[2] More specifically, it designates the western region of the present-day state of Rajasthan, spanning the districts of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali, Bikaner, Sikar, Churu, and Jhunjhunu.

Jodhpur State was bounded on the north by Jangladesh region, on the northeast by Dhundhar, on the east by Ajmer, on the southeast by Mewar, on the south by Godwar, on the southwest by Sindh, and on the west by Jaisalmer.

[citation needed] Marwar is a sandy plain lying northwest of the Aravalli Range, which runs southwest-northeast through Rajasthan state.

It originates from the Pushkar valley of Ajmer district, and the main river flows through Marwar in a south-westerly direction until it finally disappears into the seasonal wetland of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.

[4] The sandy tracts of Thar Desert in western Marwar (Maru Pradesh) are characterised by a harsh physical geography and a fragile ecology.

High wind velocity, shifting sand dunes and very deep and saline water sources pose a challenge to sustained human habitation in the Thar.

[5] The Gurjara Pratihara,[6] established a kingdom in Marwar in the 6th century, with a capital at Mandore,[7] 9 km from present-day Jodhpur.

The ruined city of Osian or Ossian, 65 km from Jodhpur, was an important religious centre of the Pratihara period.

After the sacking of Kannauj by Muhammad of Ghor in 1194, and its capture by the Delhi Sultanate in the early 13th century, the Rathores fled west.

The Rathore family chronicles relate that Siyaji, grandson of Jai Chandra, the last Gahadvala king of Kannauj, came to Marwar on a pilgrimage to Dwarka in Gujarat.

On halting at the town of Pali he and his followers settled there to protect the Brahmin community from the raids of marauding bands.

Rao (king) Chunda, tenth in succession from Siyaji, finally wrested control of Mandore and much of Marwar from the Turks with help of the Partiharas.

One died and the other survived to secure the throne of Marwar and to stir up the sentiments of his co-religionists against the Muslim Monarch.

This was a sufficient ground for incorporating Marwar in the Mughal Empire, or reducing it to a state of dependency under a capable ruler.

Internecine disputes and succession wars disturbed the peace of the early years of the century, until in January 1818 Jodhpur was brought under British control.