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 History of Alwar, Rajasthan, is an interesting one. It dates back to an ancient era, about 3500 years ago. That was the period when the Pandavas, made famous by the Mahabharata, lived. At that time, Alwar was called Matsya Desh or in other words, the 'Land of Fish'! Matsya Desh, in fact, referred to the whole area around the present districts of Alwar, Jaipur and Bharatpur, along with Viratnagar which was its capital.
During the turbulent medieval times, the city of Alwar developed into a place of great importance. Being an area of strategic importance, Alwar was coveted by many. This counts the Mughals, the Jats of adjacent Bharatpur, Jaipur’s Kachhawaha Rajputs, the Nikumbha Rajputs, the Marathas as well as the British. All these people had their rule in Alwar at different points of time. According to Alwar History, the Nikumbhas were, in all likelihood, the first to rule this region.
Origin of Alwar tells that it was an important base for the Mughals. It was from this place that they started their attacks on Ranthambhore Fort. Alwar was also a halt station for the Mughal emperors who used to stop here for a while during their travel between Ajmer and Agra. After the Mughals, History of Alwar points towards the Jats who ruled over Alwar, albeit for a short period.
Finally, Alwar was given some political stability by Thakur Pratap Singh of the Naruka clan. Thakur Pratap Singh, along with other Kachhawaha Rajputs of Jaipur, did a lot for Alwar. Despite the not-so-rich economy of Alwar, they constructed splendid palaces and performed their hunting safaris with élan. However, the masses suffered due to the extravagances of these royal people. This, ultimately, caused their popularity graph take a nose dive. Nevertheless, Alwar got beautified in this process.
Troubled times came to an end when Pratap Singh conquered Alwar after defeating the Marathas. Thus, in the year 1771, Alwar achieved the status of the youngest Rajput kingdom, as a British ally though. The British even conferred on Pratap Singh the title of 'Maharaja' as he had helped them against the influential Marathas. However, this friendly alliance did not have a long life. The maharaja of Alwar resented the British interference in his governance strongly, particularly when a British Resident was installed in his court.
Subsequent to independence, Alwar was combined with the other princely states of Karauli, Bharatpur and Dholpur, giving rise to the United State of Matsya. This name reflected the fact that all these states comprised the erstwhile Matsya kingdom. Finally, in the year of 1949, Matsya got merged with Rajasthan.
So, pack your bags and take the road that leads to Alwar as soon as possible.
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