Jai Singh's city of JAIPUR, founded in 1727


*MAP*
Section 6, top margin B-C, left margin b
The fort of Amber (with its hilltop extension called Jaigarh), first seized by the Kachwaha Rajputs in 1037, was the key to defending and controlling the area
Amber's interior architecture has developed over the centuries; the fort was rebuilt and augmented by Akbar's general Raja Man Singh (1540-1614)

One more fort, Nahargarh, added by Jai Singh, also overlooks the town
The town of Jaipur itself was founded in 1727 by the remarkable Jai Singh (r.1699-1743) (*wiki*), who was not only one of Aurangzeb's generals, but also had serious scientific interests



Jai Singh's Jantar Mantars (c. late 1720's)
Sir Thomas Metcalfe had the Delhi Jantar Mantar painted for his album in the 1840's-- and later Lala Deen Dayal photographed it
The Delhi Jantar Mantar, in views by modern photographers
The Jaipur one, built between 1718 and 1734, was the largest of the five (Delhi, Jaipur, Banaras, Calcutta, and a vanished one in Ujjain)
The Jantar Mantar in Banaras




The unique Hava'i Mahal, or "Airy Palace" (1799), said to have been built for the convenience of the ladies of the harem, remains a great tourist attraction
Portraits of some of the later rulers in the dynasty: *a dynastic list*
"The World's Largest Silver Object" is located in Jaipur City Palace
Jaipur revenue-stamped documents are here used as exotic backgrounds for modern paintings of (what else?) dancing-girls and rajas



 
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