During the British period, the talukdars of Jetpur were Kathis of the Vala tribe. The talnka was a large and wealthy one consisting of 143 villages, and if under one chief would be a second class or even a first class state, as the revenue is not less than eight lakhs of rupees (Rs. 8,00,000).

The Vala Kathis entered the province several centuries back, and one of their earliest seats was at Devlia Mota whence they conquered Chital. From Chital they acquired Jetpur and subsequently Mendarda and Bilkha. There are two different accounts given of the acquisition of Jetpur, viz. (1) that of the Tarikh-i-Sorath, which says that the first Nawab of Junagadh, Bahddur Khan I, granted Jetpur to Vala Vim; (2) tradition, which says that Vala Viro Najo of Chital aided the Valas of Bagasra in their feud with Vaijo Khasia of Mitiala, and that Vala Samat of Bagasra was slain in the battle. In consideration of Vira's aid the Valas of Bagasra gave him Jetpur. These Bagasra Valas acquired their share in Jetpur from the Khadia Baloch who received it from the local Muslim governors of former times.

Jetpur is said originally to have been a holding of the former Valas, and to have been conquered from Vala Champraj by Shamskhan at the same time as the Vala town of Kileshvar in the Bardas was sacked. It is said that Vala Champraj had a beautiful daughter whom he refused to give to Shamskhan in marriage on which that noble sacked Kileshvar and took Jetpur, Vala Champraj and eighteen hundred Kathi horse being left dead on the field. But Vala Champraj is said to have killed his daughter, hence Shamskhan failed to obtain her. The great-grandfather of this Vala Champraj was Jetji who founded and named Jetpur (as said in the Tarikh-i-Sorath). Jetpur was held by sixteen talukdars descended from the common ancestor Vala Naja Desa in 1880s.






The rulers belonged to the Guhilot/Gahlot dynasty. The ancestor of the family was Sejakji Gohil, founding Thakore saheb of Sejakpur.(governor, commanding officer of King Kumarpal's army and right-hand man of the Solankis, a branch of the Chalukyas. Sejakji befriended Ra Mahipal, Chudasama King of Saurashtra, whose capital was Junagarh, and married his daughter Valumkunverba (Amarkunvari) to Khengar (Kawat), the heir apparent (Jayamal) of Saurashtra. Sejakji received Shahpur along with 24 villages in jagir, in the midst of which he founded a capital in 1250, naming it Sejakpur after himself. He added 40 villages by force of arms, and died in 1254.) His fourth son, Thakore Saheb Sarangji, founded the predecessor state of Arthila and his descendants ruled there for four generations till Mandalika III of Junagadh conquered and sacked Arthila and slew Thakore Saheb Dudoji, the then ruling chieftain. The Gohils of Arthila then withdrew to Lathi which they held till the merger of the State in 1948. Lathi ranks as a Fourth Class state in Kathiawar. The Chief maintains a military force of 12 cavalry, 25 infantry and 10 guns (as of 1892).
lathi located in amreli district.