[1][2]

In early times, the state of Jaipur was known as Amber or Dhundhar and was controlled by Meena chiefs of five different tribes. They were under suzerainty of the Bargurjar Rajput Raja of Deoti. Later a Kachhwaha prince, Dulha Rai, destroyed the sovereignty of Meenas and also defeated Bargurjars of Deoli and took Dhundhar fully under Kachwaha rule.[3]

The Amber Fort was originally built by Raja Man Singh. Jai Singh I expanded it in the early 1600's. Improvements and additions were made by successive rulers over the next 150 years, until the Kachwahas shifted their capital to Jaipur during the time of Sawai Jai Singh II, in 1727.[4][5]

In the medieval period, Amer was known as Dhundar (meaning attributed to a sacrificial mount in the western frontiers) and ruled by the Kachwahas from the 11th century onwards – between 1037 and 1727 AD, until the capital was moved from Amer to Jaipur.[6] The history of Amer is indelibly linked to these rulers as they founded their empire at Amer.[7]

^ Jaigarh, the Invincible Fort of Amber. RBSA Publishers, 1990. 1990. p. 18. ISBN 9788185176482. ^ Jaipur: Gem of India. IntegralDMS, 2016. 7 July 2016. p. 24. ISBN 9781942322054. ^ Sarkar, Jadunath (1994) [1984]. A History of Jaipur: C. 1503–1938. Orient Longman Limited. pp. 23, 24. ISBN 81-250-0333-9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Publishing2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ "Golden Triangle". mariatours.in. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.{{|date=October 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} ^ Cite error: The named reference BruynBain2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ R. S. Khangarot; P. S. Nathawat (1990). Jaigarh, the invincible fort of Amer. RBSA Publishers. pp. 8–9, 17. ISBN 978-81-85176-48-2.