DELHI The City That Would Not Die: Firozabad

The story of Delhi, the capital of India, is not just the story of one city, but of at least eight (recorded and recognised) capital cities that shifted locations through the ages, finally settling down at the current location as the ninth capital of India. It has been the site of a succession of seats of empires, whose remains can still be seen in the current city of Delhi.

Firozabad. Illustrated by Miloni Munipally: Visual Storyteller at ThisDay

Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq had no son. His wazir Khwaja Jahan placed a young boy Mahmud-ibn-Muhammad on the throne, claiming him to be a relative. He was not acceptable to the rest of the nobles and wazirs of the court, but there was no one else to take responsibility. For the first time in the history of Delhi Sultanate, there was this strange situation where nobody from the Tughlaq family came up to accept the reigns of the kingdom. Finally, Firoz Shah Bin Rajab Tughlaq took over the throne of the Sultanate in March 1351.

Forty-two years old Firoz was the son of Rajab, younger brother of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. He did not immediately take over the capital of his cousin Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. It is believed that for some months he worked on erasing his predecessor’s misdeeds by replacing them with acts that reflected his concern for his people. He paid generous compensation to those unfortunate families whose members were tortured by the previous Sultan.

Firoz had a complete record prepared of all of Sultan Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq’s misdeeds and had it placed in his tomb, and invoked God’s grace on the departed soul. Thus, having established his image as a just and fair ruler did Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq enter the capital of Delhi Sultanate.

By this time, Delhi Sultanate was already in the process of  disintegration, structurally as well as administratively. Firoz Shah restored order in the northern part of his empire and did not bother to retrieve the southern states, which were taken over by the Bahamani dynasty.

Firoz Shah was an intelligent ruler, and it did not take him long to consider building a new capital, since the one he had inherited was full of problems.

The enormous settlements built on the rocky terrain of Aravalli were distant from river Yamuna, the main water supply for the capital. It made water a scarce commodity in Jahanpanah and more so with the growing population. Space constraints were also being felt. Coupled with a perceptible decline in revenue, the people were facing considerable discomfort. These reasons were enough to prompt Firoz Shah to give serious thought to building a city close to the river.

The site chosen for the new capital was Gawin, 15 km north of Jahanpanah. It was a village on the banks of river Yamuna, and is the site of present day Firoz Shah Kotla, kotla meaning a small fortress. The total expanse of the city embraced 18 villages, including the core village of Gawin. The new capital thus established in 1354 was named Firozabad.

The fortified city of Firozabad extended from Purana Qila or Indarpat to Kushk-e-Shikar or the hunting lodge, in present day Hindu Rao Hospital on the northern ridge. Unfortunately no traces of the city’s walls can be seen today. It is believed that the material from the walls and buildings of Firozabad was used to build Shahjahanabad later.

Firozabad spread like a crescent with a one-and-half mile radius, the centre being Kotla on the riverbank. Starting from Kotla, the row of houses for the nobility began and ran up to the point where stands the Lahori gate today. That area is still called Darya Ganj, darya meaning river.

Proper roads and a well-planned canal system were designed to support the new capital. The tanks and canals not only saved the people from facing water shortage but also accounted for a large number of fruit orchards and parks in the city. 1022 gardens were written about in the records of Firozabad. The revenue from the fruits alone was a big addition to the treasury.

Firoz Shah’s fort complex, Firoz Shah Kotla, though in ruins today, still leaves one mesmerised. People flock to see the Ashokan pillar that Firoz Shah brought from Topra in Haryana, and got installed on a pyramidal structure near Jami Masjid, a congregational mosque in the complex. This mosque, the largest of its time, though in ruins now, is still functional. Firoz Shah built Kalan Masjid near present day Turkman Gate as the main mosque for the public.

A stepwell or baoli also exists in the Kotla fort complex, which is the only circular baoli in Delhi. There was a second Ashokan pillar that was brought from Meerut and installed in Kushk-e-Shikar, Firoz Shah’s hunting lodge, the ruins of which can be seen in the premises of Hindu Rao Hospital. The other notable hunting lodges of that time are Bhooli Bhatiyari in Jhandewalan, Malcha Mahal in Chanakyapuri and Kushak Mahal in the premises of Teen Murti Bhavan.

Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq was not only a great builder, but also a conservationist. Though he built many hospitals, sarais (resthouses), madarsas (schools), mosques and palaces, in and around Firozabad, he also repaired the older structures such as Suraj Kund, Qutub Minar, Hauz-e-Khas, the tombs of Iltutmish and Alauddin Khilji. He erected the outer and inner entrance gates of the dargah of Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya.

While he repaired and renovated Hauz-e-Khas, Firoz expressed his desire to be buried near the main tank – and there stands his tomb today, a specimen of simplicity combined with nobility of structure.

Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq ruled for nearly four decades and left behind an autobiography titled Futuhat-e-firozshahi, where he listed out all the good work that he did during his reign.

This is a very brief account of the fifth city of Delhi… you can discover much more by walking through the above mentioned areas leisurely.

You can check out the books written by Sunita Pant Bansal here.