Ranmal

Rao Ranmal (1392 – October 1438), also called Ran Mal or Ridmal, was the Rathore ruler of Marwar (r. 1428 to 1438). A notable expansionist and skilled warrior, Ranmal is also noteworthy for having twice served as regent of the kingdom of Mewar under two different kings.

After having been displaced as heir to Marwar in favour of a younger brother, Ranmal had joined the court of his brother-in-law, Rana Lakha Singh of Mewar. There, he amassed significant influence, eventually becoming regent to his minor nephew Mokal Singh following the death of Lakha in 1421. In 1428, Ranmal returned to Marwar to claim his ancestral throne, left vacant by the deaths of his father and brothers. When Mokal Singh was assassinated five years later, Ranmal once again took on the governance of Mewar, now in the name of Mokal's young son Kumbha.

During both his regencies of Mewar, as well as his rule of his own kingdom, Ranmal had launched numerous successful military campaigns against neighbouring states, which included the kingdoms of Gujarat, Bundi, and Malwa. However, he was greatly resented by the nobles of Mewar due to the considerable Rathore influence he brought to the Sisodia kingdom. When a Mewari prince was murdered on his orders, a coup was launched against him in 1438, culminating in his assassination and the invasion of Marwar. The latter was left weakened in the aftermath and it took his successor Jodha many years to restore it to its former prominence.