The city was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a Rajput (one of the warrior rulers of the historical region of Rajputana), and served as the capital of the princely state of Jodhpur. The princely state had been founded about 1212, reached the zenith of its power under the ruler Rao Maldeo (1532–69), and gave allegiance to the Mughals after the invasion of the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1561. The Mughal emperor Aurangzeb invaded and plundered the Marwar region in 1679, ordering the conversion of its inhabitants to Islam. The princely states of Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Udaipur formed an alliance, however, and prevented control by the Muslims. The Jodhpur and Jaipur princes then regained the privilege of marriage with the Udaipur family—which they had forfeited when they allied with the Mughals—on condition that children of Udaipur princesses be first in succession.