History of Delhi

Delhi has a long history, and has been an important political centre of India as the capital of several empires. Areas around Delhi was known as Indraprastha and Delhi’s ancient history is recorded in the Indian epic Mahabharatha. Earliest coverage of Delhi’s history is in the onset of the Tomar’s kingdom in the 8th century. Since then, Delhi has been the centre of a succession of mighty empires and powerful kingdoms, making Delhi one of the longest-serving capitals and one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is considered to be a city built, destroyed and rebuilt several times, as outsiders who successfully invaded the Indian Subcontinent would ransack the existing capital city in Delhi, and those who came to conquer and stay would be so impressed by the city’s strategic location as to make it their capital and rebuild it in their own way.

For 457 years (736 to 1193 AD), Delhi was ruled by the Tomar (or Tanwar) clan of Rajputs. It is the longest period for which any known dynasty has ruled over Delhi and surrounding areas. The Delhi Sultanate is the name given for a series of five successive dynasties, which remained as a dominant power of Indian subcontinent with Delhi as their capital. The rule of the Delhi Sultanate was established in 1206 by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak. The relics of the Delhi Sultanate include the Qutb Minar and its surrounding monuments and the Tughlaqabad Fort. During this time, the city became a center for culture. The Delhi Sultanate came to an end in 1526, when Baburdefeated the forces of the last sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi at the first Battle of Panipat, and formed the Mughal Empire.

The Mughal Empire ruled the area for three centuries. During the 16th century, the city declined as the Mughal capital was shifted. The fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the walled city of Shahjahanabad within Delhi, and its landmarks, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid. His reign would be considered the zenith of the empire. After the death of his successor Aurangzeb, the Mughal Empire was plagued by a series of revolts. They lost major portions to the Maratha and Sikh empires, and Delhi was sacked and looted by Nader Shah. The Marathas captured Delhi in the battle of Delhi in 1757 and continued to rule it until 1803 when they were defeated by the British during the second Anglo-Maratha War. In 1803, the Delhi was captured by the British East India Company.

During Company Rule in India, the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah II was reduced to merely a figurehead. The Indian Rebellion of 1857sought to end company rule and declared Bahadur Shah II the Emperor of India. However, the British soon recaptured Delhi and their other territories, ending the short-lived rebellion. This also marked the beginning of direct British Rule in India. In 1911, the capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta to New Delhi, the last inner city of Delhi designed by Edwin Lutyens.

After India’s Independence from the British, New Delhi became the capital of the newly formed Republic of India.

Cities of Delhi

It is popularly said that Delhi was the site for a total of seven different cities through the ages. Official accounts states the Tomar Rajput-founded Lalkot as the first city of Delhi. Modern Delhi, i.e. the National Capital Territory, encompasses all of the following sites. The only exception is Anangpur, which is south of Delhi’s administrative border to Haryana).Among the most relevant sites are:

Indraprastha

The legendary ancient city is believed to have been established 5000 years ago, as per the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata. A long-standing tradition associates Delhi with Indraprastha and identifies the legendary city with the village Indarpat, which survived until the early 20th century within the Purana Qila. There is no tangible archeological evidence, however, which links the excavated ‘painted greyware’ at Purana Qila with the Bharata Khanda site.

Anangpur

The Tomar King Anangpal I declared himself an independent ruler and established the Tomar Dynasty of Delhi in the early 8th century. He built his capital at the Anangpur village in Haryana and expanded his kingdom from there. He is said to have built numerous palaces and temples during his reign, majority of which are diminished now. The Anangpur Dam is an Indian hydraulic engineering structure built during his reign and ruins of a forticatification can also be seen around it. Surajkund, a large masonry tank can be found in this area dating from the 9th century and was used to collect water from the Anangpur Dam and surrounding area. It is said to have been built by Anangpal’s son Surajpal.

