Cities of Delhi

Dhillika/Dilli/Daidala/Dhillipura/Yoginipura

Claudius Ptomely, the Greco-Roman writer of Alexandria mentions about the city of Daidala in the vicinity of Indraprastha. Farishta credits Delu, also written as Dilu or Raja Dhillu, the king of Kannauj as founder of this Dilli. The location has been correctly identified as approx 10 Km south of Indraprastha, the area now known as Mehrauli. A date calculated is 57 BC. In 40^th year of reign, Raja Dhillu was attacked and taken prisoner. Some other historians name Samrat Dilip of Mahabharta fame to be the founder of Dilli. The painful part is that very less is known of this period and no one ever cared to dig deeper into these chapters of history. B.R.Mani in his book 'Delhi: Threshold of the Orient' by Aryan Books International (1997) writes that "this legend of Dalip or Dhillu do not contain any fact and it seems more possible that Indraprastha of the early historical period lost its grandeur some time around the Gupta Period." It is said that after Samrat Vikramaditya, Dilli was deserted for little less than 8 centuries till Tomar King Anangpal I took over. It is said that Pandavas built the famous Yogmaya temple in this village, which stands till date (though rebuilt several times). This temple is said to have give this village the name of Yoginipura.
The Baoli in Palam Village of Delhi, which was built in 1274 AD during Balban's time (Slave Dynasty) has following inscription: "The land of Hariyanaka was first enjoyed by the Tomaras and then by the Chauhanas. It is now ruled by the Saka Kings". It should be noted that Slave Dynasty Kings were locally known as Saka Kings at that time. Name of this city is mentioned as Dhillipura and Yoginipura in the inscription which also contains the list of all rulers of Slave Dynasty upto Balban. Similar description is also found in the Sarban Stone inscription of AD 1327 of the time of Muhammad bin Tughlaq at village Sarban, which was located about 5 miles south of the city of Delhi a hundred years ago near Raisina. It differentiates between Dhillika and Indraprastha. The former has been called the city of Hariyana. It quotes "Desho:sti Hariyanakhyo prithvyaan swargsanibhh | Dhillikaakhya puri tatr Tomarairasti nirmitaa ||"

Lal Kot

After the fall of Gupta Empire, Magadha lost its glory of being the most important city in India for 1000 years. Kannauj took over but got weak with the death of King Harsh Wardhan in 647 AD. That is when Raja Mihir Bhoj of Gurjar Pratihar Dynasty took over Gujarat and one of his descendants Anangpla Tomar (aka Bilandev Tomar) took over Delhi and renamed the city to Mihirawali, meanspath of Mihir Bhoj (ref: Jats and Gujars by Rahul Khari - pg 22). Raja Surajpal from his dynasty built Surajkund, the sun temple, which now falls in Faridabad (Haryana) near Badarpur Border of Delhi-Haryana. Raja Anangpal II later built the Fort of Lal Kot (which still exists in the Sanjay Van spread between Jawaharlal Nehru University and Mehrauli. Lal Kot was built in 11th century and was a great fort-palace of an irregular, oblong shape and 2.25 Kms in circumfrence. The ramparts were 28-30 feet thick and 60 feet high from the bottom of the ditch. Some large bastions of 60-100 feet in diameter and some smaller in size (45 feet) diameter interspersed the fort wall at irregular but strategic positions. Walls were about 15 feet thick. It seems that there were four gateways, out of which, the western one was called 'Ranjit Gate'. Later muslim historians started calling it 'Ghazni Gate'.
The Iron Pillar standing in Qutb Complex bears an inscription mentioning the name of Anangpala, who established the city of Dilli. Amir Khusro, in his book Nuh Sipir mentions the name of King Anangpal, who ruled 600 years ago. Abu Fazl has written in his Ain-e-Akbari that Tomar King Anangpal founded this city of Dilli. Several inscriptions recently found in Rajasthan, Palam Baoli of Delhi, Sonepat in Haryana, Raisina Road and Narayana of Delhi also corroborate the name of the Founder of Dilli.

