It also became melting pot of cultures as aggressors like Afghans, Persians, Turks and Mongols brought their culture, which blended with local culture of Rajputs, who held their desert terrain to west of Delhi, and of Sikhs who reined in Punjab and of heartland which was towards east of Delhi, and of Malwa and Deccan which fell to south of Delhi.

The most brilliant example of this cultural blend is language Urdu, which is a mixture of many languages like Khadi, Persian, Farsi, Hindi, Bhojpuri etc. Gathering the best of the words from each of these, it finally became probably the sweetest language on the face of the earth.

Even today Delhi appears to be one of the most colourful and vibrant cities of India. It has busy streets, crowded markets ranging from Sarojini Nagar where right from Henna to dying of Dupattas take place. It has international food chains right next to old Delhi’s Paratha galli and sweet shops selling desi ghee sweets. It has modern cars roaring on the DND flyway and also the rustic cycle rickshaws pulled by humans to ultra modern metro railway. It has the gardens and greenery in every colony and the same time extreme pollution (especially noise) as many of its junctions. It is a city of differences and contradiction with its unique charm. The chronological sequence in which various rulers ruled Delhi and their capital city in and around is given below. The most interesting aspect however is the old saying that “anybody who tried to build a new city of Delhi was never able to rule it and lost it to some other ruler”. This holds true even today about Lutyen’s Delhi, which was the last city built by British from where present democracy rules.

Places to Visit:
Given that there are almost 8 different capital cities in Delhi, an interested person can spend weeks learning history of Delhi. There are structures and ruins of every era here. However, most popular places of tourist interest are listed here.

Qutub Minar:
This Victory Tower, 72.5 mtr in height was built by Qutubuddin Aibak, for celebrating Victory of his master Mohammad Ghori. The diameter at the base is 14.32 mtr. and at the top 2.75 mtr. Qutubuddin began construction in 1199, however completion was done by his son-in-law Shamsuddin IItutmish. The complex has an Iron pillar which belongs to 4th Century A.D. and has still not caught rust. It apparently was set up by Vishnudwaja, in memory of King Chandra. However exact history is not known as hardly anything was documented in those days. There is also tomb of IItutmish and Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque (built by Allauddin Khilji) nearby. Allauddin also wanted to build Alla-i-minar, to be double the size of Qutub Minar but could not take it to more than first floor during his life time.

India Gate:
Built in memory of Indian soldiers who fought for British Army during the first and second; world war. It has Amar Jawan Jyoti ( Eternal Flame in Memory of Unknown Soldier) with inverted gun and helmet on it. This 42 mtr. tall structure is on Rajpath, which reaches Rashtrapati Bhavan with lush green lawns on both sides.

Humayun’s Tomb:
Declared as World Heritage by United Nations, this is among the first of the big structures showing blend of Persian and Hindu architecture. Built on, area of 12000 m2 this, 47 mtr tall structure was built by Humayun’s widow Hamida Banu Begum during 1565 to 1572. This is also the first experiment to combine sand stone look with white marble. There are more than 100 graves of different mughal family members here. The complex, also houses Isa Khan Niyazi’s octagonal tomb, who was a noble in court of Sher Shah Suri, and was constructed just 20 yrs before that of Humayun’s. Buildings have intricate work of grills carved in sandstone, glazed tiles and lattice screens(zoom in pictures of Inside Dome and Isa Khan Niyazi’s tomb).

Rajghat:
On the banks of Yamuna, stands this simple structure as memorial of the most powerful person born in Indian History, Mahatma Gandhi. Made in black granite with eternal flame burning near, his last words are engraved on his tomb – “He Ram”.