History of Delhi dates back to Mahabharata times (some 5000 years ago) when Pandavas used to live here. Since then Delhi has been inhabited continuously.
Delhi has seen the rise and fall of various dynasties and empires. All of them left their impact in its culture, food, living style and all other fields.
Delhi has been destroyed and recreated 7 times. It has served as capital for Pandavas with the name Indraprastha to the modern time New Delhi as the capital of India.
Following are the origin and Historical Facts about Delhi:
Delhi during Mahabharata
In the epic Mahabharata, the name Indraprastha has been mentioned as the city, which was once bare land and was ultimately carved out as a beautiful city by the Pandavas.
Pandavas took half of their Kingdom (the rest half belonged to Kaurava) and made it into a second heaven with the help of Krishna. Indraprastha had beautiful gardens, wide streets, delightful palaces and innumerable mansions.
After Pandavas won the war against Kaurava, Arjuna (one of the 5 Pandavas) stayed in Indraprastha with Krishna.
Delhi as Quila Rai Pithora
Delhi was then ruled by Tomar clan, descendants of Arjuna. Anangpal Tomar - I was the famous ruler who first established the city Delhi. He was followed by Anangpal Tomar - II.
Rai Pithora or the famous Prithviraj Chauhan was the grandson of Anangpal Tomar - II. He was also the last Hindu ruler who ruled on Delhi as after him city fell into the hands of Muslim rulers.
Prithviraj named it Quila Rai Pithora. His Kingdom included parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
He defeated the first attack of Muhammad Ghoriin the First Battle of Tarain that took place in 1191. He then released Ghori.
Muhammad Ghori attacked again and this time defeated Prithviraj in the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192.
Delhi under Slave Dynasty
Ghori appointed Qutub-ud-din-Aibak as India's governor, who after Ghori's death founded the Slave Dynasty.
Qutub-ud-din-Aibak reigned over northern India from 1206-1290. He built the south west part of Delhi, known as Mehrauli. He built some monuments in Delhi like the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and started the construction of Qutub Minar. Aibak died in 1210.
Aibak was followed by Iltutmish who was also a slave and later became son-in-law of Aibak, He came into power in 1211 till his death in 1236. He brought changes in the administration by starting copper and silver coins and Iqtadari system. He completed the construction of Qutub Minar.
Razia Sultana followed Iltutumish as the ruler of Delhi. She was the daughter of Iltutmish and is the only female ruler who ruled over Delhi. She reigned for four years from AD 1236-1240.
Balban (Ghiyasuddin Balban) succeeded her by defeating the weak ruler that followed. He ruled for 1266-1287. He was the last powerful ruler of Slave dynasty. He was also a slave who was bought by Iltutmish. He ruled over Delhi at the age of 60. After him there came no powerful ruler and the dynasty was ended by Khiljis.
Delhi under Khilji Dynasty
Khilji Dynasty was founded by Jalal ud din Firuz Khilji. He ruled from 1290-1296. He was killed by his nephew Ala-ud-din-Khilji.
Ali Gurshap or Ala-ud-din-Khilji followed him as the ruler of Delhi and was the famous ruler of this dynasty. He captured many states, kingdom and region around Delhi. His south expedition was led by Malik Kafur who successfully captured many areas. He built the Siri city and Fort of Delhi. He died in 1316. His successors were weak and dynasty ended.
Delhi under Tughlaq Dynasty
Tughlaq Dynasty followed them and ruled over Delhi from 1320 to 1414.
Ghiyas-ud-din-Tughluq formed this dynasty and ruled from 1321-1325. He built the city Tughlaqabad near Delhi. He was old and couldn't rule long.
Muhammad bin Tughluq was his son and he ruled from 1325-1351. He was very intelligent and had knowledge in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy and physical sciences.
But he became infamous for his foolish decisions and policies. He died in 1351 and at that time Tughlaq Empire had fallen.
