Delhi early history and in 8th to 16th century & 16th to19th century
Early history
According to Indian folklore, 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, Pilpat, and Baghpat.[14] 16th-century, Persian historian, Firishta, recorded a tradition that Delhi or Dilli was founded by a Raja Dhilu before the Yavana (Greek) invasions. However, it should be noted that the kings then referred to the initial Muslim invaders as Yavanas.[14]
Hindu texts state that the city of Delhi used to be referred to in Sanskrit as Hastinapur, which means "elephant-city". The name Delhi may be derived from the word 'Dhillika', though there are other theories. According to Satyarth Prakash (1874) of Swami Dayanand, Raja Dhilu (King Dihlu) foundedancient Delhi in 800 BC, however it is not supported by any older texts[15] 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 Ananga Pala Tomar. In the 12th century, the city was included in thedominions of Prithviraj Chauhan.
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 forDelhi.[6]
हरियाणए देसे असंखगाम, गामियण जणि अणवरथ काम|
परचक्क विहट्टणु सिरिसंघट्टणु, जो सुरव इणा परिगणियं|
रिउ रुहिरावट्टणु बिउलु पवट्टणु, ढिल्ली नामेण जि भणियं|
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.
जहिं असिवर तोडिय रिउ कवालु, णरणाहु पसिद्धउ अणंगवालु ||
वलभर कम्पाविउ णायरायु, माणिणियण मणसंजनीय ||
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.
A VS 1383 inscription in Delhi Museum confirms the founding of Delhi by the Tomars:
देशोऽस्ति हरियानाख्यो पॄथिव्यां स्वर्गसन्निभः |
ढिल्लिकाख्या पुरी तत्र तोमरैरस्ति निर्मिता ||
ढिल्लिकाख्या पुरी तत्र तोमरैरस्ति निर्मिता ||
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 ||
फिरि व्यास कहै सुनि अनंगराइ भवितव्य बात मेटी न जाइ ||
8th century to 16th century
The Tomar dynasty founded Lal Kot in 736. The Prithviraj Raso names the Tomar Anangpal as the founder of Lal Kot, whose name is inscribed on Iron Pillar of Delhi at Qutb complex, ascribed to Chandra or Chandragupta II.[16]
The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by the Muslim invader Muhammad Ghori. Anangpal Tomar, who, according to historian Augustus Hoernle, was a Gurjar[17] ruler of Delhi, often described as the founder of Delhi, built the citadel some 10 kilometres from Suraj Kund around 731.
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.[18] After the end of its the Slave dynasty, a succession of Turkic Central Asian and Afghan dynasties, the Khilji 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.[19]
In 1398, Timur Lang invaded India on the pretext that the Muslim sultans of Delhi were too tolerant of theirHindu 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.[20][21] 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.
[edit]16th century to 19th century
In the mid-16th 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, 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 Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called Hemu, became the Prime Minister and Chief of Army of Adil Shah. Hem Chandra 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 Tughlakabad fort area, Hemu acceded to Delhi throne and established Hindu Raj in North India for a brief period, and was bestowed with the title 'Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya', at his coronation in Purana Quila, Delhi.
The third and greatest Mughal emperor, Akbar, moved the capital to 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 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. After 1680, the Mughal Empire's influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire rose to prominence.[22]
In 1737, Maratha forces sacked Delhi, following their victory against the Mughals in the First Battle of Delhi. In 1739, a weakened Mughal Empire lost the Battle of Karnal, following which the victorious forces of Nader Shah invaded and looted Delhi, carrying away many treasures, including the Peacock Throne.[23] A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi.[24] In January 1757, Abdali invaded Delhi. He returned to Afghanistan in April 1757 giving the control of Delhi to Najib-ud-Daula. However, Marathas occupied Delhi after defeating Najib in the Battle of Red Fort. In 1761, the Marathas lost Delhi as a consequence of the third battle of Panipat, the city was again raided by Abdali.
In early 1771, ten years after the collapse of Maratha supremacy in north India in the Third Battle of Panipat, Marathas under Mahadji Shinde recaptured Delhi and restored the Mughal king Shah Alam II as a titular head to the throne in 1772.
In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi, ending the Maratha rule over the city.[25] As a result, Delhi came under the control of British East India Company.
Delhi passed into the direct control of British Government in 1857 after the First War of Indian Independence. The city received significant damage during the 1857 siege. Afterwards, the last titular Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II was exiled to Rangoon and the remaining Mughal territories were annexed as a part of British India.
Calcutta was declared the capital of British India but in 1911 at the Delhi Durbar of 1911, held at the Coronation Park, King George V announced 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.[26] New Delhi was officially declared as the seat of the Government of India afterindependence in 1949. During the Partition of India thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees from West Punjab migrated to Delhi, and subsequently settled in North and West Delhi areas, while Hindus from East Pakistan, settled in late 1960s at EPDP Colony (EPDP: East Pakistan Displaced Persons) in South Delhi, later named Chittaranjan Park in 1980s.
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