Ajmer

City in Rajasthan, India, 350 km/220 mi southwest of Delhi; population (2001) 485,200. It is a commercial and industrial centre, with textile and leather manufacturing, railway workshops, and grain processing. Situated in a deep valley in the Aravalli Mountains at the foot of Mount Taragarh (870 m/2,800 ft), it is surrounded by a stone wall and dominated by the Taragarh fort built by the emperor Akbar.

There are many ancient remains, including a Jain temple. An important Muslim pilgrimage centre considered second only to Mecca, it is believed to be the birthplace of the Muslim saint Muin-ud-din Chishti who died in 1235. Ajmer was formerly the capital of the small state of Ajmer, which was merged with Rajasthan in 1956.

Founded in AD 145, the town was annexed in 1556 by the Mogul emperor Akbar, who built a palace later occupied by Emperor Jahangir. In 1616 Jahangir received Sir Thomas Roe, the first British ambassador from King James I. Jahangir also laid out the Daulat Bagh garden by the artificial lake Ana Sagar, which is now the focus for Muslim pilgrims visiting the town. Shah Jahan further embellished the garden with marble pavilions. The town was ceded to the British from the Marathas in 1818.