History of Alwar

The history of Alwar, Rajasthan goes back back to 3500 years ago. During that period, Alwar was called Matsya Desh or the ‘Land of Fish’! The entire region of Matsya Desh included Alwar, Jaipur and Bharatpur, along with Viratnagar which was its capital.

During the troubled medieval era, Alwar emerged as a place of strategic importance. Because of its strategic location, the Mughals, the Jats of adjacent Bharatpur, the Nikumbha Rajputs, the Marathas and also the British for acquiring it. History says that it was the Nikumbhas who first ruled the region.

In the Mughal period, Alwar served as a halt station for the Mughalemperors who used to take a break here while travelling between Ajmer and Agra. After the Mughals, it was the Jats who excercized their control over Alwar.

But it was under the reign of Thakur Pratap Singh of the Naruka clan, Alwar tasted some political stability. Several development took place under Thakur Pratap Singh. Though its economy was not sound, several palaces were built and hunting safaris were held with great pomp and show. Though these extravagances caused anger among the masses as they suffered the most, Alwar got a face-lift.

With Pratap Singh’s emergence, a new page was added to the history of Alwar. After the defeat of the Marathas, the city gained the the status of the youngest Rajput kingdom in 1771 as the British ally. The sweet relationship with the British turned sour in the mid-way. As a result, Alwar got merged with the princely states of Karauli, Bharatpur and Dholpur which came to be known as Matsya. Finally, in 1949, Matsya got merged with Rajasthan.