Delhi is an ancient city .It is said that after Rome ,Delhi has the largest number of 500 years old buildings.

1. Seven Cities Of Delhi
Indraprasth Of Mahabharat
• Delhi is an ancient city .It is said that
after Rome ,Delhi has the largest number
of 500 years old buildings.
• The oldest reference to Delhi is in
Mahabharat when lord Krishna asks for
five villages for Pandavas ie Indrapat,
Bagpat,Sonipat , Tilpat & Panipat(Current
names). Indraprasth is the ancient name
of Delhi and possibly the oldest name of
the city.
• ASI excavations have revealed a three
thousand year old inhabitation at Purana
Quila area . Village Indrapat finds a
mention in old British time records in
same area till new Delhi started getting
constructed .
• Curiously Delhi government website
does not recognise it as the first Delhi .
We do call it the first Delhi. Mahabharat and Dhritrashtra

2. Seven Cities Of Delhi -2
Dhilli , Dilli or Delhi
• The present name Delhi is
believed to be derived from the
story of Raja Anang Pal who had
driven a pillar in earth . Brahmins
told him not to see its end as it
was resting on Shesh Nag . The
king , out of uncontrolled
curiosity , took out the pillar and
it had blood stains at bottom as
it had gone into the hood of
Shesh Nag .
• When the king drove the Pillar
again it became loose i.e. Dheeli
( ) .The name Dilli is
derived from this word .
Some believe that iron pillar at
Mehrauli is the same pillar .
Iron Pillar of Mehrauli

3. Seven Cities of Delhi – 3
AnangPal &Maurayan Period Inscription
• The iron pillar of Mehrauli is
having some inscription of Gupta
period.
• In 1966 an Ashokan rock edict
was discovered in Sriniwaspuri
area.
• The next mention of Delhi is of a
fort named ‘ Lal Kot’ made by Inscriptions Prithvi Raj Chauhan
Anangpal (731-36 AD) . Suraj
Kund was made by another
Tomar King.Lalkot was extended
and renamed by Prithvi Raj
Chauhan as ‘ Quila Rai Pithora’.
• This is generally believed to be
the second Delhi. Thick walls of
both the the fort are still left
intact near Lado Sarai in Delhi. Lalkot Wall Site Quila Rai Pithora

4. Seven Cities of Delhi
Qutub Minar & Slave Dynasty
• After Prithvi Raj Chauhan ,the
city went into the control of
Islamic invaders for more than
seven hundred years who made
several important buildings
which have survived the passage
of time .
• Mohammed Ghauri left a slave
Qutubuddin Aibak in charge of Qutub Minar Two Views
Delhi.He used art work of some
old Jain and hindu temples and
with some new materials made
Qutab Minar at Mehrauli in the
year 1193 A.D.
• Allauddin Khilji tried making
another copy of Qutub Minar
just near by but left it unfinished
. It can also be seen near Qutab
Minar Unfinished Qutub Broken Temple Remains

5. Seven Cities of Delhi – 5
Allauddin Khilji’s Delhi
• Alauddin Khilji ( 1296AD) is the
next big name in Delhi’s history .
His tomb is at Hauzkhas lake
made by him.
• The Siri fort is supposed to have
eight thousand severed heads of
invading Mongols burried under
it by Allauddin. Siri is a word
derived from hindi word Allauddins Makbara Hauz khas lake
• Chor Minar is a small tower on
which severed heads of thieves
, criminals and invaders were
hung.
• Alluddin Khilji’s Delhi is
generally called the third city of
Delhi.
Madarsa at Hauz Khas Chor Minar

6. Seven Cities Of Delhi – 6
Tughlaq Era
• Ghiasuddin Tughlak (1326 AD), the
founder of Tughlak Dynasty , made
the Tughlakabad fort .His tomb is
also near by . There is a big water
reservoir called Baoli there .
• It is said that when his fort was
being made, the labour used to work
at night for Hazrat Nizamuddin to Ghiassuddin’s Makbara Tughlakabad Fort
make a baoli under the light of oil
lamps l. Tughlak took away the oil
but lamps were lit by water and
baoli was completed .Chirag Dilli
derives its name from this story.
• Another welknown Tughlak was the
maveric Mohammed Bin Tughlak
( 1351 AD)who tried and failed in
shifting his Sultanet HQ to
Daultabad in Maharashtra .
• Tughlak’s Delhi is generally
Considered as the fourth City of Mausoleum of Ghiasuddin Baoli at Nizamuddin
Delhi.

7. Seven Cities of Delhi – 7
Firoz Shah
• Firoz Shah ( 1351AD) was the
next Sultan ( Tughlaq Dynasty)to
make a new city at Delhi . The
present Cricket Stadium of Delhi
called Kotla Grounds area has
many stone edicts of his time.
Top pictures are of his fort’s now
destroyed gate and his tomb at Firozabad West Gate Lodhi Garden Area
Hauz Khas. now demolished
• He carried the forty feet long
stone pillar of Ashoka’s time
intact from Ambala and installed
it in the area .His Delhi is
generally called the Fifth city of
Delhi .
• The last picture is of Lodhi Tomb
another landmark in Delhi in
Lodhi Garden. Ashoka Pillar Kotla Lodhi Garden Area

8. Seven Cities of Delhi – 8
Sher Shah Suri & Humayun Era
• Sher Sha Suri (1540-45) was a
gifted General and Founder of
Sher Garh city in Delhi .
• Humayun , the son of Babar had
a checkered career . He lost
battle to Sher Shah Suri, an
Afghan and fled to Iran.He
regained his kingdom in the year Purana Quila Sher Garh
1546 .
• He completed /remade the
Purana Qila at Delhi . Excavations
at Purana Qila .Some people call
his Delhi as Din Panah .
• Humayun tomb is an outstanding
World heritage building .It also
has the headless corpse of Dara
Shikoha burried there . Humayun Makbara Humayun Tomb

9. Seven Cities of Delhi -9
Shahjahanabad
• Before New Delhi was made
Shahjahan (1628-59) was
the greatest builder who
made Red Fort and Jama
Masjid . The main road in
Chandini Chowk
was a canal. Lal Quila Ajmeri Gate
Delhi had fourteen gates
out of which Turkman
Gate, Kashmiri Gate , Delhi
Gate, Ajmeri Gate and
Nigam bodh gate have
survived .
Shahjahanabad was the
Kashmiri Gate Jama Masjid
seventh old city of Delhi.

10. Seven Cities of Delhi -10
New Delhi of British Era
• British decided to shift capital
of India to New Delhi in 1911.
• Construction of Parliament ,
India Gate, Rashtrapati
Bhavan etc. started in 1911
but took seventeen years
instead of estimated four Rashtrapati Bhawan Parliament
years. It was inaugurated in
1931 .
• Governor General used to
work from the now Delhi
university building and shifted
into Rashtrapati Bhavan later
• Photographs show
Rashtrapati Bhavan,
Parliament ,Central
Secretariat and India Gate. Central Secretariat India Gate