Delhi, formally the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), is a city in India and a Union Territory that includes New Delhi, the country's capital. Delhi has been the capital of several kingdoms and empires, the most notable of which were the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Several times, mainly during the medieval period, the city was seized, looted, and rebuilt. Historians trace the development of these "Seven Older Cities of Delhi" to the castles of each dynasty that governed Delhi. This article will explain to you the Significance of Delhi - A City of Seven Sisters which will be helpful in Indian Art and Culture preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Delhi - A City of Seven Sisters

• Delhi, India's capital city, has been the center of a succession of magnificent empires and powerful kingdoms, making it one of the world's longest-serving capitals and one of the oldest inhabited towns.
• It is thought to be a city that was built, destroyed, and rebuilt several times, as outsiders who successfully invaded the Indian Subcontinent ransacked the existing capital city of Delhi.
• Those who came to conquer and stay were so impressed by the city's strategic location that they decided to make it their capital and rebuild it in their own way.

Delhi - Historical Reference

• Myths and legends serve as the foundation for references to Delhi's history in ancient literature.
• According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the Pandavas' capital was Indraprastha, which means "City of the God Indra."
• Purana Qila is thought to have been erected on the location of ancient Indraprastha.
• Northern Black Polished Ware (700-200 BC) has been excavated at the site, while bits of Painted Grey Ware have been discovered on the surface, implying an even older settlement dating back to 1000 B.C.
• According to historical sources, seven cities in Delhi have been recognized thus far.
• The basis of Delhi's physical heritage includes Hindu, Islamic (covering over seven centuries of Islamic sovereignty over the city), and Britishers (dating to British rule in India) architecture in Lutyens' Delhi.
• Historians examine the evolution of the "Seven Older Cities of Delhi" around the castles of each dynasty that governed Delhi from 1100 AD to 1947 AD.

Seven cities of Delhi

• Delhi's seven cities are as follows:
  • Qila Rai Pithora or Lalkot
  • Siri
  • Tughlaqabad
  • Jahanpanah
  • Firozabad
  • Shergarh
  • Shahjahanabad

Qila Rai Pithora or Lalkot

• The original city of Delhi received recognition due to the availability of recorded historical evidence dating back to the 10th century.
• It was built between 1052 and 1060 CE during the reign of Tomar monarch Anangpal Tomar. It is known as Delhi's First City.
• Numerous palaces and temples were erected around the iron pillar, and ultimately the fort Lal Kot was built around them.
• The Lal Kot's building was completed in 1060.
• The city was founded by Prithviraj Chauhan, also known as Rai Pithora.
• Prithviraj's ancestors seized Delhi from the Tomar Rajputs.
• Anangpal, a Tomar monarch, may have built the first known regular defense, Lal Kot, which Prithviraj Chauhan seized and extended to Qila Rai Pithora.
• Prithvi Raj Chauhan, on the other hand, did not rule from Delhi. His kingdom's capital was located in Ajmer.
• Near Qutub Minar are the ruins of the medieval fort of Qila Rai Pithora.
• Prithviraj represents India's resistance against Muslim invaders and is credited with constructing a complex of twenty-seven temples near the Qutab Minar and Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque.
• The city's ruins may be found in Vasant Kunj, Kishangarh, Mehrauli, and Saket in South Delhi.

Siri

• Alauddin Khilji is the most well-known of the Khilji dynasty's kings. He is credited with founding the second city of Delhi, Siri, in the early 14th century.
• Between 1297 to 1307, he built Siri to protect India and Delhi from Mongol incursions. In response, he constructed Siri Fort, which resembled large Turkish fortresses.
• The seljuk style dominated the building constructed during this period. Craftsmen from the Sejuqian dynasty in West Asia, fleeing Mongol raids, sought refuge in the Delhi court and contributed to its building.
• Today, the Siri fort is represented by stretches of massive stone walls and the Hauz Khas reservoir.
• The fort was previously considered the city's pride due to its palace of a thousand pillars known as the Hazar Sutan.
• The palace was erected beyond the fort's walls, and it included marble flooring and other stone decorations.
• Its Darwaza (door) is said to have been ornately adorned.
• There are vestiges of flame-shaped battlements, loopholes for arrows, and bastions in the eastern portion of the ruins, which were regarded as noteworthy new features at the time.
• The demolition of the Fort is attributed to local rulers who took the fort's stones, bricks, and other relics for their construction.
• Sher Shah Suri (1540–1545), a Pashtun Afghan from Eastern India (Bihar), took material from Siri to build his city.

Tughlaqabad

• In the second decade of the 14th century, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq constructed the stately and imposing Tughlaqabad.
• He built a fort here, the ruins of which can still be seen today. He was the first of the Tughlaq dynasty's numerous kings.
• It is named after the nearby Tughlaqabad residential-commercial area and the Tughlakabad Institutional Area.
• Ghiyasuddin Tughluq also constructed the Qutub-Badarpur Road, which linked the new city with the Grand Trunk Road.
• Mehrauli-Badarpur Route is the new name for the road.
• Tughlaqabad still has impressive, enormous stone defenses that encircle the city's uneven ground pattern.
• The sloping rubble-filled city walls, typical of Tughlaq dynasty monuments, are topped by battlemented parapets and reinforced by circular bastions of up to two stories height.
• Seven rainwater tanks were located within the walled city. The fort is shaped like a half-hexagon.
• Due to extensive prickly vegetation, much of the city is now inaccessible.
• Modern settlement is encroaching on an ever-increasing portion of the former city area, particularly in the vicinity of its lakes.

