[5] The Bhati rulers originally ruled parts of Afghanistan; their ancestor Rawal Gaj is believed to have founded the city of Gajni.

Encouraged by this meeting Rawal decided to move his capital to this location despite Eesul predicting that it would be sacked two and a half times.

According to most historians, the Sikh Jats of Majha and Malwa Doab's and the rulers of Kapurthala state in Doaba in Punjab trace their direct lineage to Jaisalmer royal families over the centuries.

Rawal Jethsi sent the children, elderly and sick, together with some troops to refuge in the desert and applied a scorched earth policy to the countryside surrounding Jaisalmer while building up a massive store of food within the fort.

According to local ballads, the Bhatis defended the fort for 8 years during which the forces left outside of the walls occupied themselves attacking the supply lines of the besiegers.

By 1294 the besiegers had received sufficient reinforcements that they were able to impose a complete blockade of the fort which soon exhausted the Bhati's ammunition and food.

The siege led to the second jauhar of the prophecy, the suicide of 16,000 women and the death of Rawal Dudu and his son Tilaski together with 1,700 warriors.

[20] The "half jauhar" of the prophecy occurred in the 16th century when Amir Ali, an Afghan chieftain obtained Rawal Lunakaran's permission to let his wives visit the queens of Jaisalmer.

When it seemed to the Rawal that he was fighting a losing battle he slaughtered his womenfolk with his own hands as there was insufficient time to arrange a funeral pyre.

[21] On a clandestine mapping mission, great game maestro Alexander Burnes was one of the first Europeans to visit the royal castle, arriving on 8 January 1830.

The economy was heavily affected when Bombay emerged as a major port and sea trade replaced the traditional land routes.

A severe drought and resulting famine from 1895 to 1900 during the reign of Maharawal Shalivahan Singh only made matters worse by causing widespread loss of the livestock that the increasingly agriculturally based kingdom relied upon.

Maharawal Jawahir Singh's (1914–49) attempts at modernisation also failed to turn the kingdom's economy around and it remained isolated and backwards compared with other areas of Rajasthan.