Kingdom of Jhalavad was a kingdom present in the Kathiawar region of Gujarat. The kingdom came to be known as the Dhrangadhra State after it became a princely state in the nineteenth century. The town of Dhrangadhra served as its capital.[1] It was also known as Halvad-Dhrangadhra State. Halvad once had been the capital of this state.[2] It was ruled by the Jhala clan of Rajputs.[3][4]
History
Kathiawar 1855 with its four prant districts: Halar, Jhalavad, Sorath and Gohilwad.Zalawad in Map of Gujarat in 12th century
The state was founded as Jhalawad/Zalawad in 1090 by Rajput ruler Harpadeva.[5] The Grandson of Harpaldeva, Durjansal was appointed as Grihadyaksha, Ran-su-ran (chief of nobles) and Mahamandaleshwara of the Chaulukya dynasty, he fought the Battle of Kasahrada on behalf of young Mularaja and defeated the Ghurids led by Muhammad Ghuri.[6] In 1742, Dhrangadhra, a new capital was founded and renamed the state. Among the earlier names were Kuwa and Halwad; the state is still sometimes styled Halwad(-Dhrangadhra).[7]
Under the British Raj, the colonial Eastern Kathiawar Agency was in charge of Dhrangadhra, which was a salute state entitled to a Hereditary salute of 13 guns.
The state had a population of 100,000 in 1892 on 3,023 Square Kilometers km2. The privy purse was fixed at 380,000 Rupees when it ceased to exist by accession to recently independent India's western state Saurashtra (now in Gujarat) on 15 February 1948.
