Alwar

Alwar (Rajasthani Pronunciation: [əlʋəɾ]) is a city located in India's National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km north of Jaipur. At present the district is famous for production of Mustard Crop in the region, manufacturing of Ray Ban eyeglasses, Beer production plants and frozen food industry. There are many theories about the derivation of the name Alwar. Cunningham holds that the city derived its name from the Salva tribe and was originally Salwapur, then Salwar, Halawar and eventually Alwar, According to another school it was known as Aravalpur or the city of Aravali. Some others hold that city is named after Alaval Khan Mewati (Khanzada prince who wrested Alwar from Nikumbh Rajputs). A research conducted during the reign of Maharaja Jai Singh of Alwar revealed that Maharaja Alaghraj, second son of Maharaja Kakil of Amber. ruled the area in the eleventh century and his territory extended up to the present city of Alwar. He founded the city of Alpur in 1106 Vikrami Samvat (1049 A.D.) after his own name which eventually became Alwar. It was formerly spelt as Ulwar but in the reign of Jai Singh the spelling was changed to Alwar. The ancient name of Alwar is Salva or Salwa (tribe).Alwar was a part of the Matsya Kingdom, one of the 16 ancient Mahājanapadas. In late Vedic texts (such as the Jaiminiya Brahmana), the Salva or Salvi tribe is described as a non-Vedic tribe that occupied Kurukshetra and conquered the Kuru Kingdom The Salvas settled along the Yamuna river and the Alwar province of Rajasthan after attacking the Kuru kingdom, and they later accepted Vedic culture by the end of the Vedic era as they converged with the remaining Kurus and the Surasena mahajanapada, near Matsya kingdom. From time to time, a different Rajput sub-clan came to rule Alwar. Examples include the Jadauns of Braj, Nikumbh, the Khanzada Rajputs, the Badgujar Rajput, and finally the Naruka Rajputs who took the control over this area.