DELHI The City That Would Not Die - Khizrabad and Mubarakabad

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.

Khizrabad and Mubarakabad. Illustrated by Pratham Mittal: Visual Storyteller at ThisDay

Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq fell ill in 1384, and sadly, his descendants started fighting amongst themselves resulting in a civil war in and around Delhi. The Tughlaq dynasty began disintegrating rapidly. And when the Sultan finally died in 1388, the situation became worse.

Firoz Shah’s grandson Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq, son of Fateh Khan, ascended the throne. He was also known as Tughlaq Khan. Unfortunately his reign remained quite short.

Abu Bakr Shah, son of Zafar Khan, was also Firoz Shah’s grandson. He staked his claim to the throne too. The result was, he assassinated his cousin and took over the sultanate in 1389. But not for long.

Abu Bakr’s uncle, Firoz Shah’s son Muhammad Shah Tughlaq attacked and defeated his nephew in 1390, taking over the sultanate.

Sultan Muhammad Shah Tughlaq ruled for four years till his death in 1394. Upon his death, his son Alauddin Sikandar Shah ascended the throne but died soon after due to illness. Sikandar’s younger brother Nasiruddin Mahmud succeeded him. However, this was challenged by Nusrat Shah, who established himself in Firozabad.

For the next three years, Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlaq ruled from Delhi while Sultan Nusrat Shah ruled from Firozabad and they continued with their battle of succession. This infighting gave an opportunity to the Turko-Mongol invader Timur to attack and capture the crumbling sultanate of Delhi.

Timur’s army plundered Delhi, which was at that time one of the richest cities in the world. In two weeks, the Turko-Mongol army massacred the population of Delhi, leaving the city reeking of decomposed bodies. The areas that were destroyed were Jahanpanah, Siri and old Delhi, according to Timur’s own memoirs.

Before leaving with the loot and prisoners, Timur appointed Sayyid Khizr Khan as his deputy. Khizr Khan was then the governor of Multan under the Tughlaq dynasty.

Sayyid Khizr Khan conquered the city of Delhi in 1414, ending the Tughlaq era and starting the Sayyid dynasty. Khizr Khan did not take up the title of Sultan and continued to rule initially in the name of Timur and later his son Shahrukh.

As with most new rulers, Khizr Khan decided to build his own city. Within the first four years of his rule itself, he built the city of Khizrabad along river Yamuna, near modern-day New Friends Colony. Unfortunately, the colony has obliterated most, if not all, remains of that time.

During his tenure, Khizr Khan tried to reunite the original areas that used to come under the rule of Delhi Sultanate, and succeeded to some extent. During one of his campaigns, he fell seriously ill and before dying, handed over the kingdom to his son Mubarak Khan. This was in 1421.

Unlike his father, Mubarak Khan was not interested in recovering the lost territories. Instead, he ruthlessly invaded his own fiefdoms to collect revenues for his coffers. He assumed the name of Muizz-ud-Din Mubarak Shah and minted coins in his name, something his father never did. In fact, during Khizr Khan’s reign, the currency of Tughlaq sultans was being used.

Mubarak Shah established his new city called Mubarakabad on the banks of river Yamuna near present-day South Extension. Not much is left of that except for an area called Kotla Mubarakpur, an urban village in the heart of South Extension Part 1, to the west of Defence Colony. In 1434, one of Mubarak Shah’s disgruntled ministers conspired with other unhappy courtiers and hatched a plan to kill him. They were successful in assassinating Mubarak while he was preparing for his prayers.

Mubarak Shah Sayyid’s tomb is situated within Kotla Mubarakpur. It is an impressive octagonal structure, enclosed within an octagonal veranda with identical arches on every side. The broad low dome is crowned by a lantern, an unusual feature of this tomb. Adjoining the tomb on its west, is a mosque called Kotla Mubarakpur mosque.

The lanes leading to the tomb are cramped with small shops and roadside vendors. And the once-grand mausoleum is now surrounded by houses in a way that one can easily miss it, if not alert enough. Considering not much is left of Khizrabad and Mubarakabad, it is still worthwhile to visit Kotla Mubarakpur just to have a peek at this piece of Sayyid legacy.

After the death of Mubarak Shah, his brother Farid’s son, Muhammad Shah was enthroned. Unlike his predecessors, he preferred to call himself Sultan Muhammad Shah. He was succeeded by his son Ala-ud-Din Shah, who preferred to be called Alam Shah or the ‘world king’.

Alam Shah abdicated, making it easy for Bahlul Khan Lodi, the chief of Pashtun (Afghan) Lodi tribe, to take over Delhi Sultanate in 1451. Thus was established the Lodi dynasty, the last dynasty of the sultanate.

The Lodis did not build another Delhi, but they built tombs and mosques, some of which have survived the ravages of time. An important mosque of that era is Moth ki Masjid, which still stands in South Delhi near Ansal Plaza. There was a water stream flowing from there to Mubarakabad, further joining a tributary of Yamuna in Khairpur, which is now known as Lodi Gardens. The well-known Athpula bridge opposite Sikandar Lodi’s Tomb in the gardens, was built on this tributary.

The only Sayyid monument in Lodi Gardens is the tomb of Sultan Muhammad Shah, the rest belong to the Lodi era.

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