Rathore

The Rathore is a clan of Hindu Rajputs found in Northern India.[1] They form a part of the thirty-six Rajput Clans.[2] Alternative spellings include Rathaur or Rathor or Rathur or Rathod or Rathour or Rahtore. The bravery of the Rathore horsemen was appreciated by Benoît de Boigne after his campaign against them.[3]

For the village, see Rathor, Pakistan.

Amar Singh Rathore, a notable Rathore nobleman

The Rathores just like other Rajput clans variously claim descent from the Suryavansha (solar dynasty)[4] However, historians state that such illustrious descent has no historical basis, and was fabricated by Brahmins in order to give mainly low caste illiterate warriors greater status and prestige in a process called Rajputization.[5][6][7][8][9]

The Rathores also claim to be descendants of the 11th century Gahadavala dynasty of Varanasi.[10][11] The Rathores of Jodhpur State claimed to be descendants of Jayachandra. The rulers of the Manda feudal estate, who described themselves as Rathore, traced their ancestry to Jayachandra's alleged brother Manikyachandra (Manik Chand). These claims are sourced through bardic chronicles; for example, according to Prithviraj Raso, Rathore was an epithet of Jayachandra (Jaichand).[12] These claims are of later origin, and their historical veracity is doubtful.[13] In the medieval period, the Gahadavalas were anachronistically classified as one of the Rajput clans, despite the fact that the Rajput identity did not exist during their time.[14][15]

Rathore states

The various cadet branches of the Rathore clan gradually spread to encompass all of Marwar and later founded states in Central India and Gujarat. The Marwar Royal family is considered the head house of Rathores. At the time of India's independence in 1947, the princely states ruled by various branches of the Rathore clan included:[16][17]

  • Jodhpur (Marwar) in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha Ji.
  • Bikaner in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 1465 by Rao Bikaji (son of Rao Jodha).
  • Kishangarh in present-day Rajasthan, founded in 1611 by Raja Kishan Singh.
  • Idar in present-day Gujarat, founded in 1729 by Rao Anand Singh.
  • Ratlam in present-day Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1651 by Maharaja Ratan Singh.
  • Jhabua in present-day Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1584 by Raja Keshav Das.
  • Sitamau in present-day Madhya Pradesh, founded 1701 by Raja Kesho Das.
  • Sailana in present-day Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1730 by Raja Jai Singh.
  • Alirajpur in present-day Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1437 by Raja Anand Deo.
  • Seraikela in present-day Jharkhand, founded in 1620 by Raja Bikram Singh.

Notable people

References
  1. A. M. Shah (1998). The Family in India: Critical Essays. Orient Blackswan. pp. 112–. ISBN 978-81-250-1306-8.
  2. A History of Rajasthan, Section:The Rathores of Marwar , pg.372, by Rima Hooja, ISBN 9788129108906 — "The Rathores are amongst the traditionally listed thirty-six Rajput clans."
  3. Fall of the Mughal Empire: 1789–1803, Jadunath Sarkar, p 29 — "It is but just to the enemy to acknowledge that, considering the situation in which they were found, and the disorder consequent thereto, they behaved very valiantly"
  4. Indian India. Director of Public Relations, Chamber of Princes. 1 January 1945.
  5. Koyal, Sivaji (1986). "Emergence of Kingship, Rajputization and a New Economic Arrangement in Mundaland". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. Indian History Congress. 47, I: 536–542. JSTOR 44141600.
  6. André Wink (2002). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries. BRILL. p. 282. ISBN 0-391-04173-8. In short, a process of development occurred which after several centuries culminated in the formation of new groups with the identity of 'Rajputs'. The predecessors of the Rajputs, from about the eighth century, rose to politico-military prominence as an open status group or estate of largely illiterate warriors who wished to consider themselves as the reincarnates of the ancient Indian Kshatriyas. The claim of Kshatriyas was, of course, historically completely unfounded. The Rajputs as well as other autochthonous Indian gentry groups who claimed Kshatriya status by way of putative Rajput descent, differed widely from the classical varna of Kshatriyas which, as depicted in literature, was made of aristocratic, urbanite and educated clans...
  7. Norman Ziegler (1976). David Henige (ed.). "History in Africa (vol.3)". African Studies Association: 150. : Rajputs were, with some exceptions, almost totally illiterate as a caste group Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. Reinhard Bendix (1998). Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait. Psychology Press. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-415-17453-4.
  9. Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya (1994). "Origin of the Rajputs: The Political, Economic and Social Processes in Early Medieval Rajasthan". The Making of Early Medieval India. Oxford University Press. p. 59. ISBN 9780195634150.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  10. Jadunath Sarkar 1960, p. 32.
  11. Niyogi 1959, p. 29.
  12. Niyogi 1959, p. 30.
  13. Niyogi 1959, pp. 30–31.
  14. Jackson 2003, p. 9.
  15. Talbot 2015, pp. 33–35.
  16. Indian Princely Medals: A Record of the Orders, Decorations, and Medals by Tony McClenaghan, pg 179
  17. Dhananajaya Singh (1994). The House of Marwar. Lotus Collection, Roli Books. p. 13. He was the head of the Rathore clan of Rajputs, a clan which besides Jodhpur had ruled over Bikaner, Kishengarh, Idar, Jhabhua, Sitamau, Sailana, Alirajpur and Ratlam, all States important enough to merit gun salutes in the British system of protocol. These nine Rathore States collectively brought to India territory not less than 60,000 square miles in area.

Further reading
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