The early history of Rajastan, the Aryans were the first settled in the area in around 2,000 BC, Later, the Gupta dynasty conquered the state in the 4th century. They built many Buddhist shrines and caves in the Jhalawar region. By the 6th century, the influence Guptas started declining. In the 9th century, the Rajput dynasty took over the state. The Rajputs were warriors and under their rule, the state strengthen the hold. In the 10th century, the Chauhans gained control of Rajasthan, but soon in 1192 CE, the Muslim sultanate defeated PrithvirajChauhan of the Chauhan dynasty and conquered some parts of the state. By 1200 A.D., the Muslim rulers established themselves in many parts of Rajasthan. In the early 13th century, Mewar was the powerful state which was still under the rule of the Rajputs. Almost every king had their eye on Mewar. It was Mughal emperor, Akbar, who started getting close to many Rajput rulers – he even married a Rajput princess, JodhaBai, daughter of Amer’s Maharaja. Thus Akbar,strengthened his control and power over the state. However, there were some Rajput rulers, like RaoChandrashekarRathore (Marwar), RanaUdai Singh (Mewar) and MaharanaPratap (Mewar), who were against Akbar and never bowed down to him. They were in constant war with Akbar. In 1526, a battle between Akbar and Udai Singh took place, in which Akbar took over ChitorgarhMewar’s capital. After the defeat, the women of the Rajput clan committed self-immolation in order to protect their honour. Almost the entire Rajasthan came under the control of Akbar. In 1576, the Battle of Haldighati between Akbar and MaharanaPratap took place, in which RanaPratap was severely injured and stayed in recluse for several years. In the meantime, Akbar captured Udaipur, and several other regions. Eventually, in 1582 during the Battle of Dewair, RanaPratap fought back and freed Mewar and much of Rajasthan from the Mughals. This was the era that witnessed the gallantry and sacrifice of several Rajput Some of the most prominent ones include RanaUdai Singh, PrithvirajChauhan, MaharanaPratap, RanaKumbha, RanaSanga to name a few. In the early 18th century, the Maratha Empire began gaining power. Under the rule of PeshwaBajiRao I of Pune, the Maratha Empire expanded to the north of Rajasthan and united with the Rajput. Most of the Rajput-ruled kingdoms were under the control of the Maratha Empire and continued to flourish. However, the Marathas declined in power with the coming of the British East India Company in the late 18th century.
Before India Independence in 1947, Rajasthan was named Rajputana consisting of 22 small and big princely states. After Independence these Princely States wereannexed to the Union of India, and named RAJASTHAN.
We visited Rajasthan in December 2011 and celebrated New Year at Bikaner city, then visited Mount Abu, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Pushkar, Ranthambore, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.