Samthar Fort

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Shamsher, a commander in Babar's army built a small fort here, the town draws its name from a combination of its founder's name and the fact that it is built on 'samtal' or flat land.

About Samthar -
The place remained obscure for ages as a vassal state of Datia. Only in 1785, when the Bundelkhand region was seeing a tug of war between the Scindia of Gwalior and Datia's rulers that the Samthar chief skillfully manoeuvred his tiny fiefdom into breaking away from the latter.

Thereafter, it was a continuous test of diplomatic and negotiating skills to retain independence and Samthar's kings proved equal to the task. First came an agreement with the Peshwa who bestowed the Samthar ruler the title of 'Raja'. By 1817, the East India Company's star was on the ascendant and Samthar signed a treaty with the Company to retain considerable autonomy at a time when far larger kingdoms were being swallowed up.

Then came 1857 and Samthar set such a benchmark in managing relationships with two opposing sides that our Ministry of External Affairs would do well to make the episode into compulsory reading for budding diplomats. With the conflict at its peak, the queen-regent of Samthar, Lallan Ju, not only helped Lakshmibai of Jhansi with horses en route to Kalpi, she also gave sanctuary to the British in her fort!

Consequently, in the retribution-filled years that came after 1857, Samthar was left alone. In the Delhi Durbar of 1877, Samthar's ruler was given the title of 'His Highness' along with an 11-gun salute. A significant change came in 1864 when the welfare-minded Chhatar Singh came to the throne and ruled for over 30 years, during which he brought Samthar from the medieval age to a modern era.

Read more (courtesy) - articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-09-19/news/2...