Princely state
Sirmaur
| Seat | nahan |
|---|---|
| Capital | Sirmauri Tal → Rajban → Nahan (1621) |
| Dynasty | Prakash (Jaisalmer Bhati tradition) |
| Group | Simla Hill States |
| Founder | Raja Rasaloo (tradition) |
| Founded | c. 1095 CE |
| Merged | 15 April 1948 |
The southernmost hill state, and the first to fall to the Gorkhas in 1803 — which made it the natural place for the British counter-attack in 1814. Rulers take the suffix Prakash.
Nahan was founded in 1621 by Raja Karam Prakash, after the earlier capital at Sirmauri Tal was destroyed. The state's other great association is with the Sikhs: Guru Gobind Singh lived at Paonta Sahib from 1685 to 1688 at the invitation of Raja Medini Prakash, and fought the Battle of Bhangani there in 1688.
- Battle of Jaithak (1814–15) — the Gorkha garrison under Ranjor Singh Thapa held out against Major-General Gillespie's successor and inflicted heavy British losses.
- Pajhota agitation, 1942 — a Quit India-era rising in the Pajhota area against Rajendra Prakash's support for the war effort.
- Renuka — the largest natural lake in HP, with an annual fair.
- Sirmaur gave the Trans-Giri and Dodra-Kwar areas their distinct Hatti identity.