Delhi is believed to be the

Delhi is believed to be the

site of Indraprastha,

site of Indraprastha,

capital of the Pandavas in

capital of the Pandavas in

the Indian epic

the Indian epic

Mahabharata,

Mahabharata,

founded around 5000 BC.

founded around 5000 BC.

Hindu texts state that the

Hindu texts state that the

city city

Delhi used to be referred

Delhi used to be referred

to in Sanskrit as

to in Sanskrit as

Hastinapur,which means

Hastinapur,which means

elephant-city

elephant-city

The name Delhi may be

The name Delhi may be

derived from the word

derived from the word

Dhillika

Dhillika

Delhi has always been a

Delhi has always been a

convenient link between

convenient link between

Central Asia, the northwest

Central Asia, the northwest

frontiers and the rest of the

frontiers and the rest of the

country.country.

• The Indian capital city of Delhi has a long history.

Raja Dhilu (King Dihlu) founded ancient Delhi in 800 BC.

• The earliest architectural relics date

back to the Maurya Period (300 BC); since then, the site has seen continuous settlement

• In 1966, an inscription of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (273-236 BC) was discovered near Srinivaspuri, which is near Noida.

• 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.

The Tomar Rajput dynasty founded Lal Kot in 736 near the Qutub Minar.

The Chauhan Rajput kings of Ajmer conquered Lal Kot in 1180 and renamed it Qila Rai Pithora.

The Chauhan king Prithviraj III was defeated in 1192 by the Afghan Muhammad Ghori.

Anangpal Tomar, a Chandravan-shi Rajput ruler of Delhi , often described as the founder of Delhi, built the citadel Suraj Kund around 731.

From 1206, Delhi became the capital

of the Delhi Sultanate under the

Slave Dynasty. 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

In 1526, Zahiruddin Babur, the

former ruler of Fergana, defeated

the last Lodhi sultan and founded

the Mughal dynasty which ruled

from Delhi, Agra and Lahore.

In the 16th century there was

an interruption in the Mughal

rule of India as Sher Shah Suri

defeated Babur's son Humayun

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).

In 1659. Nader Shah defeated

the Mughal army.After this

victory, Nader captured and

sacked Delhi.

In 1761, Delhi was raided

by Ahmed Shah Abdali.

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 was exiled to Rangoon.

                                    

State established:

736 AD

Language Khariboli, HaryanviDynasties Tomaras-Chauhans

(736-1192)Mamluks (1206-90)Khilji (1290-1320)Tughlaqs (1320-1413)Sayyids (1414-51)Lodhis (1451-1526)Mughals (1526–1857)British (1857-1947)Independence (1947-)