The Maharaja belongs to the Rathor clan of Rajputs. The family chronicles relate that after the downfall of the Rathor dynasty of Kanauj in 1194, Sivaji, the grandson of Jai Chand, the last king of Kanauj, entered Marwar on a pilgrimage to Dwarka, and on halting at the town of Pali he and his followers settled there to protect the Brahman community from the constant raids of marauding bands. The Rathor chief thus laid the foundation of the state, but it was not till the time of Rao Chanda, the tenth in succession from Sivaji, that Marwar was actually conquered. His grandson Jodha founded the city of Jodhpur, which he made his capital. In 1561 the country was invaded by Akbar, and the chief was forced to submit, and to send his son as a mark of homage to take service under the Mogul emperor. When this son Udai Singh succeeded to the chiefship, he gave his sister Jodhbai in marriage to Akbar, and was rewarded by the restoration of most of his former possessions. Udai Singh's son, Gaj Singh, held high service under Akbar, and conducted successful expeditions in Gujarat and the Deccan. The bigoted and intolerant Aurangzeb invaded Marwar in 1679, plundered Jodhpur, sacked all the large towns, and commanded the conversion of the Rathors to Mahommedanism. This cemented all the Rajput clans into a bond of union, and a triple alliance was formed by the three states of Jodhpur, Udaipur and Jaipur, to throw off the Mahommedan yoke. One of the conditions of this alliance was that the chiefs of Jodhpur and Jaipur should regain the privilege of marriage with the Udaipur family, which they had forfeited by contracting alliances with the Mogul emperors, on the understanding that the offspring of Udaipur princesses should succeed to the state in preference to all other children. The quarrels arising from this stipulation lasted through many generations, and led to the invitation of Mahratta help from the rival aspirants to power, and finally to the subjection of all the Rajput states to the Mahrattas. Jodhpur was conquered by Sindhia, who levied a tribute of £60,000, and took from it the fort and town of Ajmere. Internecine disputes and succession wars disturbed the peace of the early years of the century, until in January 1818 Jodhpur was taken under British protection. In 1839 the misgovernment of the raja led to an insurrection which compelled the interference of the British. In 1843, the chief having died without a son, and without having adopted an heir, the nobles and state officials were left to select a successor from the nearest of kin. Their choice fell upon Raja Takht Sinh, chief of Ahmednagar. This chief, who did good service during the Mutiny, died in 1873. Maharaja Jaswant Singh, who died in 1896, was a very enlightened ruler. His brother, Sir Pertab Singh (q.v.), conducted the administration until his nephew, Sardar Singh, came of age in 1898. The imperial service cavalry formed part of the reserve brigade during the Tirah campaign.