Jai Singh II was the ruler of the Kingdom of Amber, who later founded the fortified city of Jaipur and made it his capital. He was born at Amber, the capital of the Kachwahas. He was the 29th Kachhwaha ruler. He became ruler of Amber at the age of 11 after his father Raja Bishan Singh died on 31 December 1699.
Initially, Jai Singh served as a vassal of the Mughal Empire. He was given title of "Sawai" by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in the year 1699, who had summoned him to Delhi, impressed by his wit.On 21 April 1721, the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah bestowed upon him the title of "Saramad-i-Rajaha-i-Hind", and on 2 June 1723, further bestowed him the titles of "Raj Rajeshvar", Shri shantanu ji and Maharaja Sawai (which he personally sought from the Mughal emperor by means of various officials and gifts)."Sawai" means one and a quarter times superior to his contemporaries. Jai Singh performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice, an ancient rite that had been abandoned for several centuries. He moved his kingdom's capital from Amber to the newly-established city of Jaipur in 1727, and performed two Ashvamedha Sacrifices , once in 1734, and again in 1741. Jai Singh had a great interest in mathematics, architecture and astronomy. He commissioned the Jantar Mantar observatories at multiple places in India, including his capital Jaipur.
When Sawai Jai Singh acceded to the ancestral throne at Amber, he had barely enough resources to pay for the support of1000 cavalry -this abysmal situation had arisen in the past 96 years, coinciding with the reign of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.Jaipur kings had always preferred diplomacy to arms in their dealings with the Mughals, since their kingdom was located so close to the Mughal power centers of Delhi and Agra.
Six months after his accession, Jai was ordered by Aurangzeb to serve in his ruinous Deccan Wars. But there was a delay of about one year in his responding to the call. One of the reason for this was that he was ordered to recruit a large force, in excess of the contingent required by his mansab. He also had to conclude his marriage with the daughter of Udit Singh, the nephew of Raja Uttam Ram Gaur of Sheopur in March, 1701.
The Kachwaha ruler was appointed to govern Malwa three times between 1714 and 1737. In Jai Singh's first viceroyalty (subahdar) of Malwa (1714–1717), isolated Maratha war-bands that entered the province from the south (Deccan) were constantly defeated and repulsed by Jai Singh. In 1728
Upon Sawai Jai Singh's second appointment to Malwa (1729–1730), as a far-sighted statesmen, Jai Singh was able to perceive a complete change in the political situation, during the twelve years which had passed since his first viceroyalty there.
In 1732, Jai Singh was for the last time, appointed Subahdar of Malwa (1732–1737), during which time he advocated Muhammad Shah, to compromise with the Marathas under Shahu, whom greatly remembered the kindness and relationship between the late Mirza Raja (Jai Singh I) and his own grandfather, Shivaji.
Jai Singh increased the size of his ancestral kingdom by annexing lands from the Mughals and rebel chieftains-sometimes by paying money and sometimes through war. The most substantial acquisition was of Shekhawati, which also gave Jai Singh the most able recruits for his fast expanding army.Jai Singh's regular army did not exceed 40,000 men , which would have cost about 60 lakhs a year, but his strength lay in the large number of artillery and copious supply of munitions which he was careful to maintain and his rule of arming his foot with matchlocks instead of the traditional Rajput sword and shield In 1732, Sawai Jai Singh, as governor of Malwa undertook, to maintain 30,000 soldiers, in equal proportions of horsemen and foot-musketeers. These did not include his contingents in the Subahs of Agra and Ajmer and in his own dominions and fort garrisons
