Neighbourhood News Desk/Avi Arya: We are going to talk about Delhi but also about the first few Ancient Cities that excisted as well in India’s ancient Times as well as all the history of the citadel’s.
At Faridabad, a few metres from Surajkund GPS nor villagers will be able to give us directions to the ruins of the Angpur Dam which was built by the Tomar Rajputs more than thousand years ago and was established as the first known of Delhi which is considered to be unmarked and rarely visited and is considered to be the site of the main ancient cities of Delhi up to this very present day.
Another Ancient Citadel is called Lal Kot and was built by Anangpala II in the middle of the 11th century. It was also known in Delhi’s ancient times as Delhi’s original “Red Fort”.
Anang Tal, a water tank abutting the Lal Kot ruins, is also one such structure.Also attributed to Anangpala II is the Anangpur dam which is considered very hard to locate and is considered made entirely out of quartzite.
The completely dry Surajkund reservoir, hardly 2 kms away, tells the same story of rapid ecological change. It is said to be built by King Surajpal Tomar in order to collect water from the Anangpur dam. Steps run around the tank with a gap for a stone ramp.
MYTHS OF THE FIRST CITIES
Delhi’s story goes beyond the Rajputs, both in history and legend. It was built on what was once a forest, and was home to Pandavas from the Mahabharata epic.
No conclusive historical evidence has, however, emerged and so Indraprastha is shrouded in myth. But pre-Rajput artefacts point to smaller, ancient settlements in Delhi. In the middle of the first millennium, north India was controlled by factions of Rajput clans who were all fighting for power.
Once upon a time there was a King known as Anangpal Tomar who ruled in a city which had a pillar. The king was told that the pillar was rooted so deep into the ground that it rested on the hood of the king of serpents, the ruler of the underground realm.
But a Brahmin prophesied that Anangpal’s rule would only last as long as the pillar stood. But the king curious as he is despite the warnings chose to ignore the Brahmin’s prophecy ordered the pillar to be dug up for Closer examination, and found that its bottom was indeed covered in nothing but serpent blood.
Realizing in what he has done, he then immediately then ordered it to be reinstalled, but the pillar was already loose, therefore providing the city with its name. In Prithviraj Raso, this act eventually leads to the destruction of the Tomars. This pillar in the legend is widely thought to be the Iron Pillar, which still continues to stand even today, refusing to rust, in the middle of the Qutab Minar complex.
HOW PRITHVIRAJ CHAUHAN LOST DELHI
In the mid-12th century, Tomars were overthrown by the Chauhans, which happen to be another Rajput clan. It was by Prithviraj Chauhan III, the last Chauhan king, who further extended the Lal Kot citadel by building the Qila Rai Pithora, therefore fortifying the city against attacks by Turks.
The remains of Qila Rai Pithora, were then named after the legendary king, are all in present-day Mehrauli and at the intersection of Saket and Aurobindo Marg. Chauhan ruled from Ajmer, but Delhi was still considered an important city, despite it being a provincial one compared to other Rajputruled cities of the time.
In 1191, Prithviraj lost the city to the Turks. A 100-odd kilometres from Delhi lies Tarain, the site of the Rajput king’s clash with Muhammad Ghori, the Turkish sultan of Ghazni in Afghanistan. When the two first met in battle, Ghori was severely wounded, and galloped away to safety aided by one of his soldiers.
Next year, however, Ghori employed a clever military tactic to defeat Chauhan, despite having a smaller army than the Rajput king. The reign of the Rajputs was finally over. For the next 300 years, Delhi became the seat of the Turkish Sultans.
That’s is how we come to realize that Ancient Cities that excisted before the establishment of the city of Delhi in The Ancient Times. Which goes to show that just because G.P.S or the Local villagers don’t know where it is Doesn’t mean it wont exist, one must learn to catch up on their history lessons in order to find what they seek. After all where’s the fun in finding what you seek the easy way.