Jaisalmer

Related Category: Indian Political Geography

(jəsäl´mər), former principality, Rajasthan state, NW India. Its terrain is largely a sandy or stony waste and constitutes a section of the Thar Desert. Jaisalmer was brought under the Mughal empire by Akbar in 1570. It became a British protectorate in 1818. In 1949 the region was incorporated into Rajasthan state. It is now a rail terminus and strategic military post close to the Pakistan border.