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Jalore district is a district of Rajasthan state in western India, with the city of Jalore serving as its administrative headquarters. The district covers an area of 10,640 square kilometres, which accounts for about 3.11 percent of Rajasthan’s total area, and according to the 2011 census it had a population of 1,828,730, giving it a population density of roughly 136 persons per square kilometre.

The city of Jalore, also known as Granite City, lies in the western part of the state and functions as the district’s central hub. It is situated about 140 kilometres south of Jodhpur and 489 kilometres from the state capital, Jaipur. The town is positioned south of the Sukri river, a tributary of the Luni river, and the Jawai Nadi flows through it.

Jalore’s urban development has been modest, with limited growth in infrastructure. Despite this, the town centre hosts several corporate offices, including branches of Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank, Birla Sun Life Insurance Ltd, and Shreeram Transport Finance Company.

In ancient times the settlement was called Jabalipura, named after the Hindu saint Jabali, and was also known as Suvarngiri or Songir, the Golden Mount, on which the fort stands. It flourished in the 8th century, and during the 8th‑9th centuries a branch of the Gurjara‑Pratihara empire ruled there; the poet Uddyotana‑sūri composed the Kuvalaya‑mālā at Jabalipura in 779 CE under the reign of the Pratihara king Vatsaraja.

The Pratihara hold over the region ended when the Paramara emperor Vakpati Munja (r. 972‑990) invaded Bhinmal and divided the conquered lands among his princes, granting the Jalore area to Dharnivarah Parmar. Raja Man Pratihar’s son Dewalsimha Pratihar, a contemporary of Abu’s Raja Mahipal Parmar (1000‑1014), later settled in the southwestern hills of Bhinmal, establishing his capital at Lohiyana (now Jaswantpura) and forming the Dewal Pratihars. Their jagir eventually covered about 52 villages in present‑day Jalore district, and they later supported Chauhan Kanhadadeva’s resistance against Alauddin Khalji, with Thakur Dhawalsimha Dewal supplying troops to Maharana Pratap and receiving the title “Rana.”

In the 10th century Jalore came under Paramara rule, but in 1181 Kirtipala, the youngest son of the Chahamana ruler Alhana of Nadol, captured the town and founded the Jalore line of Chauhans. His son Samarasimha succeeded him in 1182, followed by Udayasimha, who reclaimed Nadol and Mandor from the Turks and held Jalore as a tributary of the Delhi Sultanate. Udayasimha was succeeded by Chachigadeva and Samantasimha, whose son Kanhadadeva later faced the invasion of the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji, who captured Jalore in 1311; Kanhadadeva and his son Viramadeva died defending the fort.

Later, the Turkic rulers of Palanpur State briefly controlled Jalore in the 16th century before it was incorporated into the Mughal Empire. The territory was restored to Marwar in 1704 and remained part of the Marwar kingdom until shortly after Indian independence in 1947. Throughout its history the town has been noted for its twelve large Hindu monasteries (maths) and thirteen mosques (takiya), and it is celebrated as the “Cradle of the Marwari horse,” an indigenous breed prized for endurance and loyalty.

The district of Jalore lies in the western part of Rajasthan, bounded on the northwest by Balotra District, on the northeast by Pali District, on the southeast by Sirohi District, and on the southwest by Banaskantha District of Gujarat. It covers an area of 10,640 km² and is situated at an altitude of 268 m, with coordinates of approximately 25.22° N latitude and 72.58° E longitude.

Geographically the district is oblong in shape and extends toward the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. The terrain is mainly plain, interspersed with scattered thickly wooded hills in the north and modest hillocks in the centre. The eastern part of the district is rocky, while the western tract consists of a roughly level plain dotted with sand dunes and sand ridges. The highest elevations are found in the south‑eastern part of Bhinmal Tehsil near Jaswantpur, where the Sundha peak rises to 991 m (3,252 ft).

The geological makeup of Jalore is dominated by fourth‑century modern deposits, visible in a grid pattern formed by sand (balu), new alluvial and old alluvial soils. The Luni River is the principal watercourse, accompanied by seasonal tributaries including the Jawai, Khari, Sukri, Bandi and Sagi rivers, all of which flow only during the monsoon period.

The climate of the district is dry with marked temperature extremes. Minimum temperatures can drop to about 4 °C, while maximum temperatures may reach up to 50 °C. Annual average rainfall is modest, amounting to roughly 412 mm, reinforcing the district’s overall arid character.

The 2011 census recorded a total population of 1,828,730 for Jalore district, placing it 260th among Indian districts. The district’s population density stood at 172 inhabitants per square kilometre, and its sex ratio was 951 females for every 1,000 males. Literacy was reported at 55.58 percent, while only 8.30 percent of residents lived in urban areas; Scheduled Castes comprised 19.53 percent and Scheduled Tribes 9.77 percent of the population.

Language use in Jalore is dominated by Marwari, spoken as a first language by 59.42 percent of the population. Rajasthani follows as the mother tongue for 35.78 percent, and Hindi is the first language for 1.01 percent of residents. These figures reflect the linguistic composition of the district as captured in the 2011 census.

Overall, the demographic profile of Jalore district shows a predominantly rural community with a modest level of literacy and a linguistic landscape heavily weighted toward Marwari and Rajasthani, alongside a small proportion of Hindi speakers.

Jalore district is divided into ten tehsils: Ahore, Sayala, Jalore, Jaswantpura, Bhadrajun, Bagoda, Chitalwana, Sanchore, Raniwada and Bhinmal. In addition, three sub‑tehsils operate within the district—Ramsin, Khasarvi and Jiwana—providing further administrative subdivision.

Municipal governance is present in three towns, with municipalities located at Jalore, Sayala and Bhinmal. Beyond these urban centers, the district encompasses 767 revenue villages, which are organized into 264 Gram Panchayat villages, forming the rural local‑government framework.

Politically, Jalore district forms part of the Jalore‑Sirohi joint parliamentary constituency, currently represented in the Lok Sabha by Lubharam Choudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The district is also divided into five legislative assembly constituencies: Jalore, Ahore, Bhinmal, Raniwara and Sanchore, which elect members to the Rajasthan state assembly.