Jaisalmer State

Origins

The Bhati Rajputs had ruled from earlier capitals such as Lodurva before Rawal Jaisal founded the fort and city of Jaisalmer on the Trikuta hill in 1156.

Rule and society

Jaisalmer lay on caravan routes linking Sindh, Multan and Persia with Gujarat and the Ganges plain, and merchants paid for elaborate havelis such as the Patwon ki Haveli and for Jain temples inside the fort. The fort suffered sieges by the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th and 14th centuries. Later the Rawals accepted Mughal overlordship.

Decline and legacy

Jaisalmer signed a treaty with the British in 1818. The decline of caravan trade and the rise of Bombay's sea trade impoverished it in the 19th century. It merged into Greater Rajasthan in 1949, and the fort, still lived in, is a World Heritage Site.