Sawai Raja Soor Singh or Suraj Mal or Suraj Singh (24 April 1571 – 7 September 1619), was the ruler of the
Rathore Kingdom of
Marwar
Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. 'Maru' is a Sanskrit word for desert. The word 'wad' literally means fence in Rajasthani languages. Engl ...
from 11 July 1595 until his death in 1619. His sister Manavati, also known as,
Bilqis Makani was the consort of
Mughal Emperor Jahangir and mother of his successor
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.
Early life
Suraj Mal was the son of
Raja Udai Singh, the ruler of
Marwar
Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. 'Maru' is a Sanskrit word for desert. The word 'wad' literally means fence in Rajasthani languages. Engl ...
. His mother was Rajavat Kachwahi Manrang Deviji, the principal wife of his father, and the daughter of
Raja Askaran of
Narwar, who was also briefly Raja of
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...
before being ousted in favour of his uncle,
Bharmal
Raja Bharmal, also known as Bihari Mal, and Bihar Mal (1498 – 27 January 1574), was the 23rd ruler of Jaipur State, Amber, which was later known as Jaipur. He was a ruler of the Kachhwaha clan.
His daughter, Mariam-uz-Zamani was the chief ...
.
He was the elder full brother of
Mani Bai, through whom he was the maternal uncle of
Prince Khurram; and of
Kishan Singh, the founder of the
Kingdom of Kishangarh.
Reign
Sur Singh succeeded his father upon his death, and he was given tilak by Akbar on 23 July 1595. Akbar bestowed upon him 16 parganas and a mansab of 2000 Zat and Sawar.
He was sent to look into the affairs of
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
in the absence of Prince
Murad
Murad or Mourad () is an Arabic name. It is also common in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Turkish, Persian, and Berber as a male given name or surname and is commonly used throughout the Muslim world and Middle East.
Etymology
It is derived ...
who had left for Deccan. In 1597, a revolt broke out in Gujarat, and he was appointed to take the expedition against Bahadur, son of Muzaffar Gujrati. However Bahadur fled away the field without facing the besieging army.
In 1599, he was sent to assist
Daniyal Mirza in the conquest of the
Deccan
The Deccan is a plateau extending over an area of and occupies the majority of the Indian peninsula. It stretches from the Satpura and Vindhya Ranges in the north to the northern fringes of Tamil Nadu in the south. It is bound by the mount ...
for Emperor
Akbar
Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...
.
In 1604 on the request of Daniyal Mirza, he was allowed to return to Jodhpur and was granted Jaitaran and western half of Merta pargana.
He received the hereditary title of Sawai Raja in recognition of his many services.
Under the reign of
Jahangir
Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...
, in 1607 he was sent to put down the rebellion in Gujarat.
On 1608, he attended the court of Jahangir and presented a poet who wrote verse in the Hindi language.
Later that year, he was granted 3000 Zat and 2000 Sawar. In 1613, he was granted the pargana of
Phalodi
Phalodi is a city in Phalodi district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the headquarters for Phalodi district. Phalodi is also called the "salt city" due to the salt industry in Rin. Phalodi is in the buffer zone of Thar Desert and ofte ...
and was deputed by the Emperor along with Prince
Khurram to undertake the expedition of
Mewar
Mewar, also spelled as Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasth ...
. The local knowledge by the Raja fully utilised by Khurram against the Rana of Mewar and various outpost were established on his suggestion. In 1615, he was promoted to rank of 5000 Zat and 3300 Sawar and was posted to Deccan to subdue the various rebelling vassals. At his departure, a robe of honour along with a horse was bestowed upon him.
Death
He died on active service at Mahaikat, Deccan on 7 September 1619.
On his death, the Emperor Jahangir had remarked:
According to Khyats, at the time of his death, Sur Singh's sway extended over
Jodhpur
Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...
,
Siwana,
Jaitaran,
Jalor
Jalore () (ISO 15919 : ''Jālora'' ), also known as Granite City, is a city in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Jalore district, Jalore District.
It has a river known as Jawai Nadi. Jalore lies to ...
,
Satalmar,
Sojat,
Merta,
Phalodi
Phalodi is a city in Phalodi district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the headquarters for Phalodi district. Phalodi is also called the "salt city" due to the salt industry in Rin. Phalodi is in the buffer zone of Thar Desert and ofte ...
,
Sanchor,
Terwada, Merwada, villages of Gorwada,
Ratlam
Ratlam is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam district, which was created in 1947 after the independe ...
and Bhatnagar in
Malwa
Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...
,
Chorgaon in Deccan and
Radhanpur
Radhanpur is a village and a gram panchayat in Patan district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat.
Origin of name
According to the tradition, this village is named after Radhan Khan, a descendant of Fateh Khan Baloch. ...
in
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
.
He was succeeded by his son
Gaj Singh.
Ancestry
See also
*
Rulers of Marwar
Kingdom of Marwar, also known as Jodhpur State during the modern era, was a kingdom in the Marwar region from 1243 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. It was established in Pali by ''Rao Siha'', possibly a migran ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sur Singh
1571 births
1619 deaths
Monarchs of Marwar