He was followed by Firoz Shah Tughluq, who ruled over Delhi from 1351-1388. He tried hard to keep the kingdom under him. He also built the nearby city Ferozabad. After him all successors were weak and thus ended the Tughlaq Empire.
In between Timur devastated, plundered and looted Delhi and left the people exhausted.
Delhi under Sayyid Dynasty
After the chaos created by the attacks of Timur, Sayyid Dynasty (1414-1451) rose to the power in Delhi.
It was established by Khizr Khan. He ruled over Delhi as the vassal of Timurids. Khizr Khan ruled from 1414 - 1421 and was followed by Mubarak Shah (1421 - 1434), Muhammad Shah (1434 - 1445) and at the end by Alam Shah (1445 - 1451).
Alam Shah voluntary gave up his kingdom to Lodi emperor and ended the Sayyid rule over Delhi.
Delhi under Lodi Dynasty
Lodi Dynasty (1451-1526) was the last dynasty to rule over Delhi. It was founded by Bahlul Lodi who took the empire from Alam Shah. He ruled from 1451 to 1489.
Sikander Lodi followed him and ruled from 1489 to 1517. He made many constructions in Agra.
Ibrahim Lodi (1517 - 1526) the last emperor of Lodi dynasty was defeated by Babar in First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and thus formed the foothold for Mughals in India.
Delhi under the Mughal Empire
Delhi then came under Mughal Empire from 1526-1857. It was established by Babar who ruled over Delhi from 1526 - 1530. He was the descendant of Timur.
He was followed by his eldest son Humayun who first ruled from 1530-1540 and then from 1555-1556. He was defeated by Sher Shah Suri but when he died 15 years later, Humayun reconquered and spread his empire. Humayun renamed Delhi as Dinpanah and Sher Shah Suri named it Shergarh. Humayun also built some buildings during his reign.
Sher Shah Suri ruled over Delhi from 1540 - 1545 before his accidental death.
He was followed by Akbar the great. HE truly established Mughal Empire in India by defeating all the rebels and conquering a large part of India. He ruled from 1556 - 1605. He made truce with Rajputs and married Jodha Bai. He made Delhi beautiful and ruled from here.
He was followed by his son Jahangir who ruled from 1605 - 1627. He took over Delhi after Akbar death at the age of 36 and ruled for 22 years. He was married to Nur Jahan.
Shah Jahan followed him. His rule from 1627- 1658 is considered as Golden Period of Mughal Empire. He built many buildings, monuments and gardens throughout India. In Delhi he built Red Fort, Jama Masjid and many other historical monuments of Delhi that are still present.
Aurangzeb captures Shah Jahan and declared himself the emperor of India. He ruled from 1658 - 1707. During his reign he made rivalry with Marathas, Sikhs and Rajputs because of his strict Muslim favoring policies.
After Aurangzeb many Mughal rulers came to the throne of Delhi. Marathas too ruled over Delhi for a very brief period of time.
Bhadhur Shah Jafar was the last Mughal emperor who was removed by British and sent to exile in Burma in 1857.
Thus the 300-year-old Mughal Empire came to an end and Delhi was transferred in the hands of British who ruled from Delhi over India from 1911 - 1947.
Delhi under British
Though British ruled over India from 1857 - 1947, there capital was Calcutta and not Delhi. It was only in 1911 that British shifted the capital from Calcutta to Delhi. They ruled from Delhi for more than thirty years till the independence of India in 1947. During British time the face of modern Delhji emerged and the person behind it was Edwin Lutyens.
Modern day Delhi (New Delhi)
Delhi was officially made capital of India during the independence in 1949. In 1956 Delhi was converted into Union Territory.
This was the brief ancient history of New Delhi and short history of Delhi and it's culture, how all these kingdoms affected Delhi can still be felt through various monuments like Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Tughlaqabad, Firozabad, etc.
Their cuisine, clothes and rituals are still very much live in modern New Delhi an thus makes the history of Delhi very rich.
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