Jalor
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Jalor
Head-quarters of a district of the same name in the State of Jodhpur, Rajputana, situated in 25degree 21' N. and 72degree 37' E., 75 miles south of Jodhpur city. Population (1901), 7,443. It possesses a post office, an Anglo-vernacular school, and a hospital with accommodation for 8 in-patients. The principal manufactures are cotton cloth, camel saddles, and prettily engraved drinking vessels of bell-metal. On a hill to the south and entirely commanding the town stands the fort, one of the most famous in Rajputana. Built by the Para- mara Rajputs, its walls, composed of huge masses of cut stone, remain even now in a perfect state of preservation, although the place has been many times besieged.
The fort is about 800 by 400 yards in extent, and accessible only by an ascent of 3 miles up a steep and slippery stone roadway, passing three distinct lines of defence, all of considerable strength. Jalor was held by the Param&ras till to- wards the end of the twelfth century, when the Chauhan Rao Kirthi Pal (of Nadol) took it and made it his capital. His grandson Udai Singh surrendered it to Shams-ud-dln Altamsh about 1210, but it was immediately restored to him. About 100 years later, Ala-ud- dfn, after a lengthy siege, captured it from Kanardeo Chauhan, and a three-domed mosque, said to have been built by him, is still in good repair and daily use. About 1540 the fort and district passed into the possession of Raja Maldeo of Jodhpur.
