Qutb al-Din Aibak, a former TurkicMamluk slave of Muhammad Ghori, was the founder of the Delhi Sultnate, and his Mamluk dynasty conquered large areas of northern India. Afterwards, the victories of the Khilji dynasty expanded in the south. The sultanate reached the peak of its geographical reach during the Tughlaq dynasty, occupying most of the Indian subcontinent. This was followed by decline due to Hindu reconquests, states such as the Vijayanagara Empire and Mewar asserting independence, and new Muslim sultanates such as the Bengal Sultanate breaking off.In 1526, the Sultanate was conquered and succeeded by the Mughal Empire.
The sultanate is noted for its integration of the Indian subcontinent into a global cosmopolitan culture (as seen concretely in the development of the Hindustani language and Indo-Islamic architecture being one of the few powers to repel attacks by the Mongols (from the Chagatai Khanate)and for enthroning one of the few female rulers in Islamic history, Razia Sultana, who reigned from 1236 to 1240. Bakhtiyar Khalji's annexations were responsible for the large-scale desecration of Hindu and Buddhist temples (leading to the decline of Buddhism in East India and Bengal, and the destruction of Buddhist universities and libraries.Although at first disruptive for the Indian elites, the sultanate largely left its vast non-Muslim subject population to its own laws and customs. By repeatedly repulsing Mongol raiders, the sultanate saved India from the devastation visited on West and Central Asia, setting the scene for centuries of migration of fleeing soldiers, learned men, mystics, traders, artists, and artisans from that region into the subcontinent, thereby creating a syncreticIndo-Islamic Culture...
Delhi has a great history starting from 732A.D when a Rajput clan called The Tunwars built a city..
They faced a threat from Muslim Invasion in the North-West around 1000 A.D..Their King Anangpal the second is said to have built a citadel called Lalkot and placed the Iron Pilar which is considered as a standard of Lord Vishnu..The Tunwars were overthrown by another Rajput clan called Chauhans..
The greatest ruler of this dynasty was Prithviraj the third...He strengthened the fort of Lalkot and named it Rai Pithora..In 1191,Muhhamad of Ghori invaded India...He defeated The Muhammad once but later got captured in Battle of Tarain..After the death of Muhammad, It passed on to Qutb-Ud-Din Aibak,One of Muhammad's Generals..He began his life as a slave so his dynasty came to be known as Slave Dynasty..
He started buiding the Qutb-Minar but he died before it was finished..His son-in-law Iltutmish made the entire Qutb-Minar and also enlarged it..It was 72.56m at height...His tomb stands adjacent to the mosque near Qutb-Minar..His tomb is simple outside but has profuse carvings inside...Iltutmish's children fought for the throne but one brother murdered one another for the throne..Finally his daughter Sultana Razia...
But she lost her life in a battle 3 years later..
This is how a chronicler of her time described her-
"She was wise, just and generous;A benefactor of her kingdom and dispenser of justice;the protector of her subjects and a leader of her armies....But she was not born of the right sex.And so,in the estimation of men,all these virtues were worthless .MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON HER.."
The Slave Dynasty in course of time gave place to the Pathan Dynasty.The Pathan Dynasty's greatest ruler was-Ala-Ud-Din who made himself master of a large part of India and proved his military prowess to the whole world by defeating the ferocious Mongol Invaders...
His coins describe him as Al-Sikunder-Al-Saquee,The second Alexander...
He loved to build..Nothing much remains of Siri,the city he founded...
....But the tank he constructed for the citizens is still intact which is known as Hauz-Khas or the royal tank.He also built the Alai-Darwaza near Qutb-Minar...
After his death it fell into the hands of Tughluqs.....
Ghiyas-Ud-Din Tughluq, The founder of the dynasty built a city in Delhi to stay away from the Mongols..
He named it Tughluqabad...
Ghiyas-Ud-Din died when he attended a reception in his honour the platform he sat on collapsed and he was crushed to death...