Jahanpanah

• In the first half of the 14th century, Muhammad-Bin-Tughlaq, the son of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, erected Jahanpanah.
• A man with a vision, but one that was a touch unorthodox in that he sought to do things differently. He made several decisions, but not all of them were successful.
• Between Qila Rai Pithora and Siri, there is a wall enclosure known as Jahanpanah.
• This is frequently referred to as Delhi's "fourth city."
• The city has since been destroyed, although people may still locate walls and a few structures erected within the fort. Jahanpanah translates as "World's Refuge."
• Adilabad, a small fort erected on the hills to the south of Tughlaqabad, was fortified with enormous ramparts that surrounded the city of Jahanpanah.
• The remains of Jahanpanah are largely located in South Delhi, in the modern neighborhoods of Kalu Sarai, Bijay Mandal, Adchini, Begumpur village, Aurobindo Marg, Malviya Nagar, Panchsheel Enclave South, Sadhana Enclave, Press Enclave Road, Chirag Delhi, Tuhghlaqabad, and Qutub Minar.
• The historic city walls may be visible in a few places, including east of Khirki hamlet near Satpula.

Firozabad

• Firuz Shah Tughlaq, the next emperor of the Tughlaq dynasty named the 5th city of Delhi Firozabad or Firoze Shah Kotla.
• It was built in the second half of the 14th century near the Yamuna River.
• It is a fortified enclosure with high walls that houses palaces, pillared rooms, mosques, a pigeon tower, and a water tank.
• An Ashokan pillar is built on the Palace's roof. Firuz Shah also restored and repaired the Qutub Minar, the Sultan-e-Garhi Tomb of Nasiruddin Mahmood, and the Hauz Khas.
• On the North Delhi ridge, he also constructed a step well and a hunting lodge.
• One of many Ashoka pillars left by the Mauryan emperor, a pristine polished sandstone Topra Ashokan pillar from the 3rd century BC rises from the palace's crumbling remains.
• It was moved from Topra Kalan in Pong Ghati of Yamunanagar district in Haryana to Delhi under orders of Firoz Shah Tughlaq of Delhi Sultanate, and re-erected in 1356.
• The obelisk's initial inscription is mostly in Brahmi script, but the language was Prakrit, with some Pali and Sanskrit added afterward.
• James Prinsep correctly translated the inscription in 1837.
• Firoz Shah Tughlaq and the Delhi Sultanate are well-known for their architectural sponsorship of this and other antique lats (pillars, obelisks).
• Jami Masjid is one of the oldest and largest surviving mosques and monuments that is still in use today.
• It was built architecturally on a network of subterranean chambers composed of quartzite stone and coated with limestone.
• A wide courtyard with cloisters and a Prayer Hall surrounds it.

Shergarh

• Sher Shah built the current Purana Qila after capturing Delhi from Humayun in 1540 AD.
• Humayun named the city Dinpanah when he first built it.
• Sher Shah demolished it and renamed it Shergarh or Dilli Sher Shahi.
• He defeated Humayun at the Battle of Chausa and then again in the Battle of Kannauj in 1539.
• Humayun departed India, and Sher Khan took over Dinpanah, which Humayun had originally built, renamed it Shergarh, declared himself Emperor of India in 1540, and established the Sur Dynasty.
• Purana Qila is the modern name for Shergarh or Dinpanah.
• Shergarh is a vast enclosure surrounded on all sides by walls.
• The Western Gate is named Bada Darwaza and is flanked by powerful bastions; the Northern Gate is called Talaaqi Darwaza or the Forbidden Gate, and the Southern Gate is called Humayun Darwaza.
• The Humayun Gate, with its two omnipresent pavilions on top, is Purana Qila's distinctive icon.
• The Qila-e-Kuhna mosque, constructed by Sher Shah Suri, is the complex's major feature. The mosque is a transitional structure from Lodhi to Mughal style. For calligraphic inscriptions, marble in red, white, and slate tones has been employed.
• Today, the ruins of Humayun and Sher Shah are popular tourist destinations in Delhi.

Shahjahanabad

• Mughal emperor Shah Jahan relocated the capital to Delhi and constructed a fort and a new city known as Shahjahanabad.
• It serves as the metaphorical core of metropolitan Delhi and is noted for its bazaars, street cuisine, shopping spots, and Islamic architecture, the most prominent example being Jama Masjid, which stands towering in the middle of the ancient city.
• Only a few Havelis remain and are well-maintained.
• In 1642, the new city of Navroz was inaugurated. Shahjahanabad is today known as Old Delhi, and it is home to spectacular landmarks such as the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid.
• It is roughly formed like a quarter circle, with the Red Fort serving as the focal point.
• The old city was encompassed by a wall that encircled around 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) and had 14 gates.
• From the Tomars to the Mughals to the British, Delhi has undergone various alterations.
• Edwin Lutyen and Edward Baker's contributions to the development of a well-planned administrative capital are equally noteworthy.
• The food of Old Delhi is widely recognized. Old Delhi, the Mughal Empire's center for almost two centuries, has evolved into a modern center of Mughlai food.

Conclusion

Nehru referred to Delhi as "the graveyard of many empires" and "the nursery of a republic." We can trace India's journey and the bright and dark moments it has endured over the years with every step we take in this metropolis where every other building is filled with historical significance. It has witnessed the rise and fall of empires, as well as the blending of many cultures and customs, as it has moved from Khandavaprastha or Hastinapur to Dilli to New Delhi through decades. The seven historical older cities of Delhi bear silent witness to these monarchs' splendor and the passage of time since.