For centuries Ajmer had been hotly contested between Rajputs and Muslims. It's name, forts and landmarks like the Anasagar lake, are the legacy of Chauhan Rajputs. Islamic influence came with the Delhi Sultans and the Chisti Dargah, while for Rajputs the holy Hindu city of Pushkar next to it was an additional call to arms. Ajmer was liberated from Islamic occupation repeatedly by Chauhans of Ranthambhor, Sesodias of Mewar, and Rathores of Marwar.
Despite its small size, the Mughals made Ajmer a full-fledged province on the lines of Bengal and Gujarat. The job of its subahdar was to watch over the movements of Rajput armies, forestall any union among the Rajput states, and to protect the Dargah. The mughals holding Ajmer did not have the resources to battle any Rajput kingdom on their own, and had to wait for armies coming from Delhi and Agra.
Ajmer was at the geographic center of Rajasthan and the starting point of every war against the Rajput kingdoms. For the war against Maharana Pratap, after the failure of the Haldighati campaign, Akbar moved to Ajmer. For the war against Amar Singh, Jehangir stayed in Ajmer for almost three years. Shah Jahan moved to Ajmer when Raj Singh fortified Chittor. For the Rajput War-I against Mewad and Marwad, Aurangzeb was at Ajmer for two years. The emperor's presence brought the whole weight of the court, high officers, and their ponderous armies.
Part I of the Rajput War had ended with the liberation of Jodhpur in 1708 by Ajit Singh and Durgadas Rathore. But part II commenced almost immediately when the Mughals under Bahadur Shah annexed the kingdom of Sawai Jai Singh. They had intended on giving it to his brother Bijai Singh, but on reaching Amber the mughals found that the people were all loyal to Jai Singh, so Amber was annexed to the empire and its name changed to Mominabad, a mosque was built and Sayyid Hussain Khan Barha was placed in charge (January 1708).
When this army had moved south, Jai Singh and Ajit Singh formed an alliance with Amar Singh of Mewar. Their joint forces liberated Jodhpur and Merta and marched to Amber. They defeated the Mughal army in the Battle of Sambhar, and killed the commander Syed Hussain Khan.
The two Rajput chiefs divided the ancient Sambhar district among themselves. In 1709 while Jai Singh liberated Amber, Ajit Singh attacked Ajmer and defeated the Mughal subahdar receiving 45,000 rupees, an elephant and two horses as tribute.
Ajit Singh and Jai Singh forged a larger coalition with small states and thikanas of the area in order to face the inevitable Mughal retaliation. The Jadon Rajputs of Karauli were aided in capturing Hindaun and attacking Syed Hidayatullah, who held Ranthambhore.
Ajit Singh encouraged the Kolis in Gujarat to plunder around Ahmedabad, and Jai Singh compelled the Mughal faujdar of Pur-mandal to retreat and take shelter at Ajmer. Seeing this opening of multiple fronts, the Mughals ultimately sued for peace in 1710. Bahadur Shah then went to pay respects at the Ajmer dargah, while the two victorious Rajas went for religious ceremonies and holy bath in Pushkar.
Bahadur Shah was the last mughal ruler to visit Ajmer. The most important condition of the peace treaty with the Rajputs was that their armies should march to Punjab and subdue the Sikh rising under Banda. However they refused to abide by the terms of this treaty and preferred to strengthen the defences of their capital cities. The death of Maharana Amar Singh II of Mewar (Dec 1710) was an opportunity for the Mughals to break the treaty. They attacked Sambhar in 1711, only to be defeated once again by Ajit Singh.
Mewar painting depicts the victorious Rajput alliance in 1709. Maharana Amar Singh II rides in the center, flanked by Ajt Singh (top) and Jai Singh, and followed by the aged Durgadas Rathore. The Maharana died in 1711.
Taking advantage of Amar Singh's death, in June 1711 the Mughals foolishly plundered a border village of Mewar, bringing in a new threat to Ajmer. 20,000 cavalry of the new ruler, Maharana Sangram Singh II, came thundering down to Pur-Mandal. The mughals fled and at Bandanwara near Ajmer a battle took place in which Ranbaz Khan, Shairullah Khan and 2000 men were killed by the Rajputs of Mewar.
Ajit and Jai continued their alliance against Farrukhsiyar, he placated them by abolishing jaziya. To save Ajmer from their aggression he gave Jai Singh Malwa and Ajit Singh Multan. Jai Singh started planning a new and more secure capital from 1713 and did not consider it wise to provoke the mughals till its defences were completed. The Rathore ruler wanted the richer province of Gujarat as the price for sparing Ajmer, but this was not forthcoming, so he continued the war. In 1713 Ajit Singh captured villages in Ajmer that supplied food to the Ajmer dargah, and as a consequence the langar khana of the place was closed during Ramzan, to the consternation of Muslims around India.
