Historical Events


Year Historical Events Details.
944 The history of Sawai Madhopur revolves around the Ranthambore fort. The settlement around the fort is the oldest here. Though the origin of the fort is not exactly known, it is believed to date back to the 8th century. According to popular belief, it was built by Rajput King Sapaldaksha in the year 944 AD. 
1110 According to another school of thought, the fort was constructed by King Jayant. He too was a Rajput Chauhan around 1110 AD. 

The fort of Ranthambore was a pivotal building for the rulers of this region as the trade routes between North India, South and Central India. Under the rule of Rao Hammir, the last Chauhan ruler the Ranthambore region prospered magnificently. He ruled from 1282 - 1301 AD. 

In 1296, Jalaluddin was assassinated by his nephew Allaluddin Khilji, who won over the nobles by bribing them and then crowned himself as the new Sultan of Delhi. Muhammad Shah was instrumental in making this coup successful and was rewarded for doing so. Allowed access to the harem, he struck up a friendship with Chimna, a disaffect begum of Allaudin's. The pair conspired to kill Allaudin and have themselves as sultan and queen. Allaudin discovered the plot and Shah fled from Delhi along with his brother.

Shah obtained asylum from Hamir Dev, the Rajput ruler of Ranathambor, which then caused Dev to be a focus of Allaudin's ire. The fort of Ranathambhor was attacked and the armies of Allaudin and Dev fought a battle on the banks of river Banas, which the Rajput forces won. However, Dev's army became disorganised due to a personal feud involving the Senapati (General-in-charge of the army), Gurdan Saini, who was eventually killed by his opponent, the prime minister.[who?] Allaudin reorganised his forces and made a renewed attack on the fort, being supplied with information about the state of the besieged forts supplies of food and water by unhappy officers from Dev's army. The fort structure was such that Allaudin was unable to breach it, so he offered to return to Delhi if Dev would hand Muhammad Shah over to him. Dev thought that breaking his promise to Shah would be dishonourable but Shah persuaded him that it was better than continuing the gruelling siege, given the immense resources of Allaudin's army. Thus, Allaudin got his way.

1301  Finally in1301 Ala-ud-din Khilji, conquered the fort. 
1500 the fort kept on changing hands.
1558  It was the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1558 who provided stability to the region. He merged Ranthambore with his kingdom. The Mughal rulers ruled the fort till the 18th century. 
1763  In 1763 the king fortified the village of Sherpur and named it after himself, Sawai Madhopur. Presently this place is known as the Sawai Madhopur city. Two years later the Mughals handed over the fort to the Jaipur ruler.
1800 During the mid-18th centuries the Maratha rulers of Western India were gradually gaining power. In order to put a check on them the Rajput ruler of Jaipur, Sawai Madho Singh, requested the Mughal king to hand the fort to him. But his plea fell on deaf ears.
19 January 1763 Sawai Madhopur is popularly known as the 'gateway to Ranhambore  was built as a planned city by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh I of Jaipur
(Last Updated on : 12/05/2016)