History of Jaisalmer
Located in the southern part of the Thar Desert the ‘Golden City’ of Rajasthan is major attraction for tourist for its various forts, palaces, temples and Desert Safari. Situated in the heart of Thar Desert it provides the tourists with a glimpse into the past glories of the region. It is known as ‘Golden City’ because of the color it gets from the yellow sandstone which is used for its construction. Jaisalmer literally means ‘the Hill Fort of Jaisal. The city was founded by the Rajput ruler Raja Rawal Jaisal in 1156 AD and he followed the instructions given by a local hermit named Eesaal. Rawal choose another new location for his palace at Trikut Hill because it was less prone to attack by the enemies. He named the capital after himself which was in the form of a mud fort.
But the sage Eesul had reminded Jaisal of the second part of Krishna’s prediction — that the city would be sacked two-and-a-half times — to which Jaisal paid no heed and went ahead with establishing the city anyway.
In medieval era, Jaisalmer was attacked by Ala-ud-din Khilji, the Turk-Afghan ruler. The Bhatis protected it for 8 long years but at the end when they were in verge of defeat the first ‘jauhar’ occurred 1294 in which thousands of women killed themselves on a funeral pyre. Then again in 14th century Turkish ruler Firoz Shah Tughlaq attacked Jaisalmer through Anasagar Lake. More than 1600 soldiers were killed and the women had to perform ‘jauhar’ again. They ruled for some time until in 15th century again Bhatis returned to rule Jaisalmer. During the Mughal age the rulers of Jaisalmer fought against the Mughals. When the Marathas were ruling they remained under the Marathas as subservient. During the British age it remained a princely state under the Britishers and was also entitled for 15 gun salute. The Royals of Jaisalmer was one of the last states to sign the 'Instrument of Agreement' with the Britishers after long negotiations.
When India became independent in 1947, it became a part of India. After the partition the trade routes near border were reduced and closed. Because of border it also serves as a major army camp base. Later it was connected with a canal road for desert area and then Jaisalmer became a major tourist destination with rich culture & heritage of western India. Jaisalmer Tour and travel guide provides you the best information regarding traveling to Jaisalmer.
​