The Mehrauli Archaeological Park is an archaeological area spread over 81 hectares (200 acres) in the Mehrauli neighbourhood of the South Delhi district of Delhi, India. The park is located adjacent to the World Heritage-listed Qutub Minar and the Qutb complex.
The park consists of over 100 historically significant monuments. It is the only area in Delhi known for 1,000 years of continuous occupation, and includes the ruins of Lal Kot built by Tomar Rajputs in 1060 CE, making it the oldest extant fort of Delhi, and architectural relics of subsequent period, rule of Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Lodhi dynasty of Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, and the British Raj. [1] [2] [3]
The park contains significant sites including: [4]
Other nearby monuments include the Jahaz Mahal, Zafar Mahal of Bahadur Shah II alias Lal Mahal, Hauz-i-Shamsi and Tomb of Adham Khan. Pillars and remains of several monuments, Jharna which is like a pleasure garden of late Mughals are also lay scattered in the park. [6]
The redevelopment of the area as an archaeological park and conservation of important structures started in 1997, in collaboration between Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), the State Department of Archaeology, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which first started systematic documentation of structures in the area and also started conducting heritage walks since 2000. [1] [7]
Over the years, INTACH has restored some 40 monuments in the park and added signages, heritage trails, and sandstone trail-markers. [5]
The Qutb Minar complex are monuments and buildings from the Delhi Sultanate at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. Construction of the Qutub Minar "victory tower" in the complex, named after the religious figure Sufi Saint Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, was begun by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who later became the first Sultan of Delhi of the Mamluk dynasty. It was continued by his successor Iltutmish, and finally completed much later by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Sultan of Delhi from the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1412) in 1368 AD. The Qubbat-ul-Islam Mosque, later corrupted into Quwwat-ul Islam, stands next to the Qutb Minar.
The Mamluk dynasty, or the Mamluk Sultanate, is the historiographical name or umbrella term used to refer to the three dynasties of Mamluk origin who ruled the Ghurid territories in India and subsequently, the Sultanate of Delhi, from 1206 to 1290 — the Qutbi dynasty (1206–1211), the first Ilbari or Shamsi dynasty (1211–1266) and the second Ilbari dynasty (1266–1290).
Mehrauli is a neighbourhood in South Delhi, Delhi, India. It represents a constituency in the legislative assembly of Delhi. The area is close to Gurugram and next to Vasant Kunj.
Quṭb al-Aqṭāb Khwāja Sayyid Muḥammad Bakhtiyār al-Ḥusaynī, Quṭb al-Dīn Bakhtiyār Kākī was a Sunni Muslim Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of the Chishti Order from Delhi, India. He was the disciple and the spiritual successor of Mu'in al-Din Chishti as head of the Chishti order. Before him the Chishti order in India was confined to Ajmer and Nagaur. He played a major role in establishing the order securely in Delhi. His Dargah is located adjacent to Zafar Mahal in Mehrauli, and is also the venue of his annual Urs festivities. The Urs was held in high regard by many rulers of Delhi like Iltutmish who built a nearby stepwell, Gandhak ki Baoli for him, Sher Shah Suri who built a grand gateway, Bahadur Shah I who built the Moti Masjid mosque nearby and Farrukhsiyar who added a marble screen and a mosque.
Farrukhnagar is a small town and municipality in Farrukhnagar tehsil of Gurugram district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is situated 21 kilometres (13 mi) from Gurgaon and shares its border with Jhajjar district. It was established in 1732 by Faujdar Khan, the first Nawab of Farrukhnagar and a governor of the Mughal Emperor Farrukhsiyar. Farrukhnagar flourished due to its salt trade until the late 19th century, and was abandoned in the early 20th century, during the British Raj. Today monuments such as Sheesh Mahal, Baoli and Jama Masjid built by Faujdar Khan are popular visitor attractions. The town is connected to Garhi Harsaru, south of Gurugram, by the railway line. The Sultanpur National Park is situated in Farrukhnagar tehsil on the road to Gurgaon. Pataudi Palace, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the town, is the nearest palace.
Agrasen Ki Baoli is a 60-meter long and 15-meter wide historical stepwell in New Delhi, India.
Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet, KCB was an East India Company civil servant and agent of the Governor General of India at the imperial court of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Shaikh Jamali Kamboh was a 16th-century Punjabi Muslim poet and Sufi of the Suhrawardiyya Order and pupil of Poet Jami and of Shaikh Sama'al-Din Kamboh'.
