King Jai Singh Of Amber

King Jai Singh (15 July 1611 – 28 August 1667) was a senior general ("Mirza Raja") of the Mughal Empire and a ruler of the kingdom of Amber (later called Jaipur). His father was Maha Singh the Raja of Garha, and his mother was Damayanti, a princess of Mewar

The great Raja Man Singh of Amber had several sons, the most capable of whom were the eldest Jagat Singh and Bhau Singh. Jagat predeceased his father and left behind a son Maha Singh. By the Hindu custom of primogeniture, on Man Singh's death this grandson Maha Singh should have been the next Raja of Amber. However the Mughal Emperor Jehangir declared Maha's uncle Bhau Singh to be more experienced and capable and made him Raja in 1614 with the rank of a commander of 4000 (cavalry).

At the same time, to ensure that Maha Singh would not take to arms to enforce his hereditary claim, he was also made a commander of 1000 and was given the Central Indian district of Garha as his estate. Sometime later he too received the title of Raja. While serving in the Deccan wars, Maha Singh died of hard drinking in 1617. His uncle Bhau Singh died childless, and of the same cause, in 1621.

History

At the age of 10, Jai Singh I became the Raja of Amber and the head of the Kachwaha Rajputs. His military career spans the full reign of Shah Jahan and the first half of Aurangzeb's reign. Jai Singh's first step in his rise to greatness took place on the accession of Shah Jahan (1627). Taking advantage of this change of sovereigns, Jai Singh's commander in the Deccan, Khan Jahan Lodi rebelled along with his Afghan followers. But the Rajput prince brought away his own army to the north and then joined in the campaign that finally defeated the rebels.

For these valuable services Jai Singh was made a commander of 4000. In 1636 Shah Jahan organized a grand campaign against the southern sultanates in which Jai Singh played a leading part—later this same army was sent to campaign against the Gond kingdoms. For his part in these successful ventures Jai Singh was promoted to the rank of commander of 5000 and the district of Chatsu (in Ajmer) was added to his kingdom. By defeating the Meo robber tribes in the north of Amber, Jai Singh further increased the size of his ancestral kingdom. in 1641 he subdued the rebellion of Raja Jagat Singh Pathania of the hill-state of Mau-Paithan (Himachal Pradesh).