Ajit Singh and his sons
In 1714 the Mughals invaded Marwad and compelled Ajit to make peace, but in return he was finally promised Gujarat. Ajit Singh instead of leaving for Gujarat, captured Bhimnal and Jalore. In 1718 Khan-i-Jahan Bahadur, Nazim of Ajmer, defeated and brought to court Churaman Jat and his nephew Rupa. Taking advantage of this, Ajit Singh again attacked Ajmer in 1721 and forbade cow-slaughter and the azaan from mosques. The new emperor Muhammad Shah sent an army to attack him, but a Rajput contingent under Abhay Singh passed unnoticed around Ajmer and sacked mughal territory within 16 miles of Delhi. Ultimately the invaders made terms with Raja Ajit Singh.
Ajmer was left in his charge while Gujarat was promised to be given to him later, on condition that Mughal administration under the emperor's authority continue. But this was not acceptable to the defiant Rathore. Ajit Singh killed the mughal faujdar sent to capture Sambhar. His son Abhay Singh looted Gujarat and adorned the spoils captured from the Mughals in Mehrangarh Fort. The sturdy Bakht Singh Rathore held Ajmer till his death in 1752.
The construction of Jaipur was completed in 1727, and from then Sawai Jai Singh started his expansive designs ending in the Battle of Gangwana in 1741. The Mughal fiefs of Ranthambhor and Narnol were seized by Jaipur. None of the Rajput kingdoms came to aid the mughals against Nadir Shah of Iran. Nadir had plans to visit Ajmer and attack Rajput kingdoms but ultimately left India after sending bombastic letters to them.
Thus the mughal anxiety in protecting Ajmer, and its holy dargah, from Rajput assaults, led to their losing control of Gujarat and Malwa. It only postponed the inevitable as the growing strength of Jaipur and Jodhpur caused the final extinction of Islamic influence from Ajmer.
The city never developed much of an Islamic culture, except in the small enclave around the dargah. In other provinces like Gujarat, Mughal officers had become Nawabs at Surat or Junagadh, but in Ajmer even this was not possible as local Thikanas stubbornly held on to their villages. Out of the 66 Thikanas in Ajmer, the great majority were held by Rathores with the title Thakur. Each had their little forts and armies, impossible to uproot without fighting, while the attacks of the bigger Rajput Kingdoms exhausted the military power of the Mughals sent to hold the city. हिंदी अनुवाद: राजपूत युद्ध- II और अजमेर से इस्लामी प्रभाव का विलुप्त होना
Strategic importance of Ajmer
Despite its small size, the Mughals made Ajmer a full-fledged province on the lines of Bengal and Gujarat. The job of its subahdar was to watch over the movements of Rajput armies, forestall any union among the Rajput states, and to protect the Dargah. The mughals holding Ajmer did not have the resources to battle any Rajput kingdom on their own, and had to wait for armies coming from Delhi and Agra.
Ajmer was at the geographic center of Rajasthan and the starting point of every war against the Rajput kingdoms. For the war against Maharana Pratap, after the failure of the Haldighati campaign, Akbar moved to Ajmer. For the war against Amar Singh, Jehangir stayed in Ajmer for almost three years. Shah Jahan moved to Ajmer when Raj Singh fortified Chittor. For the Rajput War-I against Mewad and Marwad, Aurangzeb was at Ajmer for two years. The emperor's presence brought the whole weight of the court, high officers, and their ponderous armies.
Rajput War-II
Part I of the Rajput War had ended with the liberation of Jodhpur in 1708 by Ajit Singh and Durgadas Rathore. But part II commenced almost immediately when the Mughals under Bahadur Shah annexed the kingdom of Sawai Jai Singh. They had intended on giving it to his brother Bijai Singh, but on reaching Amber the mughals found that the people were all loyal to Jai Singh, so Amber was annexed to the empire and its name changed to Mominabad, a mosque was built and Sayyid Hussain Khan Barha was placed in charge (January 1708).
When this army had moved south, Jai Singh and Ajit Singh formed an alliance with Amar Singh of Mewar. Their joint forces liberated Jodhpur and Merta and marched to Amber. They defeated the Mughal army in the Battle of Sambhar, and killed the commander Syed Hussain Khan.
The two Rajput chiefs divided the ancient Sambhar district among themselves. In 1709 while Jai Singh liberated Amber, Ajit Singh attacked Ajmer and defeated the Mughal subahdar receiving 45,000 rupees, an elephant and two horses as tribute.
Ajit Singh and Jai Singh forged a larger coalition with small states and thikanas of the area in order to face the inevitable Mughal retaliation. The Jadon Rajputs of Karauli were aided in capturing Hindaun and attacking Syed Hidayatullah, who held Ranthambhore.
