Early Modern India

Ruler of Bikaner (1526–1541) who defended his kingdom against early Mughal expansion and was killed in battle with Rao Maldev of Marwar.

—1541

Son of Rao Bika; second ruler of Bikaner who consolidated the nascent kingdom after his father's death.

—1526

The last Mughal Emperor — poet, calligrapher, and reluctant leader of the 1857 Indian Rebellion, who died in British exile in Rangoon.

24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862

Regent and guardian of young Akbar; decisive commander at the Second Battle of Panipat (1556).

1501 – 31 January 1561

Mughal Crown Prince, Sufi scholar, and heir apparent executed by Aurangzeb in 1659.

20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659

Fourth Mughal Emperor, renowned as a great patron of Mughal painting and author of the celebrated Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri memoirs.

31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627

The Kachwaha Rajput princess who married Akbar in 1562, becoming Mariam-uz-Zamani and mother of Emperor Jahangir — a bridge between Rajput and Mughal worlds.

1542 – 1623

Tenth ruler of Bikaner (r. 1669–1698); first to receive the title 'Maharaja' from Aurangzeb after leading the decisive siege of Golconda (1687).

1638 – 1698

Seventeenth ruler of Bikaner (r. 1787–1828) who signed the subsidiary alliance with the East India Company on 9 March 1818, bringing Bikaner into the British protectorate system.

—1828

Son of Maharana Pratap who eventually made peace with the Mughals in 1615, ending decades of resistance while preserving Mewar's internal autonomy.

16 March 1559 – 26 January 1620

The indomitable Maharana of Mewar who alone refused Mughal suzerainty, fought the legendary Battle of Haldighati, and reclaimed his kingdom through years of forest exile.

9 May 1540 – 19 January 1597

Founder of Udaipur and father of Maharana Pratap, who survived a childhood assassination attempt thanks to the sacrifice of loyal maidservant Panna Dhai.

1522 – 28 February 1572

Rao Jait Singh of Bikaner is killed at the Battle of Saheba (1541) fighting Rao Maldev of Marwar, temporarily ending Bikaner's independence.

1541

Akbar's landmark abolition of the discriminatory tax on non-Muslims in 1564, a pillar of his Sulh-e-Kul (universal peace) policy.

1564

Akbar's personal siege of Chittorgarh (1567-68) ended in the third jauhar, the death of heroes Jaimal and Patta, and the permanent abandonment of the ancient Mewar capital.

20 October 1567 – 23 February 1568

Maharaja Anup Singh of Bikaner commands the seven-month Mughal siege of Golconda Fort; Sultanate surrenders 21 October 1687, earning him the 'Maharaja' title from Aurangzeb.

January 1687 – 21 October 1687

Sher Shah Suri defeats Humayun at Bilgram, forcing the Mughal emperor into a 15-year exile.

17 May 1540 – 17 May 1540

The legendary clash on 18 June 1576 where Maharana Pratap fought Akbar's army led by Man Singh I — Pratap survived on his dying horse Chetak to fight another day.

18 June 1576 – 18 June 1576

Babur's second decisive victory, defeating Rana Sanga of Mewar in 1527 and permanently establishing Mughal dominance.

17 March 1527 – 17 March 1527

Aurangzeb defeats Dara Shikoh in the decisive battle of the Mughal War of Succession, near Agra.

29 May 1658 – 29 May 1658

Rao Kalyan Mal of Bikaner allies with Sher Shah Suri and recovers his kingdom from Rao Maldev of Marwar (c. 1545).

1545

Maharaja Surat Singh signs the subsidiary alliance with the East India Company on 9 March 1818, making Bikaner a British protectorate.

9 March 1818

Rao Kalyan Mal of Bikaner formally acknowledges Akbar's suzerainty at the Nagaur durbar (November 1570), forging the Mughal alliance that would define Bikaner for two centuries.

November 1570

Sawai Jai Singh II's network of five stone astronomical observatories (1724-1735) — Jaipur's Jantar Mantar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the world's largest sundial.

1724 – 1735

Rathore Rajput kingdom in the Thar Desert of northwestern Rajasthan, founded 1488 and merged into India 1949.

1488 – 30 March 1949

One of the world's greatest empires, ruling much of the Indian subcontinent from 1526 to 1857.

21 April 1526 – 21 September 1857

Afghan successor empire (1540–1555) that ousted the Mughals; famous for Grand Trunk Road, silver rupee, and administrative reforms.

17 May 1540 – 22 July 1555

Central Asian Timurid ruling dynasty that founded and ruled the Mughal Empire across the Indian subcontinent from 1526 to 1857.

Cadet branch of the Rathore Rajput clan that ruled the Kingdom of Bikaner in northwestern Rajasthan from 1488 to 1949.

Pashtun Afghan ruling dynasty founded by Sher Shah Suri that briefly displaced the Mughal Empire and transformed North Indian governance from 1540 to 1555.

461-year timeline of Bikaner's Rathore rulers, from desert founding to independence merger.

From Babur's triumph at Panipat to Bahadur Shah Zafar's exile in Rangoon — 331 years of Mughal history.

21 April 1526 – 21 September 1857

From Rana Sanga's defiance to Maharana Pratap's resistance to Sawai Jai Singh's Jaipur — the story of Rajputana's proud kingdoms.

17 March 1527 – 1949