DELHI The City That Would Not Die: Siri

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.

Illustrated by Miloni Munipally: Visual Storyteller at ThisDay

From the Rajput capital of Anangpal Tomar II – Lalkot – and Prithvi Raj Chauhan’s Qila Rai Pithora, let us see how Delhi became the first Muslim city in India.

By the late 12th century, the Chauhan king Prithvi Raj III was defeated by Muhammad of Ghor, in the second battle of Tarain (in Karnal district of modern India) between the Ghurids and the Rajputs. In the first battle at the same place, the Rajputs had won, so for the second battle, the Ghurids were better prepared and won easily.

The victory of Muhammad Ghori established a strong Islamic rule in the northern part of India, which continued for the next six and a half centuries. Qutub-ud-din Aibak was appointed as governor by Ghori.

In the early 13th century, after Ghori’s death, Aibak declared himself the Sultan and established the first Muslim dynasty in the Indian subcontinent, known as Slave Dynasty. Why slave? Because Aibak was originally a Turkish slave bought by Ghori. Aibak had worked hard and had risen in ranks to finally become one of the army generals in-charge of invasions into Indian territories.

Qutub-ud-din Aibak started the construction of Qutub Minar to commemorate his victory but died before its completion. In the Qutub complex, he also constructed Quwwat-ul-Islam, the earliest mosque in India that still exists. Aibak is said to have destroyed 27 Jain temples existing in the complex and used their exquisitely carved pillars and stones to build this mosque, which can still be seen in its ruins.

Though Aibak lived in Qila Rai Pithora, the ceremonial capital, the Muslim headquarters remained in Lahore. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Iltutmish, who transformed the loosely held Ghurid territories into a powerful Delhi Sultanate. Since the empire extended further than what it was during Aibak’s time, Iltutmish shifted the centre of Muslim administration from Lahore to Delhi.

During his reign, Iltutmish expanded his kingdom all the way to Kashmir and Pakistan up to Kabul in the north, Bihar and Bengal in the east, the entire Gangetic plain to the south and parts of Rajasthan in the west. The tomb of Sultan Iltutmish can be seen in the Qutub Minar complex.

Iltutmish’s death was followed by political instability in Delhi. His sons, daughter, and even a grandson tried to rule but were killed by their enemies, till Nasiruddin Mahmud, Iltutmish’s 18-year-old son from a concubine was made Sultan.

Mahmud was aided by his father-in-law Ghiyas-ud-din Balban, a Turkish slave bought by Iltutmish. As was expected, Balban ascended the throne of the Slave dynasty after Mahmud’s death.

Balban’s successors were either weak or incompetent or both and could not carry the Slave legacy much further, resulting in their own court’s regent Jalal-ud-din Khilji usurping the throne in the late 13th century. Thus ended the Slave dynasty.

But Jalal-ud-din was an unpopular ruler, who was finally killed and succeeded by his nephew and son-in-law Alauddin Khilji.

By the end of the 13th century, Mongol invasions had increased substantially, but Alauddin dealt with them effectively. He built a new city with a strong fort and powerful defence systems in place. He called it Siri and made it his capital, the extended fortified walls of which connected to Qila Rai Pithora, Indraprastha and Kilokari in present-day Delhi. According to a popular legend, the name Siri came from the heads of 8000 Mongol soldiers buried under the city. Sir in Hindi means head.

Alauddin also built a palace for himself within Siri, that had a hall with thousand ornate pillars. Unfortunately, nothing much is left of it. Whatever crumbling ruins have survived can be seen in the village of Shahpur, which is authenticated as the location of Siri in modern Delhi. A portion of the fortified wall can also be seen near Asiad Village and Siri Fort Sports complex.

Enclosed within the heavily fortified walls, the city of Siri flourished with markets, granaries, and other buildings and palaces. Some of Alauddin’s buildings that have survived till today are Alai Minar and Alai Darwaza in the Qutub complex. Though conceived to be built as twice the size of Qutub Minar, Alai Minar could not be completed and still stands in its semi-finished state. Alai Darwaza was built as the southern gateway to Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, which itself was expanded upon by Alauddin. Another interesting monument from that time is the Chor Minar, situated off Aurobindo Marg in the Hauz Khas area of Delhi. It is believed to have been used to behead thieves and other criminals during Alauddin’s reign.

To look after the water shortage in his city, Alauddin had a huge tank dug at a distance of two and a half kilometres from the Qutub complex. The tank was named Hauz-e-Khas and covered about 70 acres of land. It would get filled during the rainy season and supplied water to the inhabitants of Delhi throughout the year. Its vast catchment area lies behind the present IIT and JNU in Delhi. The giant tank has dried up and its ruins can be seen in the quaint market area of Delhi called Hauz Khas village.

In Alauddin’s reign, Delhi was not only the political and commercial capital but also a major cultural centre. The great poet Amir Khusrau and Saint Nizamuddin lived during this time… whose words and blessings still live on today, even if the buildings have long gone.

This is a very brief account of the second 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.