The history of Rajasthan is about 5000 years old and the mythological origin of this gigantic land is related to the famous myth of Ram, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The history of Rajasthan can be classified into three parts owing to the different epochs- Ancient, Medieval and Modern. According to the Hindu Mythology, the Rajputs of Rajasthan were the descendants of the Kshatriyas or warriors of Vedic India. The emergence of the Rajput warrior clans was in the 6th and 7th centuries. Rajputs ancestry can be divided into two: the "solar" or suryavanshi-those descended from Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana, and the "lunar" or chandravanshi, who claimed descent from Krishana, the hero of the epic Mahabharata. Later a third clan was added, the agnikula or fire-born, said to have emerged from the flames of a sacrificial fire on Mt Abu.
It has been accepted that the Rajputs were divided into thirty-six races and twenty-one kingdoms. The Rajput clans gave rise to dynasties like Sisodias of Mewar (Udaipur), the Kachwahas of Amber (Jaipur), the Rathors of Marwar (Jodhpur & Bikaner), the Hadas of Jhalwawar, Kota & Bundi, the Bhattis of Jaisalmer, the Shekhawats of Shekhawati and the Chauhans of Ajmer.
The ancient history of Rajasthan belongs to 1200 AD when Rajasthan was a part of different dynasties including the glorious Mauryan Empire in around (321-184 BC). The Dundhmer region was the first Aryan settlement and the first inhabitants of this area were the Bhil and the Mina. The earliest Rajput dynasty that emerged around 700 AD was the Gurjara Partiharas and since then Rajasthan was cited as Rajputana (the land of the Rajputs). During the eighth - twelfth century AD, the Rajput clan gained supremacy and the Rajputs were divided into 36 royal clans and 21 dynasties. The armed conflicts and the struggle for supremacy among the Parmars, Chalukyas, and Chauhans around 1000-1200 AD resulted in a lot of bloodshed. In this medieval era around 1200 AD, the major regions of Rajasthan such as Nagaur, Ajmer and Ranthanbhor came under the Mughal hegemony headed by the Mughal ruler- Akbar. The most famous Rajput warriors who represented the vigor and valiance of the Rajput dynasty and whose tales of chivalry are still imprinted in the sands of Rajasthan were Rana Uday Singh, his son Rana Pratap, Bhappa Rawal, Rana Kumbha and Prithviraj Chauhan and others.
With the end of the Mughal regime in1707, the Marathas gained supremacy and captured Ajmer in1775. The Maratha ascendancy ended in the late 17th century with the British suzerainty in 1817-18. In 1stNovember, 1956 the state of present day Rajasthan came into existence after the amalgamation of the princely states.
