When a scion of the house of Jodhpur decided to strike out on his own, it was at Bikaner that he founded his kingdom. The stark desert held little wealth, but the caravan routes it commanded provided sufficient revenues. In times to come, the rulers of Bikaner befriended the rulers of Delhi the Mughals and later the British and were honoured with titles and a rich treasury. The house of Jodhas also enjoyed tremendous power and prestige among its peers in the princely Rajput states.
That prestige came from heading Mughal and British armies in the Deccan and Europe respectively, where they proved their courage and loyalty to the rulers of the day. Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner came to be known as one of Indias principal rulers and statesmen. His shikar-diplomacy, conducted at his hunting lodge at Gajner, won him many concessions from the British. Among them was the chance to build his own railway and start the ambitious Ganga Canal that transformed the parched desert landscape, ensuring that this small desert town would continue to exert considerable influence on the fortunes of Rajasthan for a long time to come.