History of Delhi

The capital city of India, Delhi is famously known as the city of 'dilwalas' because of the people of Delhi who welcome people from any part of the world with a kind and warm heart. Delhi is one of the oldest cities in India and has served as the capital city from thousands of years. Delhi has a very long history dated from the time of the great epic Mahabharata where it served as the capital city of Pandavas in the name Indraprastha. It was also known as the "elephant city" or Hastinapur. The archeological excavations done in the past have given the proof of the existence of the Pandavas era and also of the seven cities. The two pillars of sandstone from the time of the Ashoka period were discovered in Srinivaspuri.

The city was under the rule of the Rajput dynasty from 8th century. The Lal Kot which is near Qutub complex was first founded by a Tomar Rajput. Lal Kot served as a learning centre for the people. Gold and precious gems were used to decorate the gates of this historic city. Around 10 kilometers from Surajkund, a citadel was built by the king Anangpal. The Rajput kings from Ajmer city conquered the Lal Kot in the year 1180, and it was then named as 'Qila Rai Pithora'.

Later on, Muhammad Ghori from Afghan defeated King Prithiviraj Chauhan and from then onwards Delhi served as the capital city of the Slave dynasty under the rule of Qutub-ud-din Aibak. The tallest minaret of world, the Qutub Minar was constructed by him, but he died before its completion. The Minar was based on the concept of the Jam minaret in Afghanistan. The minaret was constructed after destroying the 27 Jain temples and their debris were used to build the minaret and the mosque. The mosque was named as Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. After the reign of Turkish and the Afghans, the city was ruled by the Khilji, the Tughlaq, the Saiyyad and then the Lodi dynasties. Later on, in 1398, India was invaded by Timur Lenk and he left Delhi in ruins. During the first Battle of Panipat in 1526, the Lodi Sultan was defeated by the Zahiruddin Babbar, who then established the Mughal Empire in Delhi.

Humayun, son of the emperor Zahiruddin Babbar, was defeated by Sher Shah Suri and he reconstructed the Old Fort. During its history, Delhi has been ruined and rebuilt again and again.