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The Mher rising and the siege of Aibak in Ajmer

The Mher clans with Chaulukya supportMher chiefs; the Chaulukya court of Gujarat
1196vs
VictorGhurid garrison of AjmerQutb al-Din Aibak

The hill clans of the Aravallis, the Mhers, rose against the new masters of Ajmer with backing from Gujarat. For a time they had Aibak besieged inside the city.

Date: 1195–1196 CEWhere: Ajmer and the Aravalli hillsType: Revolt
Photo: Jakub Hałun · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Cite

MLA

“The Mher rising and the siege of Aibak in Ajmer.” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/mher-revolt-ajmer-1196/. Accessed .

APA

Hindu History. (2026). The Mher rising and the siege of Aibak in Ajmer. Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/mher-revolt-ajmer-1196/

Result

The Mhers and their allies shut Aibak up in Ajmer for months; reinforcements from Ghazni relieved him, and in 1197 he struck back at Gujarat.

01Aibak besieged

Hasan Nizami records that the Mhers of the hills around Ajmer rebelled and sent to the Rai of Nahrwala, the Chaulukya king of Gujarat, for help. Aibak marched out against them, was beaten back in a fight, and had to shut himself in Ajmer, where he was besieged. The Taj al-Maasir admits he was hard pressed. Only when a strong force arrived from Ghazni did the besiegers withdraw.

02The raid on Anahilavada

In 1197 Aibak took revenge on the Chaulukyas for their part. He marched into Gujarat, defeated their army near Mount Abu, and plundered Anahilavada, though the Chaulukyas recovered their capital soon after. The Mhers, for their part, kept their independence in the hills for centuries; the Mewar and Marwar chronicles are full of their wars, and the region of Merwara takes its name from them.

Anahilwad Patan
Place · Founded by Vanaraja Chavda (tradition, 746 CE); Chaulukya capital from 942 CEAnahilwad PatanCapital of Gujarat for six centuries under the Chavdas, Chaulukyas and Vaghelas, the city of Siddharaja Jayasimha, Kumarapala and Hemachandra, whose queens built Rani ki Vav. It was sacked in 1197 and 1299, and in 1411 the capital moved to Ahmedabad.Read →
Why it matters

It was the most serious challenge to Ghurid rule in Rajasthan in the years after Tarain.

Places 3

Anahilwad PatanRuined
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Anahilwad Patan

Capital of Gujarat for six centuries under the Chavdas, Chaulukyas and Vaghelas, the city of Siddharaja Jayasimha, Kumarapala and Hemachandra, whose queens built Rani ki Vav. It was sacked in 1197 and 1299, and in 1411 the capital moved to Ahmedabad.

Ajmer (Ajayameru)Standing
The long resistance: Sindh to Tarain

Ajmer (Ajayameru)

The Chauhan capital founded by Ajayaraja II, where Vigraharaja IV built a Sanskrit college and had plays carved in stone. After 1192 the college was turned into the mosque called Adhai Din ka Jhonpra.

Mount Abu (Arbuda)Standing
The long resistance: Sindh to Tarain

Mount Abu (Arbuda)

Arbuda, the lone high massif of the southern Aravallis, where tradition places Vasishtha’s ashram and the fire-pit from which the Paramaras traced their birth. At its foot the army of Gujarat broke Muhammad of Ghor at Kasahrada in 1178.

Places near the battlefield 4

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, AjmerDestroyed
The long resistance: Sindh to Tarain

Adhai Din ka Jhonpra, Ajmer

A mosque at Ajmer built after the fall of Prithviraj Chauhan from the pillars and stones of the Chahamana city, on the site where Vigraharaja IV had kept a Sanskrit college. Slabs carved with his own play, the Harakeli Nataka, were dug out of it in the 19th century.

Manibandh (Manivedika) Shakti Peetha, PushkarStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Manibandh (Manivedika) Shakti Peetha, Pushkar

The Shakti Peetha of Pushkar, where by the Peetha Nirnaya Tantra’s list the wrists of Sati fell. The Devi is Gayatri, the Bhairava Sarvananda; locally the shrine is also called the Chamunda Mata mandir.

Savitri Mata Temple, PushkarStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Savitri Mata Temple, Pushkar

Bhagwan Brahma’s temple stands by the lake at Pushkar; his consort Savitri sits apart on the highest hill to the south, where the Padma Purana says she went after the yajna. Pilgrims climb to her after Brahma’s darshan.

Brahma Temple, PushkarRebuilt
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Brahma Temple, Pushkar

The best-known temple of Bhagwan Brahma, beside the lake the Padma Purana says formed where his lotus fell. Pushkar is called Tirtharaja, the king of tirthas.