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One of the oldest living cities in the world with Delhi's 20,000 ruins. Delhi is history, and Delhi's monuments are tablets on which the history is written. Every conqueror did his best to possess Delhi and make it his capital. Delhi is not a single city but a combination of eight cities that have been established here from as early as 900 BC to 1930 when the British completed the construction of New Delhi as the capital of imperial India. It is, therefore not surprising that the monuments of Delhi successfully mirror the development of the architectural styles in the country.
The earliest references to Delhi are in Buddhist and Jain scriptures but these sources cannot be precisely dated. In the great Indian epic Mahabharat composed around 900 BC, there is mention of the Indraprastha, a city founded by the Pandavas on the banks of the river Yamuna. The next mention of the city is during the rule of Raja Anangpal who build his fort in the Qutab area. In the 11th century AD, Raja Anangpal of Kanauj a Tomar king established Lal Kot as his capital city in the vicinity of the Qutab Minar. This was the first city of Delhi. Anangpal successors ruled from this fort for almost a century until Visal Deva, a Chauhan Rajput raja from Ajmer conquered Delhi.
Towards the end of the 12th century Mohammed Ghori invaded from Afghanistan, defeated Prithvi Raj, Visal Deva's grandson, and occupied Delhi. He however, returned to Afghanistan soon after leaving his new kingdom in the trusted hands of Alla-ud-din Khilji. The Lal Kot continued to be the capital till 1303 when Khilji defeated the invading Rajputs at Siri and constructed Delhi's second city in the area.
During the Tughlak rule (1320-1412) the third and fourth cities of Delhi were founded. Ghyas-ud-din Tughlak founded Tughlakabad which took four years to build but was deserted soon after due to a scarcity of water. Sultan Mohammad-bin-Tughlak constructed Delhi's fourth city called Jahanpanah close to the Qutab Minar to protect his people living in the open plains from attack by invaders.
Founded by Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351-88) Delhi's fifth city was named Ferozabad and was located in the vicinity of the present Feroz Shah Kotla.
Constructed in an area said to be the ancient city of Indraprastha, Purana Quila was erected by the Mughal Emperor Humayun between 1533-34 and was forced to flee from Purana Quila by in the invading Afghan warrior Sher Shah Suri (1530 -39). Sher Shah Suri built a beautiful hall and mosque in the fort and ruled from her till 1555 when Humayun returned to power and recaptured the fort.
Shahjahanabad or old Delhi as it is now called was build by Emperor Shah Jahan as Delhi's seventh city between 1638 and 1649. This city comprises of the famous Red Fort, Jama Masjid and contains many fine examples of Mughal architecture.
Delhi eighth city now known as New Delhi was formally inaugurated in 1931. Following the British decision to shift the capital of imperial India from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, two British architects, Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker were commissioned by design a city in keeping with the grandeur of India. This new city is today the capital of modern India. |