Lalkot

The Lal Kot (as the Qila Rai Pithora was originally called) is believed to be constructed in the reign of Tomar king Anangpal II and has been referred to as the “First City of Delhi”. Anangpal II brought the iron pillar from some unknown location (possibly mathura) and got it fixed in Delhi in the year 1052 as evident from the inscriptions on it. After the fixing of Iron Pillar (Killi) in delhi, coins in the name of “Shree Killi Dev Pal” were also minted by him. By assuming the iron pillar as center, numerous palaces and temples were built and finally the fort Lal Kot was built around them. The construction of the Lal Kot finished in the year 1060. The circumference of the fort was more than 2 miles and the walls of the fort were 60 feet long and 30 feet thick. Lal Kot was Delhi’s original ‘red fort’. What we call Red Fort or Lal Qila today was originally called Qila-e-Mubarak. The term “Qila Rai Pithora” (Persian for “fort of king Prithviraj”) was first used by the 16th-century Mughal court historian Abu’l-Fazl in his Ain-i-Akbari.The texts contemporary or near-contemporary to Prithviraj place him in Ajmer: these texts include Sanskrit-language works such as Prithviraja Vijaya and Kharatara-gachchha-pattavali, as well as the Persian-language chronicles such as Taj al-Masir and Tabaqat-i Nasiri. Later texts such as Prithviraj Raso and Ain-i-Akbari associate him with Delhi in order to present him as an important political figure, because when these texts were written, Delhi had become an important political centre, while Ajmer’s political importance had declined.

Seven Cities of Delhi

The phrase of the seven cities of Delhi was coined by colonial-era historians and originally referred only to the Islamic era settlements, i.e. the sites of the sultanate and Mughal rulers. However, the classic list doesn’t take into account numerous other settlements, established before, during and after the Islamic rule, in the area commonly called the ‘Delhi Triangle,’ bounded to the south and the west by the Aravalli Range, locally known as the Delhi Ridge, and to the east by the Yamuna River. Official accounts states the Tomar Rajput-founded Lalkot as the first city of Delhi. Hence, the classic list of the seven cities of Delhi includes the following sites:

1. Qutb Minar complex/Mehrauli, the site of the first capital of the Delhi Sultanate, mostly developed during the rule of the Mamluk (Slave) dynasty between 1192 and 1290, who strengthened the defences of the pre-existing forts known as Lalkot and Qila Rai Pithora and constructed new buildings within their boundaries.
2. Siri, first established as a camp for protection against invading Mongols by Alauddin Khalji, and fortified in about ca. 1303 A.D.
3. Tughlaqabad, built by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq in ca. 1320 A.D.
4. Jahanpanah, literally Sanctuary of the World, created by the construction of two long walls connecting the first two Delhis (Qutb Minar complex/Mehrauli and Siri), built by Muhammad bin Tughluq in ca. 1325 A.D.
5. Ferozabad, built by Firuz Shah Tughluq in ca. 1354 A.D.
6. Dinpanah, literally Sanctuary of the Faith, built by Humayun, and Shergarh, built by Sher Shah Suri, both in the area near the speculated site of the legendary Indraprastha (1538–1545).
7. Shahjahanabad, the walled city built by Shah Jahan from 1638 to 1649, containing the Lal Qila ad the Chandni Chowk, nowadays known as Old Delhi.

Other later sites are as follows :

• Lodi Complex, built by the Sayyid and Lodi dynasties in the 15th and early 16th century.
• Lutyens’ Delhi or New Delhi, the city built by the British, declared Capital on 12 December 1911. On 12 December 2011 New Delhi celebrated 100 years of serving as India’s National Capital.

Ancient & Early Meideval History

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  Agrasen ki Baoli is believed to be originally built by the legendary king Agrasen.

There was Ochre Coloured Pottery culture in Red fort area which began around c.2600 BCE according to carbon dating. Around c.1200 BCE the region was inhabited by people of Painted Grey Ware culture which corresponds to Vedic Period. Significant prehistoric sites in Delhi include Anangpur (in the Badarpur region), as well as Harappan excavations near Narela and Nand Nagari. References to Delhi’s history in ancient literature are based on myths and legends. Ancient Indian texts state that the city of Delhi used to be referred to in Sanskrit as Indraprastha, which means “city of Lord Indra”.

Pandavas

According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, a city called Indraprastha, “City of the God Indra“, was the capital of the Pandavas. There is a strong belief that Purana Qila was built over the site of ancient Indraprastha. Northern Black Polished Ware (c. 700-200 BCE) have been excavated at the site, and pieces of Painted Grey Ware were found on the surface, suggesting an even older settlement, possibly going back to ca. 1000 BCE.

