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Ajmer was
founded by Rajput chieftain Ajayapal Chauhan, who also built
first hill fort in India, the Tara Garh. He named the place
Ajaimeru means invincible hill. Ajmer was Chauhan stronghold
till 1194. It was during the region of Prithviraj , in 1191,
that Muhammad of Ghori invaded in India. Prithviraj died
fighting the sultan's army, and with the establishment of
the sultanate in Delhi, a new era began. Ajmer remained
under tha Sultanate till 1326. Thereafter it become a bone
of connection between the sultans of Delhi, the Ranas of
Mewar, the Rathores of Marwar and the Sultans of Gujarat.
Peace was restored with the accession of Akbar to the Mughal
throne in 1556. He made Ajmer a full fledged province and
the base for his operations in Rajputana. Akbar who used it
as the headquarters for his vitally important operations in
Rajasthan. It was here, a generation later, that the first
British Ambassador, Sir Thomas Roe, had an historic meeting
with Emperor Jahangir in 1615, and it was here, half a
century later, that the critical battle between the Mughals
crown prince, Dara Shukoh, and the usurper, was fought.
Later Emperor, Aurangzeb, took place. In the 19th century,
Ajmer became a little British enclave, from where the
British Chief Commissioner for Rajputana kept and eagle eye
on all the Rajput Kingdoms. Today Ajmer is, frankly, not the
most charming of towns, unlike its hayday in the 17th
century when it was Emperor Shah Jahan pleasure resort.
There are also various buildings of historical interest to
visit here. In 1818, finally the Marathas ceded Ajmer to Sir
David Ochterlony and, as part of the British empire, it
remained under the care of successive superintendents. In
1947, with the reorganization of the princely states Ajmer
became a part of Rajasthan. |
