Rao Ranmal, called Ran Mal or Ridmal, was the Rathore ruler of Marwar from 1428 to 1438.
19 Facts About Ranmal
1.
2.
In 1428, Ranmal returned to Marwar to claim his ancestral throne, left vacant by the deaths of his father and brothers.
3.
When Mokal Singh was assassinated five years later, Ranmal took on the governance of Mewar, now in the name of Mokal's young son Kumbha.
4.
Ranmal was born in 1392 as the only son of Rao Chunda, the Rathore ruler of Marwar, by his wife Suram De Sankhali, daughter of Bisal.
5.
Ranmal travelled to Chittor, the fortress-capital of the kingdom of Mewar.
6.
Hansa Bai, due to the minority of her young son Mokal Singh, entreated Ranmal to administer the state on behalf of the new Rana.
7.
Ranmal fulfilled this role admirably over the following years, launching military campaigns against Mewar's rivals.
8.
However, there was resentment among the nobles at the growing Rathore influence at court, in particular regarding the level of nepotism with which Ranmal awarded high positions.
9.
Ranmal is recorded as conquering the city of Bikrampur after killing a certain Bhati chief named Kelana, possibly referring to Rao Kelana of Pugal, who was among those responsible for killing his father.
10.
Ranmal introduced some reforms, both in Marwar and earlier in Mewar, including the improvement of the existing systems of weights and measures.
11.
Hansa Bai, now the queen-grandmother, again called on her brother Ranmal to take charge of the state until the new Rana reached his majority.
12.
Ranmal, accompanied by some of his twenty-four sons, returned to Chittor, nominally taking up the position of caretaker to his minor great-nephew, though for all intents and purposes, he became the true power in the kingdom.
13.
Ranmal began to hunt down the conspirators, with some being killed and others being forced into hiding.
14.
Ranmal began to grow apprehensive of the growing Rathore influence in the court and started preparing a resistance to Ranmal.
15.
Conversely, Ranmal viewed the Mewari prince as a threat and too launched a conspiracy.
16.
Ranmal was then set upon by assassins sent by the Mewari nobles.
17.
The death of Ranmal caused a significant falling out between the kingdoms of Marwar and Mewar, resulting in the former's capital, Mandore, and its surrounding lands being occupied by Mewar's army.
18.
Ranmal married multiple times, as was common among the Rajput elite.
19.
Ranmal had several sons, many of whom subsequently became ancestors of new Rathore clans.