According to Indian epic Mahabharatha, Delhi was the site of the magnificent and opulent Indraprastha, capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata, founded around 3500 BC. It was, one of the five prasthas or `plains’, which included Sonepat, Panipat, Tilpat (near Faridabad), and Baghpat.

Anangpal Tomar

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  The bastion of Lal Kot fort in Delhi’s Mehrauli built by Tomara ruler, Anangpal Tomar in c. 1052 CE.

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  Sculptures of ancient temple in Qutb Minar complex.

Anangpal Tomar founded Delhi in 1052. A VS 1383 inscription in Delhi Museum confirms the founding of Delhi by the Tomars:

देशोऽस्ति हरियानाख्यो पॄथिव्यां स्वर्गसन्निभः |
ढिल्लिकाख्या पुरी तत्र तोमरैरस्ति निर्मिता ||

Translation: In a country called Haryana, which is equivalent to heaven on earth, Tomars built a city called Dhillika.

An inscription on the iron pillar also names the founder of Delhi as Anangpal Tomar. Alexander Cunningham read the inscription as follows:

Samvat Dihali 1109 Ang Pāl bahi

Translation: In Samvat 1109 , Pāl peopled Dilli.

The name Delhi is said to be derived from the word ‘Dhillika’. Pasanaha Chariu of Vibudh Shridhar (VS 1189–1230) an Apabhramsha writer, provides the first reference to the legend of the origin of the name Dhilli for Delhi.

हरियाणए देसे असंखगाम, गामियण जणि अणवरथ काम|
परचक्क विहट्टणु सिरिसंघट्टणु, जो सुरव इणा परिगणियं|
रिउ रुहिरावट्टणु बिउलु पवट्टणु, ढिल्ली नामेण जि भणियं|

Translation: There are countless villages in Haryana country. The villagers there work hard. They don’t accept domination of others, and are experts in making the blood of their enemies flow. Indra himself praises this country. The capital of this country is Dhilli.

Prithviraj Raso also confirms the founding by the Tomars and the legend of the loose nail:

हुं गड्डि गयौ किल्ली सज्जीव हल्लाय करी ढिल्ली सईव |
फिरि व्यास कहै सुनि अनंगराइ भवितव्य बात मेटी न जाइ ||

Translation: Anangpal established the “Killi” (nail) in Dhilli. This tale cannot be removed from history ever.

The famous Iron pillar near the Qutub Minar was commissioned by the emperor Kumara Gupta I of the Gupta dynasty (320-540 CE) and transplanted to Delhi during the 11th century by Anangpal Tomar. He also constructed the Lal Kot citadel – the first known city of Delhi, 10 km away from the Surajkund.

An inscription describing his greatness is as follows –

जहिं असिवर तोडिय रिउ कवालु, णरणाहु पसिद्धउ अणंगवालु ||
वलभर कम्पाविउ णायरायु, माणिणियण मणसंजनीय ||

Translation: The ruler Anangapal is famous, he can slay his enemies with his sword. The weight (of the Iron pillar) caused the Nagaraj to shake. 

Raja Dhilu

16th-century, Persian historian, Firishta, recorded a tradition that Delhi or Dilli may have been founded by a Raja Dhilu before the Yavana (Greek) invasions. The kings then referred to the initial Muslim invaders as Yavanas.

According to Satyarth Prakash (1874) of Swami Dayanand, Raja Dhilu (King Dihlu) may have founded ancient Delhi in 800 BCE. It was the name of the first medieval township of Delhi, located on the southwestern border of the present Delhi, in Mehrauli. This was the first in the series of seven medieval cities. It is also known as Yoginipura, that is, the fortress of the Yoginis (female divinities). It gained importance during the time of Anangpal Tomar. In the 12th century, the city was included in the dominions of Prithviraj Chauhan.

Late Medieval period (13th-16th centuries CE)

Prithviraj Chauhan

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  Museum and remnants of the walls of Lal Kot, the first city of Delhi.

The Rajput Chahamana (Chauhan) kings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora. The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori in the Second Battle of Tarain, solidifying Muslim presence in northern India and shattering Rajput power in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Slave Dynasty

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  The Qutub Minar is the world’s tallest brick minaret at 72.5 metres, built by Qutb-ud-din Aibak of the Slave dynasty in 1192 CE.