The Tomb of Ghiyas ud din Balban is located in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, Mehrauli, southern part of New Delhi, India. Built in circa 1287 CE in rubble masonry, the tomb is a building of historical importance in the development of Indo-Islamic architecture, as it was here that first Islamic arch made its appearance in India, and according to many, the first Islamic dome as well, which however hasn't survived, making Alai Darwaza built in 1311 CE, in the nearby Qutb complex, the earliest surviving dome in India. Ghiyas ud din Balban (1200–1287) was a Turkic ruler of the Delhi Sultanate during the rule of Mamluk dynasty of Delhi from 1266 to 1287. He was one of the most prominent rulers of the Slave Dynasty. The tomb of Balban was discovered in the mid-20th century.
Sultan Ghari was the first Islamic Mausoleum (tomb) built in 1231 AD for Prince Nasiruddin Mahmud, eldest son of Iltumish, in the "funerary landscape of Delhi" in the Nangal Dewat Forest, Near Nangal Dewat Vasant Kunj).
Metcalfe House is the name given to two residential houses built in the 19th century in Delhi; one is near Old Delhi Civil Lines and the other is in Mehrauli, South Delhi. These were built by Sir Thomas Metcalfe (1795–1853), a civil servant, when he was the Governor General's last British resident (agent) at the Mughal court of Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Hauz-i-Shamsi, also known as Shamsi Talab, is a water reservoir built by Iltutmish of the Slave Dynasty in 1230 CE. According to legend, its location was revealed to him in a dream by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. A palace known as the Jahaz Mahal was constructed on the eastern edge of the same reservoir during the Lodi dynasty in the 16th century, serving as a retreat or inn for pilgrims. At the edge of Hauz-i-Shamsi stands the tomb of Abdul-Haqq Dehlavi, a 17th-century Persian writer at the Mughal court. The monuments are situated in the sprawling environs of Mehrauli, Delhi.
Zafar Mahal, in Mehrauli village, in South Delhi, India, is considered as the last monumental structure built as a summer palace during the fading years of the Mughal era. The building has two components namely, the Mahal or the palace, which was built first by Akbar Shah II in the 18th century, and the entrance gate that was reconstructed in the 19th century by Bahadur Shah Zafar II, popularly known as "Zafar" meaning ‘Victory’. It has a forlorn history because Bahadur Shah Zafar, who wished to be buried in the precincts of the Zafar Mahal (palace) and the famous Dargah of Khwaja Qutubuddin Bakhtiar Kaki in Mehrauli, Delhi, was deported by the British to Rangoon, after the First War of Indian Independence in 1857, where he died of old age. The monument today is in a neglected and ruined state, locals play cricket and gamble freely inside the protected monument. The 18th-century palace has been all but subsumed by unauthorised constructions.
The Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb is a Sufi mosque and mausoleum complex that contains the tombs of Jamali and Kamali, co-located in the archaeological village of Mehrauli, in South Delhi, India. The mosque and the tomb were constructed in c. 1529, and Jamali was buried in the tomb after his death in 1535.
Rajon ki Baoli also referred as Rajon ki Bain is a famous stepwell in Mehrauli Archaeological Park of Delhi, India.
Dwarka Baoli is a historical stepwell recently discovered in Dwarka Sub City, in south west New Delhi, India. It was constructed for the residents of Loharehri village by the Sultans of the Lodi Dynasty in the early 16th century. Dwarka now stands where the Loharehri village once stood. Located in a barren stretch of land between a residential society and a private school on Azad Hind Fauj Marg, Sector 12, Dwarka, at 28-35-58.95 degree North and 77-02-38.67 degree East. It was hidden by a large group of Peepal trees and covered by a thick undergrowth which seems to have aided in its relative obscurity. It is mentioned in Maulvi Zafar Hasan's 1910 Monuments list which says it was not very deep and had 22 steps. It is under restoration by the State archeological department and work will be taken up by INTACH Delhi Chapter.
Persian Inscriptions on Indian Monuments is a book written in Persian by Dr Ali Asghar Hekmat E Shirazi and published in 1956 and 1958 and 2013. New edition contains the Persian texts of more than 200 epigraphical inscriptions found on historical monuments in India, many of which are currently listed as national heritage sites or registered as UNESCO world heritage, published in Persian; an English edition is also being printed.
Tourism in Haryana relates to tourism in the state of Haryana, India. There are 22 tourism hubs created by Haryana Tourism Corporation (HTC), which are located in Ambala, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Gurgaon, Hisar, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kaimla, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Sirsa, Sonipat, Panipat, Rewari, Rohtak, Yamunanagar, Palwal and Mahendergarh.
The Baolis of Mehrauli are four stepwells approached through single stage or three stage steps, located in Mehrauli in Delhi, India, in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park mainlined by the Archaeological Survey of India. These are the Anangtal Baoli, the Gandhak Ki Baoli, and the Rajon Ki Baoli. These were built below the ground level as ground water edifices and were built near shrines in medieval times.
The architecture of Delhi dates back more than a thousand years. As the capital of several empires of India, including the Rajput kingdom, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, and British Raj, the city of Delhi has been a centre for art and architecture.