Role of Nobility in Marwar

The State of Marwar, generally known as the State of Jodhpur in a comparative modem period, was the largest state in size amongst the erstwhile princely States of Rajputana. It was dominated by the Rajputs of the Rathore clan which claimed a high antiquity for itself. The Rathores of Marwar were warriors of the first magnitude. They played a valiant role and figured brilliantly in the chequered annals of our country during the Mughal ascendancy and in its subsequent decline. The death of Aurangzeb, the mighty Mughal Emperor, brought the entire super-structure or the Empire to a crumbling stage, reducing the Imperial Mughal’s to nothing more than a nominal umbra. They lost their grip over the States of Rajputana, of which the Rathore State of Marwar was one. The political intrigue, unscrupulous assassinations and wanton bloodshed in the Mughal Court had a deep impact on the minds of the Rathore chiefs and, their nobles in Marwar. Family leads, wrangles for succession, internecine war and inter-state disputes became very common. This reduced the State to n sorry plight and it became a hunting ground for the Sindhia family of the Marathas and the ferocious Pathan predators. In order to put an end to this state of anarchy, the ruler of Marwar in 1818 A.D. entered into an alliance with the British who in their turn, tried to bring about normalcy in the State. The process of restoring peace and harmony in Marwar continued for long till the death of Maharaja Takhat Singh in 1873 A.D. and even beyond this date during the period of his immediate successors.