Qila i Rai Pithora

Rai Pithora aka Rana Prithi or Prithvi Raj Chauhan was gifted the throne of Dilli (Lal Kot) by his maternal grandfather (Nana) Anangpal Tomar III. He extended the walls of Lal Kot and his new fort got his name 'Qila Rai Pithora', commonly known amongst the muslim invaders as Qila-i-Rai Pithora. The walls of his fort still exist in Lado Sarai area of Delhi. Alexender Cunningham has described both Lal Kot and Qila Rai Pithora and his description tallies with the one given by Ibn Batuta. As per them, this construction took place on war footings, fearing the attack from Ghori, as it was sensed from intelligence reports. This fort of Rai Pithora surrounds Lal Kot from three sides. The circuit is 6.9 Kms (three times bigger than Lal Kot). The walls are half the height of Lal Kot and bastions are put at a longer intervals. If the start of the wall may be taken from the Fateh Burj, the north bastion of Lal Kot, and while taking course of 1.2 Kms in the north east direction, it takes south east for 2.4 kms to the Damdama Burj. From here the layout follows 1.6 Kms southwest and then northwest orientation to the south end of the hill which is currently situated at Mehrauli-Badarpur and Mehrauli-Gurgaon intersection (also has Azim Khan's Tomb and Ahinsa Sthal). The wall takes off from here and connects to the south-east corner of Lal Kot near Dilkhusha (Quli Khan's Tomb in Mehrauli Archaeological Park). The fort was supposed to have nine gates besides the Ghazni Gate existing from the times of Lal kot. Three gates on the west side of which two belonged to the citadel of Lal Kot, five on the North side towards (now) Jahanpanah, one on the east side, mentioned as Badaon or Badayuni Gate. Hauz Rani gate was another. Ranjit Gate on the northern rampart was most impressive amongst all gates and the weakest too. One gate was on the south, close to Metcalfe's House. This city had 27 beautiful Hindu and Jain Temples, which were destroyed by Qutb-ud-Din Aibak and used for constructing Jami Masjid, which was later converted to Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. Iltutmish used this material to construct his Qutb Minar.

Killu Gharhi (Kilokri)

Muiz-ud-din Kaiqabad, a teenager emperor of Delhi was crowned by the pwerful Emirs and Maliks of the court. As a prince, he was never allowed to see the outside world. He built a palace of mirrors on the banks of Yamuna with an attached garden, where he often retired with in the company of slender, silver bodied damsels of delight for drinks, dances and merry making. His nobles often visited him and this resulted in increasing traffic in adjoining villages, like Ghiaspur (now called Nizamuddin Basti). This made Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (r.a.) very uncomfortable and which is complained multiple times. Then the planned murder of Kai Khusrau (rightful successor of Balban as per latter's will) took place, which ignited a spark within some nobles and powerful Khilji chief Amir Jalaluddin Firoz rose in disgust and tore King Kaiqabad into pieces within his own glass palace of Killu Ghari.
After killing Kaiqabad and throwing his body pieces into Yamuna, the Khilji Amir declared himself the King of Delhi and started ruling from Killu Ghari. He made Kushk-i-Lal (Lal Mahal) his palace. This Lal Mahal stands in Nizamuddin Basti next to Tablighi Jamaat Markaz and is in bad shape. It is currently under the control of locals.
Today, no traces of the glass palace of Killu Ghari are left. But the area exists between Ashram and Maharani Bagh, next to Nizamuddin.

Siri

Alauddin Khilji, the third ruler of Khilji dynasty wanted to leave a mark in Delhi, with which the forthcoming generations of Hindoostan would remember him. He built an oval shaped city right between the existing establishments of Qila Rai Pithora, Killu Ghari and Indrapatta. This new Dar-ul-Khilafat (capital) of Khilji was a piece of art and was equipped to fulfill all the needs of any citizen. He also built a huge water reservoir in 70 acres of land, which he called Hauz-i-Alai (now called Hauz Khas). Several mosques were built and few of them still exist. He also built an Eidgah and a Chor Minar next to it right outside the walled city. This chor minar was used to hang heads of thieves and criminals.
There are many stories behind the naming of this city. The most popular one is that Siri got it's name because heads of 8000 Mongol soldiers were buried in its foundation (In Hindi, 'Siri' means head). However, historic writers and travellers have not mentioned of this story. Currently, a small portion of wall remains near Asiad Village and Siri Fort sports Complex. Monuments like Muhammadiwali Mosque, Tohfewala Gumbad, Thanewala Gumbad and Bagh-i-Alam ka Gumbad still exist in vicinity.

