History of Delhi Part-2

Delhi's History Part-2...

The Reign of Muhammad and more...

The new king Muhammad Bin Tugluq,though cruel was far-sighted...

When he visited Devagiri he taught that this city would be an ideal place for living and would be far away from the mongols..

Then the people were asked to move to Devagiri[Renamed Daulatabad]..

But it was decided and the people had to move away from Delhi to a 700 mile far place...

Many died in the way and the sultan realised his mistake..

He ordered them to come back but again many died and only few survivors were left..

Those who reached Delhi again had no jobs,and were homeless and had many hardships..

Then after Tyghluq died Firuz Shah was appointed as his successor and he was a man of peace...

In 1354 he founded a new city named Firuzabad..

The Ashoka Pillar which is present in the city is 12.97m in height..

This pillar had writing on it which no one until 1837 as it was deciphered by an englishman named James Princep..

Firuz Shah died in 1388 and was buried at one corner of Hauz Khas near Qutb-Minar..

Many kings after him were incomponent rulers...

The Tughluq dynasty was after destroyed by Timur the Lame..

He plundered,looted and massacred the whole Delhi..

After a hundred years later One of his descendants Babur decided to deprive India of it's treasures..

That it was under the control of the last Lodi ruler- Sultan Ibhrahim Lodi..

But in the battle with Babur he breathed his last..

Zahir-Ud-Din-Muhammad Babur entered Delhi on April 24,1526..

After one year the Rajputs led by Rana Sanga gave him a threat..

So he dramatically cast of his favourite wine and inspired his soldiers to fight..

Finally Babur won the battle.

Then started the Mughal reign in India..

His son Humayun was brave but scholarly and foolish..

He built or restored the Purana Qila in Delhi...

Where the fort stands was once the ancient city of Indraprastha.

Archaeologists are excavating the fort to find it's antiquity...

Humayun was defeated twice by Sher Shah ,The Afghan..

After the second battle, Humayun fled from the field and became a homeless wanderer..

Sher Shah was a good ruler..

He built roads and improved communications.The Grand Trunk road was built during his reign..

He built a new city in Delhi using material from Firuzabad..

He constructed Kotla Firuz Shah and Sher Mandal.

Some years later Humayun came back..

When he went to a library and started reading his prayers started and he knelt on the stairs.

Then when he got up he slipped and Died..

Akbar and Jahangir did not care for Delhi and finally it became the city of Plague..

Then Shah Jahan built a new city in Delhi and also built the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi..

He also built a city named Shahjahanabad outside the Red Fort..

Shah Jahan soon died when his Aurangzeb had deposed him..

He murdered his brothers and ascended the throne..

He was helped by his sister Roshanara..

She is remembered because of the beautiful gardens which she had laid out and which are named after her..

Aurangzeb was also responsible for the death of Guru Tegh Bahadur..

The Banyan tree trunk under which he was beheaded can still be seen near Chandni Chowk..

After his reign Mughal empire had ended and many nobles came into power..

One such noble was Raja Jaisingh the second of Jaipur who constructed the Jantar Mantar's during the reign of Muhammad Shah (1719-1748)..

Then in 1739 Nadir Shah plundered Delhi and took the Kohinoor,The Peacock Throne and much wealth..

In the next hundred years Delhi was Ravaged by The Pathans,The Rohillas and The Marathas..

The last Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar had authority only within four walls of Red Fort..

Then in 1857 he was arrested by the British for leading revolutionary forces against them in the country..

Three of his sons were shot down near the gateway Khooni Darwaza and their bodies were exhibited on a platform in Chandni Chowk...

In 1811, the British decided to make Delhi the capital of British India and commisioned Sir Edward Lutyens to build a new city for them..

The new city was ready in 1931..

When the British left,New Delhi became capital of Free India.

Today Delhi is a city where ancient forts and modern stadia and flyovers stand side by side,the old mingling with the new..

Sources:

Wikipedia

Historic City of Delhi by Amar Chitra Katha

The age of Wrath

The Delhi Sultanate:A political and military History..

The Emergence of Delhi Sultanate 1192-1286

Watch this video for more information on Delhi..