The city of Jhalawar is situated in the south-eastern region of Rajasthan, a region widely known as Hadoti (Hadavati), the land of Hadas. The Hadas are a major branch of the great Chauhan clan of Agnikula Rajputs.

In the 12th century A.D., Hada Rao Deva conquered this territory and founded Bundi state and Hadauti. Later in the early 17th century A. D. during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir, the Ruler of Bundi, Rao Ratan Singh gave the smaller principality of Kota to his son, Madho Singh, but when Sahajahan became the emperor, he issued a Farmaan in the name of Madho Singh, recognizing as him the King of Kota. The domain of the Hadas of Bundi and Kota extended from the hills of Bundi in the west to the Malwa plateau in the east, with a similar expense from north to south.

The State of Jhalawar was founded on 8 April, 1838, out of the Kota territory. Jhalawar state got rise as a result of a treaty between English rulers, Kota state, and Malwa state.