Tughlaqabad

Legend speaks that Sultan Qutbuddin Mubarak Shah Khilji taunted his slave Ghazi Malik to build a fort when he becomes a King after he counseled Khi;ji for building one on the hillhock between Siri and Yamuna. While Ghazi Malik was away on an expedition, Khusrow Khan, a Hindu Dalit who had converted to Islam and joined Khilji forces to revenge the attack on Gujarat Temples assasinated the Khilji King and assumed the name of Sultan Nasiruddin. Ghazi Malik returned upon hearing this news and killed Nasiruddin in a battle. Ghazi Malik was then taken into the city by nobles and crowned as the next king of Delhi. He assumed the name "Sultan Ghiasuddin Tughlaq" and started building his majestic fortified city on the hilhock he mentioned to his master. The construction started in 1321 and was completed in 1323. It was spread in a perimeter of 12.5 Kms. with 4.8 Kms in length and 4.8 Kms in width. The fort had a citadel, locally known as Bijai Mandal (not to be confused with the Bijai Mandal monument in Sarvpriya Vihar) and another portion for the city. It had 61 sloping bastions, 13 gates and with massive walls made of big sized, irregular shaped red stones having openings to shoot arrows. The citadel had three gates, large audience hall, underground chambers and a passageway connecting the old city of Delhi. The city also had large sized granaries and a marketplace with two storied buildings for traders. Guardhouses were established on each gate and the city had multiple water storage tanks. Two such tanks still exist.
Another interesting legend associated with this city is that Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (r.a.) was building his baoli when this city was coming up. Since all the labour was diverted to this construction site, Khwaja's baoli work stalled. At this, Khwaja requested the labour to work for him in night. When one of the foremen at Tughlaqabad found a mason sleeping during his day shift, this episode of night-work at Nizamuddin's Baoli was revealed. News reached Tughlaq's court and the angry emperor banned the sale of oil in the town. After this, the town went to darkness as lamps could not be lit. No work was possible during night and entire town suffered due to this 'Tughlaqi Farmaan'. Khwaja Nizamuddin got angry on this and cursed Tughlaqabad saying that this city & fort will be deserted and only nomads would live here. "Ya rahe ujjar, ya base gujjar".
A water barrage was constructed nearby and a lake was created outside this Fort. On a small island between this lake, Tughlaq built his Dar-ul-Aman (abode of peace), which also became the burial place of him and few members of his family. This Dar-ul-Aman can be recognized as the Red Tomb opposite the modern entry gate of Tughlaqabad. The fort is situated near Badarpur border of Delhi-Faridabad.

Jahanpanah

Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq, son and successor of Sultan Ghiasuddin Tughlaq wanted to connect the existing cities of Delhi. He was a visionary emperor and knew that to become more mighty, he must use the existing establishments instead of reinventing the wheel. He therefore connected the existing walls of Qila Rai Pithora, Siri and Tughlaqabad. A portion of the wall of Jahanpanah can still be seen inside the Qila Rai Pithora Cultural Complex at Lado Sarai. Few of the standing structres from this city include the Tomb of Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya (r.a.), Satpula and the Tomb of Ghiasuddin Tughluq opposite Tughlaqabad Fort, which later became Muhammad Bin Tughlaq's final resting place too. Besides these monuments, we have two small fortresses from this period. One being the Adilabad Fort (opposite Tughlaqabad fort) and the other Nai Ka Kot (behind Adilabad). The famous traveller Ibn Batuta came to this city during his travel to India and was established as the Qazi of Delhi while Tughlaq was away.
Later Muhammad bin Tughlaq decided to move this city to Deogiri in South, which he renamed to Daultabad. But due to some reasons, he had to bring the capital back to Jahanpanah. During this transition, many Delhiites lost their lives and most of them were left with no livelihood. It is said that he was a great visionary but lacked practical sense. Very less of his creations stand till date to support this statement or vice-versa.

