Udaipur:

In 568 AD Guhil establaished the state of Mewar, the only one of the the seven major Rajput states to uphold its Hindu allegiance in the face of Muslim invasions and political compromises. Its royal lineage is one of the world longest ones. Legend claims that Guhil was of local stock, but he seems at the time to have been fleeing south Gujarat during Muslim invasions. Either way, Guhil dwelt in the forest where he was trained in leadership and devotion by a hermit.

His successors set up their capital at Nagdam, which is 30 km (18 miles) north of Udaipur and now is in ruins, and the fort built there in the 8th C. protected the Rajiputs for almost eight hundred years.

By the time Udai Singh II inherited the throne of Mewar the old fort was on the verge of being sacked by Muslims, and he founded a new capital by Lake Pichola in 1559. His son Pratap was a legendary hero, whose refusal to recognize the Moghul Akbar as an emperor led to the battle of Haldighati, in which Akbar's forces were outwitted and peace in Udaipur was guaranteed.

The city prospered and superb art schools and magnificent palaces were built. However in 1736 Mewar was attacked by the destructive Marathas and by the turn of the century the ensuing pillage had reduced the city to poverty and ruin.

The British, whose role in the East India Company had until then been purely commercial, stepped in to pick up the pieces, presenting the maharana with a treaty of "perpetual alliance and friendship" in 1818. Guaranteeing protection from invaders and restoration of all its hereditary territories, this treaty and the support of the Britich helped to put Udaipur on the road to recovery. Yet the principle of refusing to bow down to a foreign power persisted and the maharanas never allowed the British to displace them.

After the Independence, the princely state joined the new democratic and independent India. The long-lasted royalty became common citizens. They are active in local welfare and are still respected by the people of Udaipur.