Along the way: July 2008

I have been staying in Delhi for several years yet I did not have anything to say about this great city.So here I am with few details about its history and architecture.I might not be perfect however i have collected some information about its history and hope everyone will enjoying reading the same.
The Indian capital city of Delhi has a long history, including a history as the capital of several empires. The earliest architectural relics date back to the Maurya Period (c. 300 BC); since then, the site has seen continuous settlement. Two sandstone pillars inscribed with the edicts of Ashoka were 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.
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 2500 BC. Hindu texts state that the city of Delhi used to be referred to in Sanskrit as Hastinapur, which means "elephant-city". A village called Indraprast existed in Delhi until the beginning of the 19th century.
The modern city contains the remnants of seven successive ancient cities.
As per history qila Rai Pithora built by Prithvi Raj Chauhan, near the oldest Rajput settlement in Lal Kot,was a seven-gated fort in Delhi,considered the first city of Delhi.It is said he conquered Lal Kot and renamed it as qila Rai Pithpra.He was the second last king of delhi.Tuglluqabad,was built by Ghiyasuddin Tughluq ,Jahanpanah was buily by Mumamad binTughluq ,and Kotla Firoz Shah, built by Firuz Shah Tughluq .The Purana Qila,built bySher Shan Suri,and dinpanah by Humayun lies in the area near the speculated site of Indraprasta.

The Sahajahanabad,built by Shan Jahan from 1638 to 1649,containing the Lal qila and chandni chowk also referred as old delhi now,was the capital of Mughal empire during Shan Janan reign.

From 1206, Delhi became the capital of the Delhi Sultanate under the Slave Dynasty.

The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din Aybak who started the construction the Qutub Minar, a recognisable symbol of Delhi, died before its completion.

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 in Delhi.In 1398, Timur Lenk invaded India ransacked, destroyed, and left it in ruins. In 1526, after the First Battle of Panipat, Zahiruddin Babur, 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 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 Jahantransferred 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. Nader Shah defeated the Mughal army at the huge Battle of Karnal in February, 1739. After this victory, Nader captured and sacked Delhi.In 1761, Delhi was raided by Ahmed Shah Abdali after the Third battle of Panipat. At the Battle of Delhi on 11 September 1803, General Lake's British forces defeated the Marathas.
Delhi passed to British control in 1857 after the First War of Indian Independence; the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II was exiled to Rangoon and the remaining Mughal territories were annexed as a part of British India.

The remains of the glorious history is visible in the architecture,in and around the city.

Qutub Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world, and an important example of Indo-Islamic Architecture.

The Qutub Minar is 72 meters high (237.8 ft) with 379 steps leading to the top. The diameter of the base is 14.3 meters wide while the top floor measures 2.75 meters in diameter.

A second tower was in construction and planned to be taller than the Qutub Minar itself. Its construction ended abruptly when it was about 12 meters tall.

The name of this tower is given as Alau Minar and construction of the same ended due to the death of the Sultan ,Alauddin Khilji.

Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, commenced construction of the Qutub Minar in 1193, but could only complete its base.

His successor, Iltutmish, added three more storeys and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughluq constructed the fifth and the last storey.

The minaret is made of fluted red sandstone covered with intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an.

The Qutub Minar is itself built on the ruins of Lal Kot, the Red Citadel in the city of Dhillika, the capital of the Tomars and the Chauhans, the last Hindu rulers of Delhi.

The Red Fort