Jodhpur Tourism, Rajasthan
About Jodhpur
Formerly the kingdom of a princely state, Jodhpur is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Located on the edge of the Thar Desert (335 km from the state capital- Jaipur), Jodhpur is a popular tourist destination that features many temples, forts and palaces. It is a clean town with large cantonment area. The old city of Jodhpur is surrounded by a thick stone wall. Due to its sunny and upbeat weather all around the year, it is named as the “Sun City”; its bright and colorful surroundings attract the tourists all around the world. It is also referred as the Blue City due to the blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort.
History of Jodhpur
Jodhpur is a historic city. Formerly known as Marwar, Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a Rajput chief of the Rathore1 clan. Ruled by a powerful Bargujar King, Jodhpur was part of the Gurjara - Pratihara Empire until 1100 CE. The Rathores were driven out of their original homeland, Kaunaj, by Afghans. They fled to Pali, near to the present day Jodhpur and established themselves. Initially, Mandore served as their capital, but by 1459, Rao Jodha founded Jodhpur for the security reasons and shifted their capital to Jodhpur. The Rathores enjoyed good relations with all the Mughals, except Aurangzeb. After Aurangzeb's death, Maharaja Ajit Singh drove out Mughals from Ajmer and added it to Marwar (now Jodhpur). Under the reign of Maharaja Umed Singh, Jodhpur grew into a fine modern city.
British entered into the state in 1818. During the British Raj, the state of Jodhpur was the largest (by land area) in Rajputana. In 1947, after independence, the state merged into the union of India and Jodhpur became the second city of Rajasthan under State Reorganization Act, 1956.