Ferozabad

The Nobles and Emirs of Tughlaq's court reached Firoz Shah after the death of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. First Firoz Shah refused saying that he is leading a life of a Derwesh and therefore has no interest of in the Kingship. After much persuasion, Firoz Shah Tughlaq was crowned on 25^th March 1351 AD. Within three years of his coronation, he started shaping up the city of Firozabad. He marked a piece of land 8 kilometers north of Indraprastha. Proper roads and canal system was designed to support this new city. Around 30 old gardens of Alauddin's time were renovated and 200 new were established in the vicinity of this new city. Firoz Shah Tughlaq also employed the son of the Legendary Prime Minister of his predecessor. This son, named Maqbool Junan Shah Tilangani was given the same office of Prime Minister as his father and was made incharge of construction. Feroz Shah had keen interest in heritage and antiquities. He repaired Qutb Minar, Hauz Khas and many other old structures. With his support, Junan Shah Tilangani built seven beautiful mosques in Delhi namely Khirki Masjid, Begumpur Masjid, Kalu Sarai ki Masjid, Kalan Masjid (Turkman Gate), Kalan Masjid (Nizamuddin Basti), Jami Masjid (Feroz Shah Kotla) and Masjid Waqya (Chausath Khamba Masjid). A citadel was made for Tughlaq on one end of the city. This citadel still exists and is known as Feroz Shah Kotla. It contains the famous Jami Masjid (largest of that time), a round shaped baoli and a pyramidial structure, on which rests the Ashokan Pillar which Tughlaq brought from Topra near Ambala. The other pillar that he brought from Meerut is in Kushk-i-Feroz (Hindu Rao Hospital). Originally, this citadel had three palaces, pillared halls, pigeon tower and bastions besides the mosque, pyramid and baoli. It is said that when Taimur (Tamerlane) invaded Delhi, he offered prayers in this Jami Masjid of Feroz Shah Kotla and was so impressed that he took masons from India to construct a similar mosque (called Bibi Khanum Mosque) for him in his homeland Samarkand. Till 1813, the hall of audience was in good condition. He also built many hunting lodges and many of them are still well preserved. Some of his famous hunting lodges are: Bhooli Bhatiyari (Jhandewalan), Malcha Mahal (Delhi Ridge), Kushk Mahal (Teen Murti House) and Pir Ghaib (Hindu Rao Hospital). Tughlaq also built the dargah of Hazrat Chirag Dehlvi (r.a.) and the Qadm Sharif in paharganj area. The Kalan Masjid of Turkman Gate was the main mosque for public in the Ferozabad city. It later fell into the bounds of Shahjahanabad. Tughlaq, while reviving the Hauz-i-Alai (Hauz Khas) also built a Madrasa on it's one corner and appointed his learned chief Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi in it. The Hauz Khas Madrasa and Mosque still exists. Tughlaq's mausoleum is also in that complex.

Khizrabad

Khizr Khan, the founder of Sayyid Dynasty of Delhi came to power in May 1414 AD. He built his new city within the first 4 years of his rule. This new city of Khizrabad was established along River Yamuna. Remnant ruins are still visible which fixes its orientation about 3 Kms. southeast of Humayun's Tomb. As Bahlol Lodi, the governor of Lahore forced the sayyid kings out of Delhi in 1447, the beautiful city of Khizrabad fell to the mercy of Lodhi Dynasty. But they added a lot to it and made it even more beautiful. By 1450, they shifted to Delhi and assumed the throne officially. Huge tombs and mosques were constructed on barren land, where later the village of Khairpur came up. This village was removed by Lady Willingdon during the British Rule to build the famous Lady Willingdon Park (now called Lodhi Garden). Sultan Sikander Lodi went out of Khizrabad and founded the city of Sikandra/Agra. After most of the buildings were destroyed in Sikandra/Agra during a massive earthquake, the emperor had to move back to Delhi. When he died, his tomb was built near this city and which now falls within the Lodhi Garden. An important mosque of the time is 'Moth ki Masjid', which still stands in South Delhi near Ansal Plaza. The next ruler, Ibrahim Lodi continued to rule from Khizrabad but with his ego and arrogance, made many of his loyal afghan chiefs his mortal enemy. Two such chiefs, Daulat Khan and Dilawar Khan (father & son) from Punjab were so pissed off, that they invited Babur the Mughal king of Kabul to invade Delhi. Babur loved Hindostan so much that he decided not to go back and hence the Sultanate period ended in Hindostan, thus starting the Mughal Dynasty.

