History of Delhi
There are no records of early history of Delhi prior to the Muslim conquests of 1613 AD. Even then it is fact that the history of Delhi begins from the time of the Pandavas. Youdhistra founded a beautiful city over a barren land and named it Indraprastha for it was as beautiful as the abode of the king of gods “Indra” where now Old Fort stands.
In reality, Delhi’s strategic position is so strong that is makes the key to power – and riches – in the subcontinent. It lay on the bank of the life giving Yamuna, a tributary of the great mother Ganga River. Here on the flat fertile plain, almost every triumphant conqueror would lay waste the defeated city and build afresh one, often naming it after himself. The site has had eight major cities (plus many smaller strongholds), energetic bursts of building by powerful rulers anxious to be remembered by posterity. Yet only two of the cities still live.
Anangpal who ruled from 663 AD to 681 AD reconstructed Delhi and Anangpal 2nd made Delhi his full-fledged capital in 1051 AD. The Lal Kot and inscriptions on Iron Pillar are the monuments of his time. The other Hindu fort of Rai Pithora built by Prithvi Raj Chouhan in near about 1180. The end of 12th century saw the replacement of the Hindu rule by the Muslim rule. In 1250 AD Qutub-ud-Din proclaimed himself to be the first emperor of the Slave dynasty who built several mosques with the materials and in places of Hindu temples. Khilji dynasty succeeded the Slave dynasty in 1290 AD. Jalaluddin Khiliji was its founder and was assassinated by his nephew. Alauddin Khilji, who proved to be a successful and powerful ruler. He built Alauddini Darwaza near Qutub Minar. The uncompleted Aliai Minar is also his great work, which could not be completed due to his death. After Khilji dynasty Tuglak (1320-1412), Sayeed (1414-1451), and Lodis (1451-1526) ruled Delhi. Leaving monument such as Tuglak fort, Lodi tomb and garden and Ferozeshah Kotla in which the great Ashoka Pillar stands were built at this time.
Delhi has not always been the capital of India but is has played and important role in Indian history every since the epic Mahabharata, 5000 years ago. Under the emperor Ashoka, over 2000 years ago, Pataliputra, near modern day Patna, was the capital of his kingdom. More recently the Moghul emperors made Agra the capital through the 16th and 17th centuries. Under the British, Calcutta was the capital until the construction of New Delhi in 1911. Of course, it is only comparatively recently that India as we know it has been unified as one country. Even at the height of their powers the Moghuls did not control the south of India for example. But Delhi has always been an important city or a capital of the northern region of the sub-continent.
There have been at least eight cities around modern Delhi. The first four were south of modern New Delhi around the area where the Qutab Minar stands. The earliest known Delhi was called Indraprastha and was centred near the present day Purana Qila. At the beginning of the 12th century Ad the last Hindu Kingdom of Delhi was ruled by the Tomar and Chauthan dynasties and was also near the Qutab Minar and Suraj Kund, now in Haryana.
This city was followed by Siri which was constructed by Allah-ud-Din near the present day Hauz Khaz in the 12th century. The third Delhi was Tughlaqabad, now entirely in ruins, which stood 10 km south-east of the Qutab Minar. The fourth Delhi dates from the 14th century and was also a creation of the Tughlaqs. Known as Jahanpanah, it also stodd near the Qutab Minar.
The fifth Delhi, Ferozabad, was sited at Ferozshah Kotla in present day Old Delhi. It ruins contain an Ashoka pillar, moved here from elsewhere, and traces of a mosque in which Tamerlane prayed during his attack on India.
The Emperor Sher Shah created the sixth Delhi at Purana Qila, near India Gate in New Delhi today. Sher Shah was an Afghan ruler who defeated the Moghul Humayun and took control of Delhi. The Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan constructed the seventh Delhi in the 17th century and his Shahjahanabad roughly corresponds to Old Delhi today and is still largely preserved. His Delhi included the Red Fort and the majestic Jama Masjid. Finally the eight Delhi, New Delhi, was constructed by the British – the move from Calcutta was announced in 1911 but construction was not completed and the city officially inaugurated until 1911.
Delhi has seen many invaders through the ages. Tamarlane plundered it in the 14th century, and in 1739 the Persian Emperor Nadir Shah sacked the city and carted the Kohinoor Diamond and the famous Peacock Throne off to Iran. The British captured it in 1803, but during the Indian mutiny in 1857 Delhi was a centre of resistance against the British. Prior to partition Delhi had a very large Moslem population and Urdu was the main language. Now Punjabis have replaced many of the Moslems and Hindi predominates.
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