| The early Delhi Sultanate and the "seven cities" of Delhi | |
| *INDRA- PRASTHA*? |
Delhi
is often said to be the site of *Indraprastha*,
the Pandavas' capital in the Mahabharata; but archaeological evidence
is lacking |
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An overview of the rapid rise, constant fluctuations, and steep decline of the Sultanate; and here's a *dynastic chart* and a *map of early Delhi monuments*; and a great *coin site* |
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"Dilli," the Tomar Rajput capital from c.736 onwards, had been enhanced in the 900's by Suraj Pal, who constructed the Suraj Kund |
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(1) LAL KOT-- Built c.1060 by the Tomar ruler Anang Pal II, it was conquered by Prithviraj Chauhan of Ajmer in the late 1100's and became "Qila Rai Pithora"; conquered by the Ghurid general Qutbuddin Aibak in 1192, it became the Qutb Minar area in Mehrauli |
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Mu'izz ud-Din Muhammad Ghuri's (and Aibak's) empire-building also included the *Adhai din ka Jhompra* in Ajmer, a mosque made out of portions of an earlier Jain temple on the site; and the minting of some very Indic coins |
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In 1198 or thereabouts, the Ghurid general Muhammad Bakhtiyar conquered northwest Bengal, and established his capital in the town of GAUR |
|
MINAR* |
Qutb ud-Din Aibak (r.1192-1210, first as a Ghurid general, then after Mu'izz ud-Din's death in 1206 as an independent ruler) built most of the Qutb Minar and the Qubbat ul-Islam ("Refuge of Islam") Mosque; the complex was also extended and augmented by later Delhi sultans |
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Qutb ud-Din Aibak died in Lahore, and is buried there in a tomb dating from the 1970's (the original one was destroyed by the Mongols in 1241) |
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Iltutmish (r.1210-35), his son-in-law, completed the Qutb and continued his predecessor's work elsewhere as well; his beautiful *tomb* is in the Qutb complex |
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Iltutmish's promising daughter and heir Sultan Raziyya (r.1236-40) was dethroned and killed; in the chaos after her death, Hulagu Khan and his Mongols sacked Lahore (1241) |
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Ghiyas ud-Din Balban ruled from 1246 to 1286/7 (though for the first 20 years he was officially a prime minister) and did much to consolidate the Sultanate's power |
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In 1258, Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad and killed the last 'Abbasid Caliph; the *Mongol onslaught* was the worst thing that ever happened to the Islamic world |
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In the late 1200's, the Delhi Sultans celebrated their eastern conquests with another huge "victory tower," in Chhota Pandua (near Calcutta) in Bengal |
| *The story continues in the 1300's...* | |