Mubarakabad

This was a small town spread around the area now known as Kotla Mubarakpur, which was a huge walled tomb complex of Mubarak Shah Sayyid. This complex was populated with refugees during 1947. They were later allowed to setup houses within this huge complex and today the congested ghetto of Kotla has eaten up all the original beauty of the Tomb Complex. However, the remains of Baoli and Gates can still be seen. The Mosque and Tomb is relatively in a better shape. There was a water stream running from Moth ki Masjid to Mubarakabad falling into another stream, which ran through the Khairpur (Lodi Garden). The famous 'Athpula' bridge, or the 'Khairpur ka Pul' was built on it, which still stands opposite Sikander Lodi's Tomb in Lodi Garden.

Dinpanah

Some historians believe that Babur did not like Delhi and hence moved to Agra and started living in the palace built by Lodis. But his son Humayun preferred Delhi and marked the area between Khizrabad and Indraprastha for his new city to be named 'Dinpanah' (Abode of world). But before he could execute his plans, he was overthrown by his father's general Sher Shah Suri. Suri took over the land marked for Dinpanah and built his city titled Dilli Sher Shahi. Later Humayun returned and won back this land from Suri rulers. As written in historic texts, it is said that Humayun started with repairing the 'Kaurav-Pandav ka Qila', which is believed to be the palave that Pandavas built in Indraprastha. He rebuilt the gates and repaired ramparts and fortification. He also renovated the rest house called Nili Chhatri near Nigambodh Ghat on banks of Yamuna.
As sher shah took over this fort, he started calling it Shergarh. He built the Shermandal, where pandavas and later tomar kings used to worship sun. He also built the Qila-i-Kohna mosque next to it. This Shermandal was an octagonal three storeyed structure, from where later Humayun fell and died on stairs. Isa Khan Niazi's kotla was built near this fort and the octagonal tomb of Isa Khan Niazi was erected in middle of it. It is know to be the oldest Garden Tomb of India. This tomb is now part of the Humayun's Tomb Complex. While Humayun had big plans to make this Dinpanah a beautiful city, his plans were shattered because of his sudden death and the dream of dinpanah was left as a dream.

Dilli Sher Shahi

Sher Shah Suri, who drove Humayun out of Hindostan took over this marked land of Dinpanah and established his own Dilli-Sher-Shahi. Shergarh (now known as Old Fort) became the citadel of this city. Sher Shah was a great ruler, who reformed his empire and also established a better currency called "Rupaiyya". He also made a road from Kabul to Sasram, which was later extended to Chittagong connecting the capitals of four modern countries. The city which he started (and later completed by his son Islam Shah) had 14.4 Km perimeter and was located between the present Humayun's Tomb and the Shahjahanabad. The north gate was called Kabuli Darwaza and another one was called Lal Darwaza. Both these gates still exist. The west side of the city was along the bank of a torrent bed for about 1.6 Kms or one mile and which used to run south from Ajmeri Gate of Shahjahanabad and parellel to the old course of Yamuna. The Khooni Darwaza opposite Feroz Shah Kotla was one of the gates of the city.

