History of Delhi
[4] From the Ancient to the medieval era, Delhi was ruled by the powerful Rajput dynasties such as the Tomaras, Chauhans, Gautamas.
The fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built the walled city of Shahjahanabad within Delhi, and its landmarks, the Red Fort and Jama Masjid.
They lost major portions to the Marathas, Sikhs and many governors of erstwhile Mughal provinces like Bengal, Awadh and Hyderabad.
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 sought to end company rule and declared Bahadur Shah II the Emperor of India.
[13] Significant prehistoric sites in Delhi include Anangpur (in the Badarpur region), as well as Harappan excavations near Narela and Nand Nagari.
[14] A long-standing tradition associates Delhi with Indraprastha and identifies the legendary city with the village Indarpat, which survived until the early 20th century within the Purana Qila.
[18] He established the Tomar Dynasty of Delhi in the early 8th century and built his capital at the Anangpur village in Haryana.
[19] The Rajput Chahamana (Chauhan) kings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora.
The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by Muhammad Ghori in the Second Battle of Tarain, solidifying Muslim presence in northern India and shattering Rajput power in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
Qutb-ud-din started the construction of the Qutub Minar, a recognisable symbol of Delhi, to commemorate his victory but died before its completion.
[21] 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.
[23][1] In 1398, Timur Lang invaded India on the pretext that the Muslim sultans of Delhi were too tolerant of their Hindu subjects.
[25][26] 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.
During this time, Delhi became a center for culture, and poets such as Ghalib, Dard, Dagh and Zauq lived in the city and sought patronage of the emperor.
In the mid-16th century there was an interruption in the Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun and forced him to flee to Persia.
[1][10] This city contains a number of significant architectural features, including the Red Fort (Lal Qila) and the Jama Masjid.
[citation needed] In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the huge Battle of Karnal in less than three hours against the numerically outnumbered but military superior Persian army led by Nader Shah during his invasion after which he completely sacked and looted Delhi, the Mughal capital, followed by massacre for 2 days, killing over 30,000 civilians and carrying away immense wealth including the Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor, and Koh-i-Noor.
New Delhi designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens was inaugurated in 1931 after its construction was delayed due to World War I.
[1][38] Originally King George V and Queen Mary announced the project, although it did receive major opposition from the European business community of Calcutta, along with Lord Curzon and Mahatma Gandhi.
[50] After 1967 relations between Hindus and Muslims deteriorated to the level that there was a significant uptick in the number of riots and other disruption of civil life.
The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies carried out a survey in nearby areas that showed significant division between Hindus and Muslims who saw each other negatively.
Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were brought to by Firuz Shah Tughluq in the 14th century already exist in Delhi.
