History of Udaipur
History
of Udaipur
Significance of Founding of Udaipur, An Overview of the Sixteenth Century World
An assessment of the global scenario of the sixteenth century reveals that founding of Udaipur was a logical decision of a wise monarch. It was an event that greatly influenced the history of the Indian sub-continent in general and that of Mewar and the still - surviving Sisodia dynasty in particular. Over the centuries, Udaipur has achieved international distinction for its scenic beauty; history; architecture" mineral resources, etc.
Udaipur was founded by Maharana Udai Singh (II) of Mewar in AD 1559 and is named after him. Chittorgarh, the capital of his kingdom, though well fortified, was indeed a vulnerable plateau in the wake of the changing military developments of 16th century:
Use of gunpowder for the military purpose shifted the war tactics from long sieges of forts to open battles in which the infantry and cavalry arms were augmented by a more effective artillery punch. Invention of the spirally grooved rifle barrel ( 1520) , the portable gun (harquebus, 1525) and that of the pistol ( 1540) added new weapons for the combat. Around the wond, the use of firearms resulted in the creation and expansion of empires in which more powerful rulers emerged. The Ottoman Empire stretched into three continents (Suleiman the Magnificent) , Mughal Empire was well established on the Indian subcontinent (Akbar the Great), and Ivan-IV (the Terrible or the Awe-lnspiring) had become the first tsar of Russia (1547). The martial Japanese, however, considered the muskets and other firearms as " weapons of cowards ", but some of the samurai realized its potential, especially Samurai Oda Nobunaga who captured Kyoto (1568) in an effort to reunite the warring Japan. Kings who were shy of making military use of gunpowder were losing their hold and authority. The MING dynasty was decaying in China, so were most of the sovereigns of Asian kingdoms who were highly reluctant to use firearms.
In Europe,
power of the traditionalist Holy Roman Empire was declining and new
power equiliprium was emerging. .Germany and France were restless and
were trying to compete with the power of Portugal and Spain. French
replaced Latin as the official Language of France (1547). England was
emerging as a trading nation under the reign of Queen Elizabeth -I (
1553-1603) ; she also repealed the Catholic legislation and set up a
moderate Protestant Church. Not only was Christianity divided into Roman
Catholic and Protestants, but Islam too was divided into Sunnis and
Shiites resulting in wars between the newly established Safavid Shahs of
Persia and the Qanunis of the Ottoman Empire. In India, Sikhism founded
by Guru Nanak Dev (1519) was gradually spreading on the Indian
sub-continent .
Likewise in
the sixteenth century, the great age of world exploration had also
begun: the Portuguese had already prepared maps of the sea routes for
trading. Portuguese followed by Spanish missionaries were moving out
into Asia (notably St. Francis to Japan, 1549; Matteo Ricci to China,
1582) .Spanish Empire was spreading to the New World. The first African
slaves were introduced into the Americas { 1502) .Francis Drake claimed
California for Britain (1565). The first baby; Virginia Dare, was born
in America to English parents (1587).
In the scientific field also, great advancements were taking place, De Re Metallica, one of the first books on mining & mineralogy, was published in Germany ( 1556) and dredge was invented ( 1561) .Andreas Vesalius published some of the first accurate descriptions of human anatomy (1543), Nicolas Copernicus propounded the theory of solar system (1543) which was at that time considered "anti-church and against the common sense", Enamel was invented and platinum discovered (1557). A new writing tool, graphite pencil, was developed ( 1565) , Wrench, screwdriver ( 1550) , screw-cutting machine and ornamental turning lathe were added ( 1569) to the developing machinery of the period, Galileo recognized the significance of pendulum motion ( 1581) which had several
practical applications,
most useful of which was in the improvement of time machines. The
Gregorian calendar ( 1582} replaced the Julian calendar. New foods were
discovered and their cultivation spread worldwide notably that of
potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum, sunflower, pineapple, banana, tobacco and
cocoa beans. On the other hand, sugar cane plantation spread in Americas
and the Mughal Emperor Baber introduced grapes and melons to India. All
these examples demonstrate that many of the spheres of human activity,
major as well as minor, were witnessing changes; the modern version of
violin was also developed during this period and new dresses were
designed to cater to the taste of the affluent society that was
developing then. Founding of Udaipur should, therefore, be viewed in
light of the.changing milieu of that period. Maharana Udai Singh had
made up his mind to shift the capital of his state from the then
vulnerable Chittorgarh in view of the expansionist designs of the more
powerful Mughal might, which had successfully utilized artillery for
establishing the Mughal rule in India. Many of the events of the
sixteenth century described above may not have been known to the
Maharana and his advisers but they definitely knew that Lord Krishna
shifted his capital from (vulnerable) Mathura to (safe) Dwarka to negate
the persistent attacks from his enemy. They also took into consideration
the fate of his king- dom during the First SAKA of Chittorgarh (Alla-O-Din
Khilji, AD 1303) in which in succes- sion eleven sons of the Maharana
and finally the Maharana himself along with thousands of his countrymen
perished for the honor of their motherland. Ajay Singh, the second and
the only surviving son of the Maharana was earlier persuaded to leave
the vulnerable capital and II ...was in security at Kelwara, a town
situated in the Aravalli mountains, the western boundary of Mewar, to
which its princes had indebted for twelve centuries of domination"
(Col. James Todd, 1829, p 216). Having been brought up in the Aravalli
hills, Maharana Udai Singh had firsthand knowledge of appropriateness of
this region. Furthermore, equally important was the drastic change,
which came about in the local situation.Mewar had witnessed a glorious
period under the reign of Maharana Sanga (Reign: 1509-1527). The
fortunes of Mewar declined after the defeat of Maharana Sanga in the
Battle of Khanwa. His death by poisoning
(1527) resulted in a power struggle and intrigues in Chittorgarh,
followed by
