Udai Singh II

Maharana Udai Singh II

Maharana Udai Singh II (born August 4, 1522 in Chittorgarh , † February 28, 1572 in Gogunda ) was one of the most important rulers of the Rajput state of Mewar . He is considered the founder of the city named after him, Udaipur in what is now the Indian state of Rajasthan .

Life

Udai Singh was the fourth son of Maharana Sangram Singh, who is usually referred to as Rana Sanga , and thus the great-grandson of Rana Kumbha . His mother was Rani Karnavati, a princess of the Princely State of Bundi . His father died the same year he was born; He was succeeded by the eldest son Ratan Singh, who was murdered nine years later (1531). His brother Vikramaditya Singh succeeded him as ruler of Mewar, but he did not succeed in saving Chittorgarh from the siege and conquest by the Turkish-born Sultan of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah , in 1534/35. The only 13-year-old Udai Singh had previously been brought to safety in Bundi and later in the fort of Kumbhalgarh or hidden under a false name. In 1537, Banbir, his uncle, had Vikramaditya killed and usurped power over Mewar for several years.

After reaching the age of majority in 1540, however, the nobles of Mewar paid homage to Udai Singh as the new ruler of the principality, which in the following years experienced a long period of relative internal and external calm. As Udai Singh, however, in the years 1561/2 the Sultan of Malwa , which by the troops of Mughal emperor Akbar I briefly granted was attacked (r. 1556-1605), refuge, Akbar turned in autumn 1567 against Mewar capital Chittorgarh , the surrendered - after strong and tenacious, but ultimately unsuccessful, resistance - in February of the following year. On the advice of the nobles, Udai Singh escaped the siege by fleeing into the mountains; from then on he lived in western Rajasthan. Before his death (1572) he determined - possibly out of love for his mother - his fourth son Jamal as his heir to the throne, but this was prevented by the nobles of Mewar from becoming the successor; instead he was followed by his eldest son Rana Pratap Singh (r. 1572–1597).

Udaipur - City Palace and Picchola Lake

Establishment of Udaipur

The formerly wooded area around Lake Pichhola in the Aravalli Mountains has long served the princes of Mewar as a hunting ground; According to tradition, Udai Singh had the lake dammed and thus enlarged. On the lakeshore there was already a small settlement before Udai Singh's arrival, but afterwards it was splendidly designed - mainly because of its strategically well defensible location and its distance from Chittorgarh, the importance of which had decreased significantly after the conquest by Akbar. An exact founding date of Udaipur - sometimes the year 1568 or 1569 - cannot be determined, but Udai Singh II is generally recognized as the city's founder.

Web links

• Rana Udai Singh II. - History (English)
• Rana Udai Singh II. - Picture + Story (English)