Mewati

The Mewati are the people of Mewat, the rugged country between Delhi, Jaipur and Agra centred on Alwar and the hills of Tijara. Their Indo-Aryan language is a chief marker of the Meo, who took Islam under the early Delhi sultans while keeping Rajput clan customs. Balban waged three campaigns in Mewat between 1247 and 1266.

In 1355 the Jadaun chief Sonpar Pal converted as Nahar Khan, founding the Khanzada line that ruled Mewat as Delhi's tributaries. Its last ruler Hasan Khan Mewati fought at Panipat in 1526 and died carrying Rana Sanga's standard at Khanwa in 1527.

Under the Mughals, Akbar enrolled Meo boys as palace guards and post runners. After Aurangzeb the region passed to the Jats and then the Marathas; in 1803 the Sindhias ceded Gurgaon to the British, while Alwar and Bharatpur became princely states.