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  Mosque tomb over ancient temple structure in Qutb Minar complex

From 1206, Delhi became the capital of the Delhi Sultanate under the Slave Dynasty. The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, was a former slave who rose through the ranks to become a general, a governor and then Sultan of Delhi. Qutb-ud-din started the construction of the Qutub Minar, a recognisable symbol of Delhi, to commemorate his victory but died before its completion. In the Qutb complex he also constructed the Quwwat-al-Islam (might of Islam), which is the earliest extant mosque in India. He was said to have destroyed twenty-seven Jain temples initially housed in the Qutb complex and pillaged exquisitely carved pillars and building material from their debris for this mosque, many of which can still be seen. After the end of the Slave dynasty, a succession of Turkic Central Asian and Afghan dynasties, the Khalji dynasty, the Tughluq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty and the Lodi dynasty held power in the late medieval period and built a sequence of forts and townships in Delhi.

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  Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughluq within the Tughlaqabad Fort.

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  Jahaz Mahal is built during the Lodi dynasty period (1452–1526) as a pleasure resort.

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  Alauddin Khilji’s madrasa and Tomb in the Qutb complex.

Timur

In 1398, Timur Lang invaded India on the pretext that the Muslim sultans of Delhi were too tolerant of their Hindu subjects. After defeating the armies of Nasiruddin Mahmud of Tughlaq dynasty, on 15 December 1398, Timur entered Delhi on 18 December 1398, and the city was sacked, destroyed, and left in ruins, and over 100,000 war prisoners were killed as well. In 1526, following the First Battle of Panipat, Zahiruddin Babur, the former ruler of Fergana, defeated the last Afghan Lodi sultan and founded the Mughal dynasty which ruled from Delhi, Agra and Lahore.

Early Modern period (16th-18th centuries CE)

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  Hemu, Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, the Hindu emperor of North India who resisted Mughals in the 16th century.

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  Raghunath Rao, the Maratha Peshwa who played a key role in capturing Delhi from the Afghans in the Second Battle of Delhi.

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  After losing the Battle of Delhi (1803)to the British, under Maratha ruler Daulat Rao Scindia, the Marathas lost control of Delhi and the right to collect chauth from the Mughals.

The early modern period in Indian history is marked with the rise of the Mughal Empire between the 16th and 18th centuries. After the fall of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals ruled from Agra, Sikri and Lahore, but the city once became the capital in 1648 during the rule of Shah Jahan, and remained the capital until the fall of the empire. During this time, Delhi became a center for culture, and poets such as Ghalib, Dard, Dagh and Zauq lived in the city and sought patronage of the emperor. The Mughals also built several monuments in the city including Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort, and Jama Masjid.

Babur and Humayun (1526–1556)

The first Mughal Emperors Babur and Humayun ruled from Agra, unlike the preceding Delhi Sultanate.

In the mid-16th century there was an interruption in the Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun and forced him to flee to Persia. Sher Shah Suri built the sixth city of Delhi, as well as the old fort known as Purana Qila, even though this city was settled since the ancient era. After Sher Shah Suri’s death in 1545, his son Islam Shah took the reins of north India from Delhi. Islam Shah ruled from Delhi till 1553 when Hindu king Hemu, became the Prime Minister and Chief of Army of Adil Shah. Hemu fought and won 22 battles in all against rebels and twice against Akbar’s army in Agra and Delhi, without losing any. After defeating Akbar’s army on 7 October 1556 at Tughlaqabad fort area in Battle of Delhi (1556), Hemu acceded to Delhi throne and established Hindu Raj in North India for a brief period, and was bestowed with the title ‘Vikramaditya’, at his coronation in Purana Quila, Delhi. Hemu was defeated at the second battle of Panipat by Mughal forces led by Akbar’s regent Bairam Khan, thus reinstating Mughal rule in the region.

Akbar to Aurangzeb (1556–1707)

The third and greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar, continued to ruled from Agra, resulting in a decline in the fortunes of Delhi. In the mid-17th century, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan(1628–1658) built the city that sometimes bears his name Shahjahanabad, the seventh city of Delhi that is more commonly known as the old city or old Delhi. This city contains a number of significant architectural features, including the Red Fort (Lal Qila) and the Jama Masjid. The old city served as the capital of the later Mughal Empire from 1638 onward, when Shah Jahan transferred the capital back from Agra.

