Numismatics is My Hobby: India - Princely state - Jaisalmer State

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Jaisalmer State जैसलमेर रियासत Period : Bhati Emperor ← 1156 - 1947 → Republic of India Kingdom 1156–1818 Princely State 1818–1947
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Established : Independence of India : Area (1931) : Today part of :	1156 1947 41,600 km² (16,062 sq mi) Rajasthan, India

Jaisalmer State is the popular name of the kingdom established in the area of present-day Rajasthan by Rawal Jaisal when he moved the capital of reminiscent of the Bhati dynasty from Ludarva to Jaisalmer (1156) because the old capital Ludarva was vulnerable. Bhati rajputs continued to rule Jaisalmer independently until 1818, when it signed a treaty with the British Empire effectively making it a British Protectorate, a Princely State entitled to a 15-gun salute.

Map of Jaisalmer State with important Rawlot duchies.

History

The Jaisalmer state had its foundations in the Deogarh state. The new capital of Jaisalmer was founded in 1156 and state took its name from the capital. Traditionally, in the Middle Ages the main source of income for the kingdom was levies on caravans, but the economy was heavily affected when Bombay emerged as a major port and sea trade replaced the traditional land routes. Maharawals Ranjit Singh and Bairi Sal Singh attempted to turn around the economic decline but the dramatic reduction in trade impoverished the kingdom. A severe drought and the resulting famine from 1895 to 1900, during the reign of Maharawal Salivahan Singh, only made matters worse by causing widespread loss of the livestock that the increasingly agriculturally based kingdom relied upon.

Maharawal Jawahir Singh’s (1914–49) attempts at modernization also failed to turn the kingdom’s economy around and it remained isolated and backward compared with other areas of Rajasthan.