Ajmer

Coordinates: 26.4499°N 74.6399°E

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This article is about the city in Rajasthan, India. For its namesake district, see Ajmer district. For the historical region, see Ajmer region.

Ajmer

City

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

Mayo college

Ana Sagar Lake

Prithviraj smarak
 Soniji Ki Nasiyan

Nareli Jain Temple

Nickname:

Heart of Rajasthan

Ajmer

Location in Rajasthan, India

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 Coordinates: 26.4499°N 74.6399°E

Country India

State Rajasthan

District Ajmer

Founded by Ajayaraja I or Ajayaraja II

Named after Ajayaraja I or Ajayaraja II

Government

• Type Municipal Corporation

• Body Ajmer Municipal Corporation

• Mayor Braj Lata Hada[1] (BJP)

Area

[2]

• City 155 km2 (60 sq mi)

Elevation 480 m (1,570 ft)

Population

(2011)[3]

• City 542,321

• Density 3,500/km2 (9,060/sq mi)

• Urban 551,101

Languages

• Official Hindi[4]
 • Additional official English[4]

• Regional Marwari (Rajasthani)

Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)

PIN 305001 to 305023

Telephone code 0145, +91145

Vehicle registration RJ-01

Website [Link]

Ajmer (pronounced [ədʒmeːr] ⓘ) is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan.[5] It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer
district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the nickname the Heart of Rajasthan.[6]

Ajmer is surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains. Ajmer has been a municipality since 1869. Ajmer has been selected as one of the heritage cities for
the HRIDAY[7] and Smart City Mission schemes of the Government of India.[8]

Etymology
The city of Ajmer was established as "Ajaya Meru", meaning "invincible hill" in Sanskrit[9] by a Chahamana ruler, either Ajayaraja I or Ajayaraja II. It
refers to the Taragarh Hill, on which the city is situated. Over time, "Ajaya Meru" evolved into "Ajmer".[10] It served as their capital until the 12th century
CE.

A Gujarati historic novel named Gujaratno Jay written by Zaverchand Meghani, based on various Jain Prabandhas, describes the city
as sapādalakṣaṇa (સપાદલક્ષણ).[11]

History

Jahangir receives Prince Khurram at Ajmer on his return from the Mewar campaign

Ajmer was originally known as Ajayameru. The city was founded by an 11th-century Chahamana king, Ajaydeva. Historian Dasharatha Sharma notes
that the earliest mention of the city's name occurs in Palha's Pattavali, which was copied in 1113 CE (1170 VS) at Dhara. This suggests that Ajmer was
founded sometime before 1113 CE.[12] A prashasti (eulogistic inscription), issued by Vigraharaja IV and found at Adhai Din Ka Jhonpra (Sanskrit
college), states Ajayadeva (that is Ajayaraja II) moved his residence to Ajmer.[13]
A later text, Prabandha-Kosha states that it was the 8th-century king Ajayaraja I who commissioned the Ajayameru fort, which later came to be known
as the Taragarh fort of Ajmer.[14] According to historian R. B. Singh, this claim appears to be true, as inscriptions dated to the 8th century CE have been
found at Ajmer.[15] Singh theorises that Ajayaraja II later expanded the town area, constructed palaces, and moved the Chahamana capital
from Shakambhari to Ajmer.[16]

In 1193, Ajmer was annexed by the Ghurids and later was returned to Gaur Rajput rulers under condition of tribute.[17]

By the 15th century, Ajmer was captured by Mewar and in 1506, Ajja Jhala was appointed as the Governor of Ajmer.[18]

In 1556, Ajmer came under the Mughal Empire after being conquered by Mughal Emperor Akbar.[17] It was made the capital of the eponymous Ajmer
Subah. The city enjoyed special favour under the Mughals, who made frequent pilgrimages to the city to visit the dargah of Moinuddin Chishti. The city
was also used as a military base for campaigns against Rajput rulers and, on a number of occasions, became the site of celebration when a campaign
bore success. Mughal Emperors and their nobles made generous donations to the city, and endowed it with constructions such as Akbar's palace and
pavilions along the Ana Sagar.[19][20][21] Their most prominent building activities were in the dargah and its vicinity.[22] Jahanara Begum and Dara Shikoh,
children of Shah Jahan, were both born in the city in 1614 and 1615, respectively.[23][24]