Shahjahanabad

Akbar followed the footsteps of his grandfather and picked Agra as his capital. During that period, Delhi was declared a Suba. Akbar later planned the city of Fatehpur Sikri. However, many nobles and family members were buried in Delhi during this period and their tombs were built in vicinity of the shrines of Sufis of Chisti order. For example, we can see Tombs of Atagah Khan, Aziz Kokaltash (chausathkhamba) and Khan-i-Khana near Khwaja Nizamuddin's dargah while Quli Khan, Mahamanga and Adam Khan were buried near the Khwaja Qutb's Dargah.
Grandson of Akbar, prince Khurram assumed the throne in 1627 AD under the title of Emperor Shahjahan. He started massive construction projects in Delhi and Agra, including the famous Taj Mahal. Project of Shahjahanabad Shehar was started in 1638 AD and by 1648 AD, the royal decree was issued to shift the capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad. The city of Delhi re-gained her past glory during the next 30 years of the rule of Shahjahan. Qila-i-Mubarak (Red Fort) was built for the royal family. Site chosen for this city was next to the existing Fort of Salimgarh and covering a major portion of Dilli Sher Shahi and Ferozabad. The new city was spread in 1500 acres and was well fortified with wall or Sheharpanah. Seven large gates provided the entry and exit points. The city was planned in accordance with ancient Indian Vastu Shastra and the Islamic principles. The semi-elliptical Karmuka or bow plan for site fronting the river was selected. The bow string was north-south road connecting Akbarabadi (Delhi) and Kashmiri Gates that included Faiz Bazar (now Ansari Road of Daryaganj). The streets running south to east connecting Turkmani gate and Ajmeri gate with Lahori gate represented first part of the curved shaft of the bow. The second part of the curved shaft consisted of streets running northeast and connecting Mori and Lahori gate along the outer wall of the city. Chandni Chowk, which stretched from the Lahori gate of Fort to the Lahori Gate of city. This chandni chowk was a beautiful canal running in front of the palace and was converted to a street by the British later. The walls of city were first built with mud mortar and stone and entire city was finished within a cost of 1.5 lakh rupees. But during the first rain, the mud was washed away and the city walls became weak. Realizing his mistake, Shahjahan rebuilt the walls with lime mortar and stone, which took 7 years to complete at a cost of Rs. 4 lakhs. The 8.2 m high and 3.7 m wide rampart walls of Shahjahanabad stretched 6091 m in perimeter. 27 towers, each of 9m height were spread all along the walls. The wall did not have provision of mounting the canons. Later, British added Martello towers and large bastions that were used by the Mutineers to their advantage in 1857. Gates and Bastions were added over time and the wall known as Sheharpanah had 14 gates. These gates were Delhi, Rajghat, Khidri, Calcutta, Nigambodh, Kelaghat, Lal, Kashmiri, Badarroo, Kabuli, Pathar-Ghati, Lahori, Ajmeri and Turkman.

New Delhi (Lutyen's Delhi)

The British started building houses and other structures before the mutiny of 1857. Prominent buildings are Fraser's house (Later became Bara hindu Rao), Metcalf's House (now under Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India), Bank House (Bhagirath Palace) and other individual houses. After exiling Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor of India to Rangoon, the British held three Delhi Durbars (coronation ceremonies) to show their might to the people of India. The third durbar, which was held on 12^th December, 1911 where King George V declared New Delhi to be the new capital of British India. The capital was to move from Calcutta and settled in a new city, for which the site of Raisina was chosen. Three days later, on 15^th December 1911, the King and Queen-consort laid the foundation of new city in the Kingsway Camp. An oblique still stands there near Burari village marking the site. Within one year, the State Secretariat Building was constructed in Shahjahanabad and which is in use till now. It is said that one night, someone removed the foundation stone from its original location and placed it atop Raisina Hill. Lord Hardinge personally surveyed the Raisina Hills and liked the view of Delhi from the top of it. Soon, Sir Edwin Lutyens was given the charge to design this new city and he hired his best friend Sir Herbertt Bakers to assist him. This land was part of Mansabdari land of Maharaja of Jaipur since Mughal times. A palace of Maharaja also existed nearby along with the astronomy observatory called Jantar Mantar in adjoining village Jaisinghpura. The palace/bunglow of Maharaja Jai Singh was later converted into Gurudwara Bangla Sahib (situated near Connought Place).