Nawanagar was founded by Jam Rawal in 1540 as the capital of the eponymous Princely state. Jamnagar, historically known as Nawanagar (the new town), was one of the most important and the largest Princely states of the Jadejas in the Saurashtra region. It was a 13 gun salute state. According to Pauranik literature, Lord Krishna established his kingdom at Dwarka town in Jamnagar district, after migrating from Mathura, and accordingly, it is to the Yadava race that the Jams of Nawanagar trace their ancestry.