Last updated: October 2026 · Method: desk research across published sources and visitor reports; nothing first-hand, confirm locally.
Read as one line, the timeline explains the city visitors actually see: the Chauhan founding gave Ajmer its hill fort and its name, the 1192 conquest its mosque built from temple pieces, the Mughal era its marble and its imperial shrine, and the British period its chiefs’ college. The pilgrimage economy that runs the city today is simply the newest layer on a sequence that has never really changed direction since the 12th century, when the saint arrived and set the city’s future course.
Ajmer’s history runs from the Chauhan founding to today’s pilgrimage economy, and this timeline lays out the milestones.
- The city was founded by the Chauhans in the 7th century and became their capital; the Chauhan capital guide covers that era.
- 1192: the Ghurid conquest.
- The Mughal era brought imperial patronage.
- The Raj era added the Mayo College layer.
- Today: the city runs on the pilgrimage economy.
Reading down the list, each era left a layer you can still see in the city. The linked guides expand each period in detail.