History
Mehrauli, Which was earlier known as Mihirawali means Home of Mihir, was founded by the King Mihir Bhoja of the Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty.
Mehrauli is one of the seven ancient cities that make up the present state of Delhi. The Lal Kot fort was constructed by the Gurjar Tanwar chief Anangpal I around AD 731 and expanded by AnangPal II in the 11th century, who shifted his capital to Lal Kot from Kannauj. The Gurjar Tanwars were defeated by the Chauhans in the 12th century. Prithviraj Chauhan further expanded the fort and called it Qila Rai Pithora. He was defeated and killed in 1192 by Mohammed Ghori, who put his general Qutb-ud-din Aybak in charge and returned to Afghanistan. Subsequently in 1206, after the death of Mohammed Ghori, Qutubuddin enthroned himself as the first Sultan of Delhi. Thus Delhi became the capital of Mamluk dynasty of Delhi (Slave dynasty), the first dynasty of Muslim sultans to rule over northern India. Mehrauli remained the capital of the Mamluk dynasty which ruled until 1290. During the Khilji dynasty, the capital shifted to Siri.
In 12-century Jain scriptures, the place is also mentioned as Yogninipura, now noticeable by the presence of the famous, "Yogmaya Temple", near the Qutub Minar complex, believed to be built by the Pandavas.
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