Jam Rawal Lakh (1480–1562), was

Jadeja The Jadeja (also spelled Jarejo) (Gujarati: ) is a Rajput clan that inhabits the Indian state of Gujarat. They claim to be descended from the legendary Jamshed of Iran. They also claim descent from Krishna. They originated from pastoral communi ...

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

ruler, who ruled

Kutch State Kutch State was a state within India from 1947 to 1956. Its capital was Bhuj. The state's territory now forms a Kachchh district within the Indian state of Gujarat. History Kutch State was formed out of the territory of the former princely ...

from 1524 to 1548 and later was founder-ruler of

Nawanagar State Nawanagar was an Indian princely state in the historical Halar region, located on the southern shores of the Gulf of Kutch. It was ruled by the Jadeja Rajput dynasty and became the part of newly formed India. The city is now known as Jamnagar. ...

from 1540 to 1562.

Ruler of Kutch

Jam Raval was son of Jam Lakhoji, the chief of

Tera TERA is a shielded twisted pair connector for use with Category 7 twisted-pair data cables, developed by The Siemon Company and standardised in 2003 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) with the reference IEC 61076-3-104. The ...

branch of Kutch, which was younger to the elder branch of Lakhiarviro, whose ruler at that time was Jam Hamirji. It is believed that Jam Rawal attributed the murder of his father Jam Lakhoji to Hamirji, as he was killed within the territory of Lakhiarviro by Deda (clan) Tamiachi upon instigation of Hamirji. Jam Rawal, in revenge treacherously killed his father's elder brother Rao Hamirji of Lakhiarviro, and ruled Kutch for more than two decades from 1524 to 1548.

Khengarji I Khengarji I (1510-1585) was an Indian ruler belonging to Jadeja clan of Rajputs. He was the ruler of Morbi from 1538-1585 and later became ruler of Cutch, assuming title of Rao of Cutch, ruling unified Cutch from 1548 to 1585. Early life Khenga ...

, who was son of Hamirji had escaped massacre and grew up in Ahmadabad. He had enlisted in to the army of

Mahmud Begada Sultan Mahmud Begada or Mahmud Shah I (), was the most prominent Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate. Raised to the throne at young age, he successfully captured Pavagadh and Junagadh forts in battles which gave him his name ''Begada''. He establishe ...

and became his confidant. Khengarji I, who was given fiefdom of

Morbi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. H ...

in 1538 by Sultan Begda, later waged a war against Jam Rawal to claim back the throne of Kutch, with help of armies provided by

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

and Beghda. Khenagrji I, reconquered whole of Kutch from him in 1548 after waging a war of almost eleven years.

Founding of Nawanagar

Jam Rawal escaped out of Kutch, who according to myth advice was given by

Ashapura Mata Ashapura Mata is an aspect of Devi, a Hindu goddess. She is one of the kuladevis of Kutch, and the Jadeja clan inhabiting the area. She is a goddess regarded to fulfill the wishes of her adherents. In her iconography, the goddess is said to h ...

in ''dream'' to him and later founded the Nawanagar. He arrived with his retinue, his family and soldiers loyal to him in the

Halar Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District ...

region of Saurashtra. After several battles with a number of local tribes and castes, conquered the

Jodiya Jodia (also spelled Jodiya) is a town in Jamnagar district, Gujarat, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and t ...

and Amran parganahs from the Dedas,

Dhrol Dhrol is a city and a municipality in Jamnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. Geography Dhrol is located at . It has an average elevation of 26 metres (85 feet). Demographics India census,https://censusindia.gov.in/pca/Se ...

from the Chavadas, Nagnath port from the

Jethwa Jethwa (or Jethva, Jaitwa, Jethi) is a clan (Gotra) Rajput and Koli castes of Gujarat. See also *rathwa Origin It has been suggested that the Saindhava dynasty ruling eastern part of Saurashtra peninsula is now represented by the present ...

s, and

Khambhalia Jamkhambhaliya, also known as Khambhalia, is a town and a municipality in Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat, India. It is the headquarters and the largest town of the district. Jamkhambhalia is renowned across the world for its pure quality o ...

from the Vaghelas. He also invaded

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

. Thus, he founded the new state of Nawanagar and laid the foundations for his capital of

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city located on the western coast of India in the state of Gujarat of Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra region. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jamnagar district and the fifth largest city in Gujarat. The city lies ...

, which was earlier known as port city Nagnath in August 1540 and assumed title of

Jam Sahib Jam Sahib ( gu, જામ સાહેબ), is the title of the ruling prince of Nawanagar, now known as Jamnagar in Gujarat, an Indian princely state. Jam Sahibs of Nawanagar References External links Nawanagar History and Genealogyat '' ...

of Nawanagar. The State of Nawanagar was in constant state of war since its foundation with its neighbors in order to expand his territories.Gazetteers: Rajkot District - Page 32

Family

He had several wives. But all his four sons were from his chief consort wife Maharani, who was from a

Sodha Sodha are a Hindu Rajput clan residing in Pakistan and India. History They are off-shoot of Parmara Rajputs, who once controlled regions of Malwa and later North-West parts of Rajasthan. The area around Suratgarh was called 'Sodhawati' and sout ...

Rajput family.

Death

Jam Rawal died in 1562. His third son Jam Vibhaji Rawalji, succeeded his to the throne of Nawanagar upon his death in 1562.

Descendants of Jam Rawal

Later his descendants branched out to form the state of

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

, Gondal and

.The Paramount Power and the Princely States of India, 1858-1881 - Page 287Gujarat State Gazetteers: Panchmahals - Page 614 Dhrol was a Class II State founded by Jam Hardholji, the brother of Jam Raval, who hailed from the ruling Jadeja Rajput family of Kutch. Hardholji helped Jam Raval conquer Halar and enabled him to found the Nawanagar..

References

{{Reflist 1480 births 1562 deaths Maharajas of Nawanagar Rajput rulers Maharajas of Kutch