Jaisalmer Fort

A view of the fortress above the city, in the evening

Legend has it that the fort was built by Rawal Jaisal, a Bhati Rajput, in 1156 CE.[1] The story says that it superseded an earlier construction at Lodhruva, with which Jaisal was unsatisfied and thus, a new capital was established when Jaisal founded the city of Jaisalmer.

Around 1299 CE, Rawal Jait Singh I faced a long siege by Alauddin Khalji of Delhi Sultanate, who is said to have been provoked by a Bhati raid on his treasure caravan. By the end of the siege, facing certain defeat, the Bhati Rajput women committed 'Jauhar', and the male warriors under the command of Mularaja met their fatal end in battle with the Sultan's forces. For a few years after the successful siege, the fort remained under the sway of Delhi Sultanate, before being eventually reoccupied by some surviving Bhatis.[2]

During Rawal Lunakaran's reign, around 1530–1551 CE, the fort was attacked by an Afghan chief Amir Ali. When it seemed to the Rawal that he was fighting a losing battle, he slaughtered his womenfolk as there was insufficient time to arrange a jauhar. Tragically, reinforcements arrived immediately after the deed was done and the army of Jaisalmer became victorious in its defence of the fort.

In 1541 CE, Rawal Lunakaran also fought Mughal emperor Humayun when the latter attacked the fort on his way to Ajmer.[3] He also offered his daughter in marriage to Akbar. Mughals controlled the fort until 1762.[4]

The fort remained under the control of Mughals until 1762, when Maharawal Mulraj took control of the fort.

The treaty between the East India Company and Mulraj on 12 December 1818 allowed the Mulraj to retain control of the fort and provided for protection from invasion. After the death of Mulraj in 1820, his grandson Gaj Singh inherited control of the fort.[4]

With the advent of British rule, the emergence of maritime trade and the growth of the port of Bombay led to the gradual economic decline of Jaisalmer. After independence and the Partition of India, the ancient trade route was totally closed, thus permanently removing the city from its former role of importance in international commerce. Nonetheless, the continued strategic importance of Jaisalmer was demonstrated during the 1965 and 1971 wars between India and Pakistan.[citation needed]

Even though the town of Jaisalmer no longer serves as an important trading city, or as a major military post, the town is still able to earn revenues as a major tourist destination. Initially, the entire population of Jaisalmer lived within the fort, and today the old fort still retains a resident population of about 4,000 people who are largely descended from the Brahmin and Rajput communities. These two communities once served as the workforce for the fort's one time Bhati rulers, which service then entitled the workers to reside on the hilltop and within the walls of the fort.[5] With the slow increase in the area's population, many of the town's residents gradually relocated to the foot of the Trikuta Hill. From there the town's population has since largely spread out well beyond the old walls of the fort, and into the adjacent valley below.

^ Rajasthan Guides (Everyman Guides). By Vivien Crump et al. 2002. Pg. 208. ISBN 1-85715-887-3 ^ Rima Hooja (2006). A HISTORY OF RAJASTHAN (PB). p. 368. ISBN 978-81-291-1501-0. The attack on Jaisalmer during Sultan Alauddin Khilji's reign seems to have begun in AD 1299, when its Bhati king Jait Singh I was ruling. The besieged fort withstood the assault and encirclement until, at long last, scarcity of food and provisions played their inevitable part in deciding the issue. By this time, Jait Singh may have already lost his life, as tradition holds, and the crown taken up by his son, Mularaj. It was at this stage that the women of Jaisalmer fort performed jauhar, while the men, led by Rawal Mularaj, and his younger brother Ratan Singh, flung open the gates of the fort and rushed forth to die fighting to the last. Some sources suggest that Mularaj died in an earlier sortie, and that Ratan Singh (or Ratan-Si), succeeded him as Rawal and carried out the defence of Jaisalmer, until the final shaka. In any event, once Jaisalmer was invested, it is known to have remained in Khilji hands for the next few years ^ "Fort full of life". www.frontline.in. Retrieved 11 December 2017. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Verma was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Cite error: The named reference thehindu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).