Delhi - History

History

The area around Delhi was probably inhabited before the second millennium BC, and continuous inhabitation has been evidenced since at least the 6th century BC. The city is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Settlements grew from the time of the Mauryan Empire (c. 300 BC). Remains of seven major cities have been discovered in Delhi. Anang Pal of the Tomara dynasty founded the city of Lal Kot in AD 736. The Chauhans conquered Lal Kot in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora. The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by the invader Muhammad Ghori.

In 1206, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, the first ruler of the Turkic Slave Dynasty established the Delhi Sultanate and started the construction the Qutub Minar and Quwwat-al-Islam (might of Islam), the earliest extant mosque in India. After the fall of the Slave dynasty, a succession of Turkic 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 that are part of the seven cities of Delhi.

In 1398, Timur Lenk invaded India on the pretext that the Turkic Muslim sultans of Delhi were too lenient towards their Hindu subjects. Timur entered Delhi and the city was sacked and left in ruins. Near Delhi, Timur massacred 100,000 captives. Delhi was a major centre of Sufism during the Sultanate period.

In 1526, Zahiruddin Babur, a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan from the Fergana Valley in modern-day Uzbekistan, invaded India, defeated the last Lodhi sultan in the First Battle of Panipat and founded the Mughal Empire that ruled from Delhi and Agra. The Mughal dynasty ruled Delhi for more than three centuries, with a sixteen-year hiatus during the reign of Sher Shah Suri, from 1540 to 1556. During 1553–1556, the Hindu king, Hemu Vikramaditya acceded to the throne of Delhi by defeating forces of Mughal Emperor Humayun at Agra and Delhi. However, the Mughals reestablished their rule after Akbar's army defeated Hemu during the Second Battle of Panipat. Shah Jahan built the seventh city of Delhi that bears his name Shahjahanabad, which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1638 and is today known as the Old City or Old Delhi.

After 1680, the Mughal Empire's influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire rose to prominence. In 1737, Maratha forces sacked Delhi following their victory against the Mughals in the First Battle of Delhi. In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the Battle of Karnal, following which the victorious forces of Nader Shah, the Turkic ruler of the Afsharid dynasty, invaded and looted Delhi, carrying away many treasures including the Peacock Throne. A treaty signed in 1752 made Marathas the protectors of the Mughal throne at Delhi. In January 1757, Abdali invaded Delhi. He returned to Afghanistan in April 1757 giving the control of Delhi to Najib-ud-Daula. However, Marathas occupied Delhi after defeating Najib in the Battle of Delhi. In 1761, the Marathas lost Delhi as a consequence of the third battle of Panipat, as the city was again raided by Abdali. In early 1771, Mahadji Shinde recaptured Delhi and the Mughal king Shah Alam II was restored to the throne in 1772.

In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Delhi came under direct rule of the British Government and was made a district province of the Punjab. In 1911, the capital of British India was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi. New Delhi, also known as Lutyens' Delhi, was officially declared as the capital of the Union of India after the country gained independence on 15 August 1947. During the partition of India, thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees, mainly from West Punjab fled to Delhi, while many Muslim residents of the city migrated to Pakistan. Migration to Delhi from the rest of India continues (as of 2012), contributing more to the rise of Delhi's population than the birth rate, which is declining.

The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Act gave Delhi its own legislative assembly along Civil lines, though with limited powers. In December 2001, the Parliament of India building in New Delhi was attacked by armed militants, killing six security personnel. India suspected Pakistan-based militant groups, which caused a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries. Delhi again experienced terrorist attacks in October 2005 and September 2008, resulting in the deaths of 62 and 30 civilians respectively.