Amer, India
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Amber or Amer, is a city near Jaipur city in Jaipur district in the
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
. It is now a part of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation. The picturesque situation of Amber at the mouth of a rocky mountain gorge, in which nestles a lake, has attracted the admiration of travellers, including Victor Jacquemont and Reginald Heber. It is seen to be a remarkable example for its combined Rajput-Mughal architecture. The
Amber Fort Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer is a town with an area of located from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Located high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amer Fort is known f ...
, a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, is the top tourist attraction in the Jaipur area.


History

Amber was a
Meena Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...
state that replaced Khoh as the capital of Dhundhar after Kakil Deo, the son of Dulha Rai, defeated the Meenas. The state of Jaipur was earlier known as
Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...
or Dhundhar and was controlled by Meena chiefs of five different tribes who were under suzerainty of the Bargurjar Rajput Raja of Deoti. Later a
Kachhwaha The Kachhwaha is a Rajput clan found primarily in India. They claim descent from the Suryavanshi (Solar) dynasty. Etymology According to Cynthia Talbot, the meaning of word ''Kachhwaha'' is tortoise. Origin There are numerous theories on ...
prince Dulha Rai destroyed the sovereignty of Meenas and also defeated Bargurjars of Deoli and took Dhundhar fully under Kachwaha rule. Much of the present structure known as
Amber Fort Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer is a town with an area of located from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Located high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amer Fort is known f ...
is actually the palace built by Mughal Emperor Akbar's
Navaratnas Navaratnāḥ (Sanskrit dvigu ''nava-ratna'', , ) refers to a distinguished assembly of nine learned and virtuous individuals who adorned the royal sabhā (court) of certain illustrious List of Indian monarchs, bhūpati-s (kings) in History of ...
Raja Man Singh I who ruled from 1590 to 1614 AD. The palace includes several spectacular buildings, such as the Diwan-i-Khas, and the elaborately painted Ganesh Pole built by the renowned warlord Mirza Raja Jai Singh I (Man Singh I's grandson). The old and original fort of Amber, dating from earlier Rajas or the Mair or Maidh period, is what is known in the present day as Jaigarh Fort, which was actually the main defensive structure rather than the palace itself. The two structures are interconnected by a series of encompassing fortifications. Amber was capital of the Kachwaha until 1727 when the ruler of Amber, Sawai
Jai Singh II Sawai Jai Singh II (3 November 1688 – 21 September 1743), was the 30th Kachwaha Rajput ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He became the ruler of Amber at the age of 11, after ...
founded a capital Jainagara (
Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
), named after him, about nine kilometers south of Amber. After the founding of this new town, the royal palace and houses of prominent persons were shifted to Jaipur. The priests of Shila Devi temple, who were Bengali
Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
, continued to live in the fort (to this date), while the Jaigarh fort above the palace also remained heavily garrisoned. The capital of Kachwaha was supplanted by the modern city of Jaipur, which is the capital of the
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
state in India.


Controversy over renovation practices

Poor site management and development pressures have dramatically altered the historical integrity of Amber. The building that rings around the Jaleb Chwok courtyard "has been converted to a market place with shops selling showpieces and dresses. They have cafeterias, cyber cafés, etc.", according to the
Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
. In the summer of 2009, the Rajasthan High Court launched a three-member panel charged with investigating the controversial renovations and determining to what extent the cultural heritage of the site was compromised.


Visitor attractions

*
Amber Fort Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer is a town with an area of located from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Located high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amer Fort is known f ...
* Maota Lake * Jagat shiromani Temple * Jaigarh Fort *Nahargarh Biological Park *Panna Meena ka Kund stepwell * Water Gateways


Nahargarh Biological Park

This park is home to
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
whose numbers have declined over the years, such as the
Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a subspecies of the leopard (''P. pardus''). It is widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is threatened by illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard ...
. The flora is representative of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
.


In media

Various scenes were produced for the 2011 British film '' The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'' in and around Amber.


Gallery

The fort in 1985


See also

* Nahargarh Fort *
Rajasthani people Rajasthani people or Rajasthanis are a group of Indo-Aryan peoples native to Rajasthan ("the land of kings"), a states of India, state in Northern India. Their language, Rajasthani language, Rajasthani, is a part of the western group of Indo-Ar ...
*
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
* Ramgarh Dam


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Jaipur district Former capital cities in India History of Jaipur Jaipur Tourist attractions in Jaipur