The Ajmer Subah was one of the original 12 subahs that comprised the

Mughal Empire 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 ...

after the administrative reform by

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

. Its borders roughly corresponded to modern-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, and the capital was the city of

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

. It bordered the subahs of Agra, Delhi, Gujarat, Thatta, Multan, and

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syno ...

History

Mughal patronage of the city of

in the 16th century through the support of local

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

shrines (such as one dedicated to

Moinuddin Chishti Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan Sijzī (1143–1236 Common Era, CE), known more commonly as Muʿīn al-Dīn Chishtī or Moinuddin Chishti, or by the epithet Gharib Nawaz (),Blain Auer, "Chishtī Muʿīn al-Dīn Ḥasan", in: ''Encyclopaedia o ...

) through ''

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

s'', culminating in

's pilgrimage to the city itself in 1562.

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

continued the legacy of pilgrimage and imperial patronage.

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

visited the shrine as well in 1628, 1636, 1643, and 1654.

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

visited once, prior to his Deccan campaigns. For a brief period in the 1720,

Ajit Singh of Marwar Ajit Singh Rathore ( hi, अजीत सिंह राठौड़; – 24 June 1724) was the ruler of Marwar region in the present-day Rajasthan and the son of Jaswant Singh Rathore. Early life Jaswant Singh of Marwar died at Jamrud in ...

occupied Ajmer and declared independence from Mughal rule until the Barha Sayyids reconquered the province. In March 1752, the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

''peshwas'' demanded the governorship of Ajmer from the Mughals, and

Jayappaji Rao Scindia Jayappaji Rao Shinde (Sindhia, Shinde) (c. 1720 - 25 July 1755) also known as Jayappa Dadasahib, was a Maratha general. He ruled Gwalior State in northern India from 1745 to 1755, succeeding his father Ranoji Rao Scindia who had founded it. He ...

went to war supporting

Ram Singh of Marwar Ram Singh (28 July 1730 – September 1772), was the Raja of Marwar Kingdom, also called Jodhpur State, (18 June 1749 – July 1751 and 31 January 1753 – September 1772). He succeeded on the death of his father, 18 June 1749. But he was de ...

when the request was denied, sacking the city of Ajmer.

Government

Subahdars

Administrative divisions

Ajmer was divided into 7 '' sarkars'' under Akbar's reign.Abul Fazl-i-Allami (1949, reprint 1993). ''Ain-i-Akbari'', Vol.II (English tr. by H. S. Jarrett, rev. by J. N. Sarkar), Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, pp.101-2 {, class="wikitable" , - ! Sarkar !! Parganas , - ,

(capital) , , 24 , - ,

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

, , 21 , - ,

Chittor Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghold ...

, , 28 , - , Ranthambore , , 36 , - , Nagaur , , 30 , - ,

Sirohi Sirohi is a city, located in Sirohi district in southern Rajasthan state in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirohi District and was formerly the capital of the princely state of Sirohi ruled by Deora Chauhan Rajput rul ...

, , , - ,

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of ...

, ,

References

Mughal subahs History of Ajmer History of Rajasthan