Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c41.s1.111

v3.c41.s1.111

Services of Jai Singh to Jaipur State.—The Kachhwaha State, as well as its capital, owes everything to Jai Singh: before his time, it had little political weight beyond that which it acquired from the personal character of its princes, and their estimation at the Mogul court. Yet, notwithstanding the intimate connexion which existed between the Amber Rajas and the imperial family, from Babur to Aurangzeb, their patrimonial estates had been very little enlarged since Pajun, the contemporary of the last Rajput emperor of Delhi. Nor was it till [364] the troubles which ensued on the demise of Aurangzeb, when the empire was eventually partitioned, that Amber was entitled to the name of a raj. During those troubles, Jai Singh's power as the king's lieutenant in Agra, which embraced his hereditary domains, gave him ample opportunity to enlarge and consolidate his territory. The manner in which he possessed himself of the independent districts of Deoti and Rajor,¹ affords an additional insight into the national character, and that of this prince.