The majority of the inhabitants of Jaisalmer are Bhatti Rajputs,
named for Bhati, who was renowned as a warrior.
This area was part of Gurjar - Pratihara empire and until the 11th century was ruled by a powerful Bargujar King. Deorâj, a famous prince of the Bhatti family, is esteemed the real founder of the Jaisalmer dynasty, and with him the title of rawal commenced.
In 1156 Râwal Jaisal, the sixth in succession from Deorâj, founded the fort and city of Jaisalmer,
and made it his capital as he moved from his former capital at Lodhruva (which is situated about 15 km to the north-west of Jaisalmer).
In 1293, the Bhatti so enraged the emperor Ala-ud-din Khilji that his army captured and sacked the fort and city of
Jaisalmer, so that for some time it was quite deserted. Some Bhatti´s migrated to Talwandi, now Nankana Sahib in Distt.
Nankana Sahib (Punjab, Pakistan) and others settled in Larkana (in Sind, Pakistan) under the name of Bhutto.
In Nankana Sahib, the Bhatti Clan can be traced from the lineage of Rai Bhoe and Rai Bular Bhatti.
After this there is nothing to record until the time of Rawal Sahal Singh,
whose reign marks an epoch in Bhatti history in that he acknowledged the supremacy of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
The Jaisalmer princes had now arrived at the height of their power,
but from this time till the accession of Rawal Mulraj in 1762 the fortunes of the state rapidly declined,
and most of its outlying provinces were lost. In 1818 Mulraj entered into political relations with the British.
Maharawal Salivahan, born in 1887, succeeded to the chiefship in 1891.
The Maharajas of Jaisalmer trace their lineage back to Jaitsimha, a ruler of the Bhatti Rajput clan.
The major opponents of the Bhatti Rajput were the powerful Rathor clans of Jodhpur and Bikaner.
They used to fight battles for the possession of forts, waterholes or cattle. Jaisalmer was positioned strategically
and was a halting point along a traditional trade route traversed by the camel caravans of Indian and Asian merchants.
The route linked India to Central Asia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Africa and the West.
During the Islamic invasion of India, Jaisalmer escaped direct Muslim conquest due to its geographical situation in the desert region.
The Rawals of Jaisalmer agreed to pay an annual tribute to the Delhi Sultans.
The first siege of Jaisalmer occurred during the reign of Alauddin Khilji.
It was provoked by Bhatti´.s raid on a caravan filled with treasure.
According to local ballads, the Bhatti defended the fort for seven years until the enemy army forces breached the ramparts.
Bhatti, facing certain defeat, proclaimed the rite of jauhar.
Later, Sultan Ferozshah also sieged Jaisalmer after the rulers of Jaisalmer raided his camp at Anasagar lake near Ajmer.
The siege led to another jauhar. Jaitsimha´s son Duda perished in the attack.
Duda´s descendants ruled over Jaisalmer for about two centuries.
Duda´s descendant Lunakarna had a fight with Humâyûn when the latter passed through Jaisalmer en route to Ajmer.
Mughal emperor Akbar was married to one of the Jaisalmer princesses.
Later, Jaisalmer was ruled by a noble called Sabala Simha, who won the patronage of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for services rendered in his Peshawar campaign.
