Holkar
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The Holkar were a prominent Dhangar family, who ruled as Rajas and later Maharajas of Indaur (better known as Indore) in Central India as an independent member of the Maratha Confederacy until 1818, and afterwards as a princely state -under protectorate- of British India with a 19-guns salute (21 guns locally; a rare high rank) until India's independence, when the state acceded to the Indian government.
They are one of the prestigious dyansties whose name became associated with the very title of the ruler, which was generally known as Maharaja Holkar or Holkar Maharaja, while the official full title was Maharajadhiraj Raj Rajeshwar Sawai Shri (personal name) Holkar Bahadur, Maharaja of Indore, with the colonial style of His Highness.
Malharrao Holkar (born 1694, died 1766) established the family's rule over Indore. He commanded Maratha armies in Malwa region in the 1720's, and in 1733 was granted the Indore state as a fief by the Peshwa. By the time of his death, he ruled much of Malwa, and was acknowledged as one of the five virtually independent rulers of the confederacy.
He was succeeded by Rajmata Ahilya Devi Holkar (reigned 1767-1795), his daughter-in-law. She was born in the village Chaundi in Maharashtra. She moved the capital to Maheshwar south of Indore on the Narmada River. Rani Ahilyadevi was a great builder and patron of many Hindu temples, which embellished Maheshwar and Indore. She also built temples at sacred sites outside her kingdom, from Dwarka in Gujarat east to the Kashi Vishweswar temple at Varanasi on the Ganges.
Tukoji Rao Holkar (ruled 1795-1797) briefly succeeded Rani Ahilyadevi upon her death.
His son Yashwantrao (reigned 1797-1811) succeeded him upon his death. Yaswant Rao Holkar was a gifted military leader, and battled the British in the Second Anglo-Maratha War. After some early victories, he was ultimately forced to make peace with the British. He died in 1811.
In 1818, at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the Holkars lost much of their territory to the British and were incorporated into the British Raj as a princely state of the Central India Agency. Yashwantrao II (reigned 1926-1947) ruled Indore state until shortly after India's independence in 1947, when he acceded to the Indian Government. Indore became a district of Madhya Bharat state, which was merged into Madhya Pradesh state in 1956.
