Hills and rivers helped Mewar defy sultans and Mughals for centuries
The Rajput kingdom of Mewar, in what is now southern Rajasthan, lasted from the seventh-century ruler Bappa Rawal until it joined independent India in 1947. Its rugged hills suited guerrilla fighting, which helped it resist the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals and others, and its rulers founded the lake city of Udaipur.
The Guhila dynasty founded Mewar, and a junior branch, the Sisodias, later took over. The kingdom first gained fame under Bappa Rawal, remembered for helping repel Arab raids into India. It spent periods as a vassal of larger powers such as the Pratiharas before emerging independent early in the tenth century. The Delhi Sultanate captured its capital, Chittorgarh, in 1303, ending the Guhila line.
The Sisodias reclaimed Mewar in 1326 and opened a golden age. Maharana Kumbha and his grandson Rana Sanga defeated the sultanates of Malwa, Gujarat and Delhi and made neighbouring Hindu kingdoms into vassals; at its height under Sanga, Mewar held large parts of northern India. Decline came quickly after Sanga died, yet Maharana Pratap kept fighting Mughal expansion, and even as a tributary Mewar kept much autonomy. As Mughal power faded, rulers such as Raj Singh regained de facto independence. Mewar later fell under Maratha influence, accepted British overlordship in 1818 and remained a princely state until 1947.
The land shaped this history. Bounded by the Aravali Range to the northwest, Mewar has hills, plateaus and rivers including the Banas, Som and Sabarmati. Its central plains, about 600 feet above sea level and watered by the Banas, grow cotton, maize, sugarcane, wheat and barley. The borders reached their widest between 1326 and 1533, from near Mandu to Bayana, then shrank under wars with the Mughals and Marathas to 14,000 square kilometres by 1941.
Although chiefly Hindu, the kingdom supported Jain and Buddhist communities. Its fortresses at Chittorgarh and Kumbhalgarh are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and prized examples of Rajput architecture, and Udai Singh II founded Udaipur, now one of north India's larger cities. On accession to India, Mewar's territory was merged into Rajasthan.
Source: Kingdom of Mewar
