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Delhi is
believed to be the site Indraprastha, capital of the Pandavas
in the Indian epic Mahabharata, founded around 5000 BC. Hindu
texts state that the city of Delhi used to be referred to in
Sanskrit as Hastinapur, which means "elephant-city".
Archaeological evidence suggests that Indraprastha once stood
where the Old Fort is today. The earliest architectural relics
date back to the Maurya Period (c. 300 BC); since then, the
site has seen continuous settlement. The famous Iron pillar
near the Qutub Minar was commissioned by the emperor Kumara
Gupta I of the Gupta dynasty (320-540) and transplanted to
Delhi during the 10th century. Eight major cities have been
situated in the Delhi area. The first four cities were in the
southern part of present-day Delhi.
The Tomara Rajput dynasty founded the city of Lal Kot in 736
A.D. near the Qutub Minar. The epic Prithvirajaraso names the
Rajput Anangpal as the founder of Delhi. The Chauhan Rajput
kings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot in 1180 A.D. and renamed it
Qila Rai Pithora. The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated
in 1192 by the Afghan Muhammad Ghori. 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 the Qutub Minar 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. After the end of the Slave
dynasty, a succession of Turkic and Central Asian dynasties,
the Khilji dynasty, the Tughluq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty
and the Lodhi dynasty held power in the late medieval period
and built a sequence of forts and townships that are part of
the seven cities of Delhi. In 1526, following the First Battle
of Panipat, Zahiruddin Babur, the former ruler of Fergana,
defeated the last Lodhi sultan and founded the Mughal dynasty
which ruled from Delhi, Agra and Lahore.
In the mid-sixteenth century there was an interruption in the
Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Babur's son
Humayun and forced him to flee to Afghanistan and Persia. Sher
Shah Suri built the sixth city of Delhi, as well as the old
fort known as Purana Qila and the Grand Trunk Road. After Sher
Shah Suri’s early death, Humayun recovered the throne with
Persian help. The third and greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar,
moved the capital to Agra resulting in a decline in the
fortunes of Delhi. In the mid-seventeenth century, the Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658) built the seventh city of Delhi
that sometimes bears his name (Shahjahanabad), and is more
commonly known as the old city or old Delhi. The old city
served as the capital of the later Mughal Empire from 1638
onwards, when Shah Jahan transferred the capital back from
Agra. Aurangzeb (1658-1707) crowned himself as emperor in
Delhi in 1658. In 1761, Delhi was raided by Ahmed Shah Abdali
after the Third battle of Panipat.
During the
Partition of India thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees from
West Punjab and Sindh migrated to Delhi. In 1984, the
assassination of then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi,
led to a violent backlash against the Sikh community,
resulting in more than a thousand deaths[4]. In 1991, the
Parliament of India passed the National Capital Territory Act
which gave Delhi its own legislative assembly, though with
limited powers.
The earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya
Period (c. 300 BC); since then, the site has seen continuous
settlement. In 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor
Ashoka (273-236 BC) was discovered near Srinivaspuri. Two
sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were
later brought to the city by Firuz Shah Tughluq in the 14th
century. The famous Iron pillar near the Qutub Minar was
commissioned by the emperor Kumara Gupta I of the Gupta
dynasty (320-540) and transplanted to Delhi during the 10th
century. Eight major cities have been situated in the Delhi
area. The first four cities were in the southern part of
present-day Delhi.
The modern city contains the remnants of seven successive
ancient cities including:
Qila Rai Pithora built by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, near the oldest
Rajput settlement in Lal-Kot;
Siri, built by Alauddin Khilji in 1303;
Tughluqabad, built by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq (1321-1325);
Jahanpanah, built by Muhammad bin Tughluq (1325-1351);
Kotla Firoz Shah, built by Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388);
Purana Qila, built by Sher Shah Suri and Dinpanah built by
Humayun, both in the area near the speculated site of the
legendary Indraprastha (1538-1545); and
Shahjahanabad, built by Shah Jahan from 1638 to 1649,
containing the Lal Qila and the Chandni Chowk.
8th century to 16th century
The Qutub Minar is the world's tallest brick minaret at 72.5
metres.
The Tomara Rajput dynasty founded Lal Kot in 736 near the
Qutub Minar. The Prithviraj Raso names the Rajput Anangpal as
the founder of Delhi. The Chauhan Rajput kings of Ajmer
conquered Lal Kot in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora. The
Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by the Afghan
Muhammad Ghori. From 1206, Delhi became the capital of the
Delhi Sultanate under the Slave Dynasty (so named because
several rulers of this dynasty were former slaves). 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 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 pillaged exquisitely carved pillars from 27
temples for this mosque, many of which can still be seen.
After the end of the Slave dynasty, a succession of Turkic and
Central Asian dynasties, the Khilji dynasty, the Tughluq
dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty and the Lodhi dynasty held power
in the late medieval period and built a sequence of forts and
townships that are part of the seven cities of Delhi. In 1526,
following the First Battle of Panipat, Zahiruddin Babur, the
former ruler of Fergana, defeated the last Lodhi sultan and
founded the Mughal dynasty which ruled from Delhi, Agra and
Lahore.
16th century to Present
In the mid-sixteenth century there was an interruption in the
Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Babur's son
Humayun and forced him to flee to Afghanistan and Persia. Sher
Shah Suri built the sixth city of Delhi, as well as the old
fort known as Purana Qila and the Grand Trunk Road. After Sher
Shah Suri’s early death, Humayun recovered the throne with
Persian help. The third and greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar,
moved the capital to Agra resulting in a decline in the
fortunes of Delhi. In the mid-seventeenth 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 onwards, 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. In 1761, Delhi was raided by Ahmed
Shah Abdali after the Third battle of Panipat.
The Raj Ghat is the site where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated.
Shortly after the First War of Independence, Calcutta was
declared the capital of British India but in 1911 the capital
was again moved to Delhi. Parts of the old city were pulled
down to create New Delhi, a monumental new quarter of the city
designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens to house the
government buildings. A brief but fascinating account of the
Indian contractors behind this construction can be found in
Khushwant Singh's autobiography Truth, Love and a Little
Malice. New Delhi was officially declared as the seat of the
Government of India after independence in 1947.
During the Partition of India thousands of Hindu and Sikh
refugees from West Punjab migrated to Delhi. In 1984, the
assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi led to a violent
backlash against the Sikh community, resulting in the deaths
of 5,000 people.
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