History of Ajmer

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