alwar

History of alwar

History of alwar , Rajasthan, is an interesting one. It dates back to an ancient era, about 3500 years ago. That was the period when the Pandavas, made famous by the Mahabharata, lived. At that time, alwar was called Matsya Desh or in other words, the 'Land of Fish'! Matsya Desh, in fact, referred to the whole area around the present districts of alwar, Jaipur and Bharatpur, along with Viratnagar which was its capital.


During the turbulent medieval times, the city of alwar developed into a place of great importance. Being an area of strategic importance, alwar was coveted by many. This counts the Mughals, the Jats of adjacent Bharatpur, Jaipur's Kachhawaha Rajputs, the Nikumbha Rajputs, the Marathas as well as the British. All these people had their rule in alwar at different points of time. According to alwar History, the Nikumbhas were, in all likelihood, the first to rule this region.
Origin of alwar tells that it was an important base for the Mughals. It was from this place that they started their attacks on Ranthambhore Fort. alwar was also a halt station for the Mughal emperors who used to stop here for a while during their travel between Ajmer and Agra. After the Mughals, History of alwar points towards the Jats who ruled over alwar, albeit for a short period.
Finally, alwar was given some political stability by Thakur Pratap Singh of the Naruka clan. Thakur Pratap Singh, along with other Kachhawaha Rajputs of Jaipur, did a lot for alwar. Despite the not-so-rich economy of alwar, they constructed splendid palaces and performed their hunting safaris with elan. However, the masses suffered due to the extravagances of these royal people. This, ultimately, caused their popularity graph take a nose dive. Nevertheless, alwar got beautified in this process.


Troubled times came to an end when Pratap Singh conquered alwar after defeating the Marathas. Thus, in the year 1771, alwar achieved the status of the youngest Rajput kingdom, as a British ally though. The British even conferred on Pratap Singh the title of 'Maharaja' as he had helped them against the influential Marathas. However, this friendly alliance did not have a long life. The maharaja of alwar resented the British interference in his governance strongly, particularly when a British Resident was installed in his court.
Subsequent to independence, alwar was combined with the other princely states of Karauli, Bharatpur and Dholpur, giving rise to the United State of Matsya. This name reflected the fact that all these states comprised the erstwhile Matsya kingdom. Finally, in the year of 1949, Matsya got merged with Rajasthan.
It goes right back to the ancient times, to about 3500 years, when the Pandavas (of the Mahabharata) lived. and alwar wasn't a desert region then it was nothing less than Matsya Desh or the Land of Fish ! Matsya Desh was, in fact, the whole region around the present districts of Jaipur, alwar and Bharatpur, with Viratnagar as its capital. It was in this city of Viratnagar (now called Bairat) in this ancient epic kingdom that the Pandavas spent their 13th year of exile. The Matsyas, as the inhabitants of this area were called, supported the Pandava brothers against their famous battle against their cousins, the Kauravas.


In the turbulent medieval times, alwar grew into a town of great importance. Being a strategically important area, the state was coveted by many the Mughals, the Kachhawaha Rajputs of Jaipur, the Jats of neighbouring Bharatpur, the Nikumbha Rajputs, the British as well as the Marathas. One by one all of them took their seat in alwar. The Nikumbhas were probably the first to occupy the region. They built a fort for themselves, the remnants of which are still visible at the foot of the hills. The Mughals made alwar an important base from where they launched attacks on the fort of Ranthambhore. It was also in alwar that the Mughal emperors halted for a while during their journeys between Agra and Ajmer. After the Mughals, alwar passed on to the hands of the Jats for a brief period.
Finally, it was Thakur Pratap Singh of the Naruka clan of the Kachhawaha Rajputs of Jaipur, who gave some political stability to the state of alwar. Pratap Singh and company did not exactly belong to the 'elite' class of their Jaipur cousins. But they were Rajputs all right and so had their egos in place. In spite of the not-so-rich economy of the state, they built magnificent palaces and conducted their hunting safaris with elan. The masses suffered and this brought their popularity graph crashing to the ground. In the process alwar got beautified.
Anyway, troubled times concluded to an extent with Pratap Singh, who conquered this Jat city after defeating the Marathas. alwar settled down to being the youngest Rajput kingdom in 1771, albeit as a British ally. The British even gave him the title of 'Maharaja' for helping them against the powerful Marathas. In fact, alwar was one of the first Rajput states to shake hands with the British, although this ganging up did not always spell well-being for them. With a British Resident in court, the king could hardly take his own decisions. But in spite of all their self-imposed codes of honour, some Rajputs never hesitated to go into alliances with other mighty powers. The Amber Rajputs, for example, aligned with the Mughals and went into a six-century long steady relationship with them. and this sure proved to be a boon for the Rajputs.
Planning for vacations! Make your vacations a memorable experience by planning a trip to alwar. alwar features a few great tourist attractions, such as Siliserh Lake, Moosi Maharani ki Chhatri, Bala Quila etc. Siliserh Lake is positioned approximately 13 kms from alwar. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations of alwar, India.