Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is connected to the rest of Gujarat and borders on the low, fertile hinterland of Ahmedabad. It is crossed by two belts of hill country and is drained radially by nine rivers which have little natural flow aside from in monsoon months, thus dams have been built on some of these. Kathiawar ports have been flourishing centres of trade and commerce since at least the 16th century. Etymology and history Kathiawad means the land of the Kathis, a Kshatriya caste who migrated to the region in the 8th century and controlled the southwestern peninsula of contemporary Gujarat. History Kathis were spread out in the entire region and dominated central Saurashtra for some centuries. Although the Kathis are believed to have migrated to the area as late as the 16th century, they have played an important part in the documented history of the region. During the reign of Pratihar ruler Mihir Bhoj, the Rajput empire stretched from Kathiawad to the Bay of Bengal. A Haddola inscription confirms that Pratihars continued to rule in this region during the reign of Mahipala I. The peninsula is dotted with antiquities and has a continuous history from prehistoric times to the early periods of the Mahabharata through the Indus civilization. Kathi people particularly influenced the peninsula between the 16th century to the mid-20th century. In a geopolitical context, the area of Kathiawar forms the core of Saurashtra. In feudal times, there were certain principal divisions in Saurashtra that fell under princely states: Rajkot State, Jamnagar State, Gondal State, Bhavnagar State, Dhrangadhra State, Morbi State, Jasdan State, Jetpur State, and Wankaner State, Wadhwan State, Limdi state .However, the main area of Kathiawar now covers 10 districts: Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Surendranagar, Porbandar, Amreli, Junagadh, Botad, Morbi, Gir-Somnath. For a long time, the name Sorath remained limited to the region when the Chudasama Rajput (Raa' dynasty) ruled from 875 to 1473. At the same time, major Rajput clans that held a sway over this region included the Walas (Kathis), Jethwas, Raijadas, Chudasamas, Gohils, Jhalas, Jadejas, Chavdas, Parmars, Patgirs or Pargirss, Sarvaiyas, Solankis, Khumans and Khachars, Makwanas, Padayas, and Zalas. Most of the