Ajit Singh encouraged the Kolis in Gujarat to plunder around Ahmedabad, and Jai Singh compelled the Mughal faujdar of Pur-mandal to retreat and take shelter at Ajmer. Seeing this opening of multiple fronts, the Mughals ultimately sued for peace in 1710. Bahadur Shah then went to pay respects at the Ajmer dargah, while the two victorious Rajas went for religious ceremonies and holy bath in Pushkar.
Bahadur Shah was the last mughal ruler to visit Ajmer. The most important condition of the peace treaty with the Rajputs was that their armies should march to Punjab and subdue the Sikh rising under Banda. However they refused to abide by the terms of this treaty and preferred to strengthen the defences of their capital cities. The death of Maharana Amar Singh II of Mewar (Dec 1710) was an opportunity for the Mughals to break the treaty. They attacked Sambhar in 1711, only to be defeated once again by Ajit Singh.
Mewar painting depicts the victorious Rajput alliance in 1709. Maharana Amar Singh II rides in the center, flanked by Ajt Singh (top) and Jai Singh, and followed by the aged Durgadas Rathore. The Maharana died in 1711.Taking advantage of Amar Singh's death, in June 1711 the Mughals foolishly plundered a border village of Mewar, bringing in a new threat to Ajmer. 20,000 cavalry of the new ruler, Maharana Sangram Singh II, came thundering down to Pur-Mandal. The mughals fled and at Bandanwara near Ajmer a battle took place in which Ranbaz Khan, Shairullah Khan and 2000 men were killed by the Rajputs of Mewar.
Rathore pressure extinguished Islamic influence from Ajmer
Ajit and Jai continued their alliance against Farrukhsiyar, he placated them by abolishing jaziya. To save Ajmer from their aggression he gave Jai Singh Malwa and Ajit Singh Multan. Jai Singh started planning a new and more secure capital from 1713 and did not consider it wise to provoke the mughals till its defences were completed. The Rathore ruler wanted the richer province of Gujarat as the price for sparing Ajmer, but this was not forthcoming, so he continued the war. In 1713 Ajit Singh captured villages in Ajmer that supplied food to the Ajmer dargah, and as a consequence the langar khana of the place was closed during Ramzan, to the consternation of Muslims around India.
Ajit Singh and his sonsIn 1714 the Mughals invaded Marwad and compelled Ajit to make peace, but in return he was finally promised Gujarat. Ajit Singh instead of leaving for Gujarat, captured Bhimnal and Jalore. In 1718 Khan-i-Jahan Bahadur, Nazim of Ajmer, defeated and brought to court Churaman Jat and his nephew Rupa. Taking advantage of this, Ajit Singh again attacked Ajmer in 1721 and forbade cow-slaughter and the azaan from mosques. The new emperor Muhammad Shah sent an army to attack him, but a Rajput contingent under Abhay Singh passed unnoticed around Ajmer and sacked mughal territory within 16 miles of Delhi. Ultimately the invaders made terms with Raja Ajit Singh.
Ajmer was left in his charge while Gujarat was promised to be given to him later, on condition that Mughal administration under the emperor's authority continue. But this was not acceptable to the defiant Rathore. Ajit Singh killed the mughal faujdar sent to capture Sambhar. His son Abhay Singh looted Gujarat and adorned the spoils captured from the Mughals in Mehrangarh Fort. The sturdy Bakht Singh Rathore held Ajmer till his death in 1752.
The construction of Jaipur was completed in 1727, and from then Sawai Jai Singh started his expansive designs ending in the Battle of Gangwana in 1741. The Mughal fiefs of Ranthambhor and Narnol were seized by Jaipur. None of the Rajput kingdoms came to aid the mughals against Nadir Shah of Iran. Nadir had plans to visit Ajmer and attack Rajput kingdoms but ultimately left India after sending bombastic letters to them.
Thus the mughal anxiety in protecting Ajmer, and its holy dargah, from Rajput assaults, led to their losing control of Gujarat and Malwa. It only postponed the inevitable as the growing strength of Jaipur and Jodhpur caused the final extinction of Islamic influence from Ajmer.
The city never developed much of an Islamic culture, except in the small enclave around the dargah. In other provinces like Gujarat, Mughal officers had become Nawabs at Surat or Junagadh, but in Ajmer even this was not possible as local Thikanas stubbornly held on to their villages. Out of the 66 Thikanas in Ajmer, the great majority were held by Rathores with the title Thakur. Each had their little forts and armies, impossible to uproot without fighting, while the attacks of the bigger Rajput Kingdoms exhausted the military power of the Mughals sent to hold the city. हिंदी अनुवाद: राजपूत युद्ध- II और अजमेर से इस्लामी प्रभाव का विलुप्त होना
