31 Facts About Maldeo Rathore

Rao Maldeo Rathore was a king of the Rathore dynasty, who ruled the kingdom of Marwar in present day state of Rajasthan.

Maldeo ascended the throne in 1531 CE, inheriting a small ancestral principality of Rathore's but after a long period of military actions against his neighbours, Maldeo swept significant territories which included parts of present day Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Sindh.

Maldeo Rathore refused to ally with either the Sur Empire or the Mughal Empire.

Maldeo Rathore personally led the charge on the left wing of the Mughal army and after the Rajput confederacy's defeat, he carried the wounded and unconscious Rana out of the battlefield.

In 1529 the Rathore rebel Shekha and Khanzada Daulat Khan of Nagaur attacked Jodhpur, however Rao Ganga and Maldeo defeated this army and killed Shekha.

The rulers of Marwar once held sway over nine Rathore chieftains, however by the time Maldeo acceded to the throne, he ruled only two districts.

Maldeo Rathore thus attacked these nine chieftains and changed Marwars stance of overlordship to absolute control.

In 1534 Maldeo Rathore attacked Nagaur and forced Daulat Khan to flee to Ajmer.

Maldeo Rathore soon attacked Merta, Rian and Ajmer and captured them.

Maldeo Rathore, after capturing Jalore attacked and annexed Sanchore, Bhinmal, Radhanpur and Nabhara.

Maldeo Rathore had direct control over 40 districts in and around present day Rajasthan.

In 1539 Maldeo Rathore took advantage of the war between the Mughals and the Sur Empire to conquer Bayana, Tonk and Toda.

Maldeo Rathore continued this tradition and greatly increased the number of Chindhars in his outposts.

Chandra says that, Maldeo Rathore had the mirage of reviving the 8th century Rashtrakuta empire.

Maldeo Rathore took advantage of this situation to conquer Nagaur and force Daulat to flee to Ajmer.

Biram refused this request, resulting in Maldeo Rathore sending an army and conquering Ajmer from Biram dev.

Maldeo Rathore was expanding his territories westward and besieged Jaisalmer in 1537.

Maldeo Rathore successfully conquered Jalore and took Sikandar as a prisoner to Jodhpur.

Rao Maldeo Rathore took advantage of the Mewari civil war and invaded Mewar.

Maldeo Rathore established a garrison at Jaunpur and annexed the lands of Sambhar, Kalsi, Fatehpur, Rewasa, Chota-Udaipur, Chatsu, Lawan and Malwarana.

Maldeo Rathore continued to take advantage of the war and used the situation to form military posts in Mewar, Bundi and Ranthambore.

Bikaner was a Maldeo Rathore kingdom situated towards the north of Marwar.

Rao Maldeo Rathore used a minor border dispute as a pretext for war and fought a battle with Rao Jaitsi in 1542 at the battle of Sohaba, Rao Jaitsi was killed in battle and Rao Maldeo Rathore took advantage of this situation to annex the entire kingdom of Bikaner.

Shershah forged letters and deceived Maldeo Rathore into abandoning his commanders to their fate.

Afghan gunfire halted the Rajput charge and the small Maldeo Rathore army was decimated by the Afghan reinforcements under Jalal Khan.

However, Maldeo Rathore reoccupied his lost territories in 1545 after the death of Sher Shah Suri.

Rao Maldeo Rathore defeated Bharmal and captured four districts of the Amer kingdom.

Maldeo Rathore who was on a resurgence to win back his lost territories attacked Haji, however the States of Mewar and Bikaner came to Haji's aid and forced Maldeo Rathore to retreat.

Maldeo Rathore captured the fortified city of Merta after the battle.

Maldeo Rathore further invaded Amber and forced the Kachwaha Raja to become a feudatory of Marwar.

Akbar used this as a casus belli against Maldeo Rathore and sent several expeditions against Marwar.