Mughal patronage of the city had waned by the beginning of the 18th century.[25] In 1752, the Scindias conquered the city,[26] and in 1818, the British
gained authority over the city.[17] A municipality was established at Ajmer in 1866.[27] Colonial-era Ajmer served as the headquarters of the Ajmer-
Merwara Province and possessed a Central jail, a large General Hospital, and two smaller hospitals, according to Gazetteer, 1908. It was the
headquarters of a native regiment and of a Railway Volunteer corps. From the 1900s, the United Free Church of Scotland, the church of England, the
Roman Catholics, and the American Episcopal Methodists have had mission establishments here.[28] At that time there were twelve printing presses in
the city, from which eight weekly newspapers were published.[29]

At the time of India's independence in 1947, Ajmer continued as a separate state with its own legislature until its merger with erstwhile Rajputana
province, then called Rajasthan. The Legislature of Ajmer State was housed in the building which now houses T. T. College. It had 30 MLAs, and
Haribhau Upadhyay was the first chief minister of the erstwhile state, with Bhagirath Chaudhary as the first Vidhan Sabha speaker. In 1956, after
acceptance of the proposal by Fazil Ali, Ajmer was merged into Rajasthan to form Ajmer District with the addition of Kishangarh sub-division of Jaipur
district.[30][31]

Geography
Ajmer is in the northwest of India and is surrounded by the Aravali Mountains. It is situated on the lower slopes of the Taragarh Hill of that range. To the
northwest is the Nagapathar Range of the Aravali Mountain Ranges which protects it from desertification from the Thar Desert.

Climate
Ajmer has a hot, semi-arid climate with over 55 centimetres (22 inches) of rain every year, but most of the rain occurs in the monsoon months, between
June and September. Temperatures remain relatively high throughout the year, with the summer months of April to early July having an average daily
temperature of about 30 °C (86 °F). During the monsoon there is frequent heavy rain and thunderstorms, but flooding is not a common occurrence. The
winter months of November to February are mild and temperate with average temperatures ranging from 15–18 °C (59–64 °F) with little or no humidity.
There are, however, occasional cold weather fronts that cause temperatures to fall to near freezing levels.

Climate data for Ajmer (1991–2020, extremes 1901–2020)

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

42.3 47.4 44.4 42.0

32.6 36.8 44.6 46.4 42.3 42.0 37.4 34.2 47.4
Record high °C (°F) (108.1 (117.3 (111.9 (107.6
(90.7) (98.2) (112.3) (115.5) (108.1) (107.6) (99.3) (93.6) (117.3)
) ) ) )

38.0 43.6 39.1 38.0

29.1 32.4 41.9 43.2 36.0 37.6 34.1 30.1 43.9
Mean maximum °C (°F) (100.4 (110.5 (102.4 (100.4
(84.4) (90.3) (107.4) (109.8) (96.8) (99.7) (93.4) (86.2) (111.0)
) ) ) )
 40.3
Mean daily maximum °C 23.9 27.2 32.5 37.6 38.7 34.1 32.0 33.6 34.5 30.2 26.1 32.7
(104.5
(°F) (75.0) (81.0) (90.5) (99.7) (101.7) (93.4) (89.6) (92.5) (94.1) (86.4) (79.0) (90.9)
)

10.1 13.5 18.8 24.4 28.0 27.8 26.1 24.8 24.3 21.1 15.9 11.4 20.7
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
(50.2) (56.3) (65.8) (75.9) (82.4) (82.0) (79.0) (76.6) (75.7) (70.0) (60.6) (52.5) (69.3)

5.4 7.8 17.4 17.4 21.8 22.2 22.7 22.5 21.5 16.2 10.7 6.3 5.2
Mean minimum °C (°F)
(41.7) (46.0) (63.3) (63.3) (71.2) (72.0) (72.9) (72.5) (70.7) (61.2) (51.3) (43.3) (41.4)

−2.8 −1.1 2.2 9.4 14.3 14.7 14.4 18.9 14.6 7.8 2.8 −0.6 −2.8
Record low °C (°F)
(27.0) (30.0) (36.0) (48.9) (57.7) (58.5) (57.9) (66.0) (58.3) (46.0) (37.0) (30.9) (27.0)

4.9 7.3 3.1 6.6 20.4 61.0 182.2 180.6 86.7 15.6 1.1 1.8 571.4
Average rainfall mm (inches)
(0.19) (0.29) (0.12) (0.26) (0.80) (2.40) (7.17) (7.11) (3.41) (0.61) (0.04) (0.07) (22.50)

Average rainy days 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.9 1.7 3.8 8.8 9.2 4.1 0.9 0.1 0.2 31.2

Average ultraviolet index 5 6 7 9 9 8 7 7 7 6 6 5 7

Source 1: India Meteorological Department[32][33] Climate of Ajmer[34][35]

Source 2: Weather Atlas[36]