Amar Singh I

Maharana Amar Singh I, the Maharana ruler of Mewar Kingdom (March 16, 1559 – January 26, 1620), was the eldest son and successor of Maharana Pratap I. He was the 14th Rana of Mewar, ruling from January 19, 1597 till his death on January 26, 1620.

Birth and coronation
Amar Singh I was the eldest son of Maharana Pratap I. He was born in the old capital fortress of Chittor on 16 March 1559 to his father's chief queen Ajabde Punwar, who belonged to the Parmarji of Bijolia a fiefdom under Mewar the same year, when foundation of the new capital city of Udaipur was laid by his grandfather, Udai Singh II. Amar Singh I succeeded Maharana Pratap upon his death on 19 January 1597 and was the ruler of Mewar till his death on 26 January 1620.

Conflict with Mughals
By the end his reign Rana Pratap was able to recover much of his ancestral kingdom as attested by the contemporaneous epigraphic evidences, which included all 36 outposts of Mewar apart from Chittor and Mandalgarh which continued to remain under the Mughals.

Against Akbar
After Pratap death, Akbar despatched a strong force with Raja Man Singh, Shah Kuli Khan and other senior Mansabdars under the nominal command of Prince Salim (later Emperor Jahangir). Rana Amar Singh, following his father's policy, sought refuge in the hilly regions of western Mewar. His forces resisted the Mughals, launching surprise attacks on their outposts. Sultan Khan Ghori, stationed at Bagor, was unexpectedly attacked and killed. Later, Prince Salim arrived in Udaipur and ordered his commanders to intensify efforts against the Mewar forces. In response, Maharana launched a counter-attack near Malpura, plundering several towns. Additionally, he conducted a night raid on a Mughal outposts. The Mughal campaign ended inconclusively as Man Singh was called to Bengal without significant achievements. Akbar towards the end of his reign, he invested Sagar, a son of Rana Udai Singh II, with the title of Rana and designed to set him on the throne of Chittor. Akbar was actually preparing to send a force under Khusrau Mirza to install Sagar, but before this could be done, he died.

Against Jahangir
Shortly after his accession in 1606, Jahangir sent an army of 20,000 cavalry to attack Mewar. Parviz Mirza was only the figurative commander while in reality the de facto commander was Jahangir who directed Asaf Khan. Amar led a hard fought battle to defend his territory and personally killed the Mughal commander Sultan Khan and his horse by spear which went through both. In 1608, an army under Mahabat Khan was sent to Mewar through Mandal and Chittor. This army was defeated and had to retreat because of continuous raids by Rajput forces. In 1609, Mahabat Khan was replaced with Abdullah Khan who was able to achieve initial success from 1609 to 1611. In an attack by Abdullah Khan on Chavand about 2000-3000 Rajputs staying there fought till death and Amar Singh was forced to abandon the capital. Abdullah Khan was eventually defeated by Mewari forces at Battle of Ranakpur in 1611 rendering his expedition as total failure. He was then dispatched as governor of Gujarat in 1611 and at his request Raja Basu was appointed to the command of the Mughul army in Rajasthan. But apparently he was defeated too and failed to meet the objectives. He was recalled and Khan A‘zam Mirza Aziz Koka sent in 1613 to replace him. Upon his request for assistance, in 1613, Jahangir himself came to Rajputana to supervise the campaign. His son Khurram led the campaign on the ground. Rajputs were easily able to seek refuge in the hilly tracks of Rajputana and the Mughals largely failed to penetrate it. They were finally able to penetrate it in 1614 when they engaged with Mewar forces and established outposts. Many attempts were made by Jahangir to make settlements with the Maharana and the final attempt in 1615 succeeded when Amar Singh agreed to meet with Prince Khurram.

Peace treaty
After Mewar was devastated financially and in manpower due to several battles against the Mughals, Amar Singh thought it prudent to start negotiations with them and finally, entered into a treaty with Shah Jahan (who negotiated on behalf of Jahangir) in 1615. He was advised by his council and his grandmother, Jaiwanta Bai, his advisor.

In the treaty, it was agreed that:


 * The ruler of Mewar, will not be bound to present himself in person at Mughal court, instead, a relative of the Rana would wait upon the Mughal Emperor and serve him.
 * It was also agreed that the Ranas of Mewar would not enter matrimonial relations with the Mughals.
 * Mewar would have to keep a contingent of 1500 horsemen in the Mughal service.
 * Chittor and other Mughal occupied areas of Mewar would be returned to the Rana, but Chittor fort would never be repaired. The reason for this last condition was that the Chittor fort was a very powerful bastion and the mughals were wary of it being used in any future rebellion.
 * The Rana would be given a Mughal rank of 5000 zat and 5000 sowar.
 * The rulers of Dungarpur and Banswara (who had become independent during Akbars reign) would once again become vassals of Mewar and pay tribute to the Rana.

Later, when Amar Singh went to meet Jahangir at Ajmer, he was given a warm welcome by Mughal Emperor and the territories around Chittor along with the Chittor Fort were given back to Mewar, as goodwill gesture. However, Udaipur remained the capital of Mewar State.

Assessment
Amar Singh was admired for his bravery, leadership, valour, and sense of justice and kindness. He showed great valour against the Mughals due to which he was given the title 'Chakraveer'. Amar Singh patronized an author called Mathuratmaja ("son of Mathura"), who wrote Amara-bhushana (IAST: Amarabhūṣaṇa) and Ishta-ghatika-shodhana (Iṣṭaghaṭikāśodhana). These works are sometimes attributed to Amar Singh (Amara-siṃha) himself.

Death
The remaining years of Amar Singh’s reign were uneventful. It is said that he felt the insult of accepting a Mughal farman so keenly, that he retired to his private chamber, leaving the administration in the hands of the heir-apparent, Karan Singh II. He died on 26 January 1620.