Aurangzeb (1658–1707) crowned himself as emperor in Delhi in 1658 at the Shalimar garden (‘Aizzabad-Bagh) with a second coronation in 1659. After 1680, the Mughal Empire’s influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire rose to prominence.

Decline of Mughal Empire (1707–1857)

In 1737, Bajirao I marched towards Delhi with a huge army. The Marathas defeated the Mughals in the First Battle of Delhi. The Maratha forces sacked Delhi following their victory against the Mughals. In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the huge Battle of Karnal in less than three hours against the numerically outnumbered but military superior Persian army led by Nader Shah during his invasion after which he completely sacked and looted Delhi, the Mughal capital, followed by massacre for 2 days, killing over 30,000 civilians and carrying away immense wealth including the Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor, and Koh-i-Noor. Nader eventually agreed to leave the city and India after forcing the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah I to beg him for mercy and granting him the keys of the city and the royal treasury. A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi.

Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded North India for the fourth time in early 1757. He entered Delhi in January 1757 and kept the Mughal emperor under arrest. In August 1757, the Marathas once again attacked Delhi, decisively defeating Najib-ud-Daula and his Rohilla Afghan army in the Second Battle of Delhi. Thus, the Marathas established full control over the city.

Under the leadership of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Baghel Singh, Delhi was briefly conquered by the Sikh Empire in early 1783.

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  The Red Fort was commissioned by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century, it was the main residence of the Mughal emperors for nearly 200 years.

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  Humayun’s Tomb is considered a predecessor to the Taj Mahal.

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  The Jama Masjid is one of the largest mosques in India.

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  Safdarjung’s Tomb was built in 1754 in the late Mughal architectural style for Nawab Safdarjung.

Colonial period (19th-20th centuries CE)

Company Rule

In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Third Battle of Delhi, ending the Maratha rule over the city. As a result, Delhi came under the control of British East India Company, and became a part of the North-Western Provinces. The Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II was a ruler only in name, and did not rule over any territory.

Revolt of 1857

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 sought to end Company Rule in India. On 11 May, the mutineers reached and captured Delhi, and declared Bahadur Shah II the Emperor of India, and the Emperor held his first court in many years. However, the British returned and laid siege to Delhi on 8 June 1857. On 21 September, Delhi had fallen to the British. The city received significant damage during the battle. Afterwards, the last titular Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II was captured and exiled to Rangoon.

Delhi passed into the direct control of British Government in 1857 after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and the remaining Mughal territories were annexed as a part of British India.

British Raj

Calcutta was declared the capital of British India but in 1911 at the Delhi Durbar of 1911, held at the Coronation Park, King George Vannounced the shifting of the capital back to Delhi. Parts of the old city were New Delhi, a monumental new quarter of the city designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens to house the government buildings was inaugurated in 1931 after its construction was delayed due to World War I. The University of Delhi was also founded in 1922. New Delhi was officially declared as the seat of the Government of Indiaafter independence in 1947.

Post-Independence (1947–present)

After 1967 relations between Hindus and Muslims deteriorated to the level that there was a significant uptick in the number of riots and other disruption of civil life. One of the most significant was the 1973 riot in Bao Hindu Rao area, which resulted in the injury of 18 police officers and financial losses estimated to be around 500,000 Rupees, according to police sources. The riot was started after rumors spread that local Muslims wanted to change Bao Rao to a Muslim-only area. Another significant riot happened on 5 May 1974 in the Sadar Bazar area. A row started by a Hindu family and a couple of muslims in a local cinema escalated into a clash between Hindus and Muslims in which 11 people were killed and 92 were injured. This riot was the worst in Delhi since independence. The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies carried out a survey in nearby areas that showed significant division between Hindus and Muslims who saw each other negatively.

In 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273-236 BCE) was discovered near Sriniwaspuri. Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were brought to by Firuz Shah Tughluq in the 14th century.

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  The Lotus Temple

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  Delhi today.

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  The Raj Ghat, where Mahatma Gandhiwas cremated.