GENERIC ELECTIVES (GE-1): Delhi Through the Ages: The making of its early

Modern History
Credit distribution, Eligibility and Pre-requisites of the Course

Course title & Code Credits Credit distribution of the course Eligibility Prerequisite
criteria of the course
Lecture Tutorial Practical/
Practice

Delhi Through the Ages: The 4 3 1 0 12th Pass NIL

making of its early Modern
History

Learning Objectives

The Learning Objectives of this course are as follows:

The objective of the paper is to explore the city of Delhi from its early history to the eighteenth century.
The city grew into one of the largest cities in the world and was the capital of some of the great empires.
As capital Delhi profited from continuous immigration, state patronage and vibrant cultural life. The city
was not merely dependent upon its rulers for cultural and political sustenance. The course also focuses on
Sufis, litterateurs and merchants who also gave the city its unique character and resilience in the face of
political turbulence.

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course the student shall be able to:

• To acquaint students with the history of Delhi till the early modern period.
• Analyse the processes of urbanization as shaped by political, economic and social changes
SYLLABUS OF GE-1

Unit I: Ancient Delhi and adjoining sites: (12 hours)

1. Indraprastha- Hastinapur, Panipat, Tilpat
2. Ashokan Edicts
3. Mehrauli Iron Pillar
4. Lalkot

Unit II: From Settlements to Cityscape - Understanding the 10th and 14th Century Cities of Delhi. Case
Study Any Two: (16 hours)
1. Anangpur Fort
2. Dehli-i Kuhna’s Masjid-i Jami
3. Siri
4. Ghiyaspur-Kilukhari
5. Tughulqabad
6. Firuzabad

Unit III: 16th to 17th Century Delhi: (16 hours)

1. Humayun’s Garden Tomb
2. Morphology of Shahjahanabad

Unit IV: 18th Century Delhi - Understanding political and social changes (16 hours)
Essential/recommended readings
Unit 1: This unit will introduce students to the early history of Delhi, focusing on Indraprastha, ancient
edicts and pillars and the Tomar and Chauhan constructions. (Teaching Time: 12 hours)
• Richard J. Cohen, “An Early Attestation of the Toponym Dhilli”, Journal of the American Oriental
Society, Vol. 109 (1989), pp. 513-519.
• Singh, Upinder. (2006). Ancient Delhi, Delhi: Oxford University Press
• Mani, B.R. (1997). Delhi: Threshold of the Orient; (Studies in Archaeological Investigations),
Aryan Books International

Unit 2: This unit will study the cities of Sultanate Delhi in the 10th to 14th centuries. It will discuss the
various reasons for the shift of capitals and the changing character of the city. Case studies of any
two of these cities will be undertaken. Students will be encouraged to plan field trips related to the
themes and readings. (Teaching Time: 16 hours)
• B.R.Mani and I.D.Dwivedi (2006). ‘Anangpur Fort: The Earliest Tomar Settlements Near Delhi’,
in Upinder Singh, ed., Delhi: Ancient History, Social Science Press, New Delhi, pp 200-204.
• Ali, Athar. (1985). “Capital of the Sultans: Delhi through the 13th and 14th Centuries”, in
• R.E. Frykenberg, ed., Delhi Through the Age: Essays in Urban History, Culture and Society,
Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 34-44
• Kumar, Sunil. (2019) “The Tyranny of Meta-Narratives; Re-reading a History of Sultanate Delhi”,
in Kumkum Roy and Naina Dayal. (Ed.). Questioning Paradigms, Constructing Histories: A
Festschrift for Romila Thapar, Aleph Book Company, pp 222-235.
• Kumar, Sunil. (2011). “Courts, Capitals and Kingship: Delhi and its Sultans in the Thirteenth and
Fourteenth Centuries CE” in Albrecht Fuess and Jan Peter Hartung. (eds.). Court Cultures in the
Muslim World: Seventh to Nineteenth Centuries, London: Routledge, pp. 123-148
• Kumar, Sunil. (2009) ‘Qutb in Modern Memory’. In: Kaul, Suvir, (ed.), Partitions of Memory.
Delhi: Permanent Black, pp. 140-182.
• Jackson, Peter. (1986). ‘Delhi: The Problem of a Vast Military Encampment’, in: R.E. Frykenberg
(ed.). Delhi Through the Ages: Essays in Urban History, Culture, and Society, New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 1986), pp.18-33.
• Haidar, Najaf. (2014). ‘Persian Histories and a Lost City of Delhi', Studies in People's History,
vol. 1, pp. 163-171
• Aquil, R. (2008). “Hazrat-i-Dehli: The Making of the Chishti Sufi Centre and the Stronghold of
Islam.” South Asia Research 28: 23-48.
• Welch, Anthony and Howard Crane. (1983). “The Tughluqs: Master Builders of the Delhi
Sultanate Muqarnas, vol. 1 pp. 123-166.
• Welch, Anthony. (1993). Architectural Patronage and the Past: The Tughluq Sultans of India:
Muqarnas, Vol. 10, Essays in Honor of Oleg Graber, pp. 311-322, Published by Brill.
https://www.jst0re.0rg/stable/l 523196

Unit 3: This unit will explore the structure and meanings of Humayun’s Garden Tomb and morphology of
the imperial city of Shahjahanabad, in the 16th and 17th centuries (Teaching time: 16 hours)
• Chandra, Satish. (1991). “Cultural and Political Role of Delhi, 1675-1725”, in R.E. Frykenberg,
Delhi through the Ages: Essays in Urban History, Culture and Society, Delhi: Oxford University
Press, pp. 106-116.
• Blake, Stephen, (1985). “Cityscape of an Imperial City: Shahjahanabad in 1739”, in R.E.
Frykenberg, Delhi Through the Ages: Essays in Urban History, Culture and Society, Oxford
University Press, pp. 66-99.
• Hasan, Nurul, S. (1991). “The Morphology of a Medieval Indian City: A Case Study of
Shahjahanabad”, In Indu Banga (ed.). The City in Indian History, Delhi: Manohar, pp. 87-
98.
• Gupta. Narayani. (1993). “The Indomitable City,” in Eckart Ehlers and Thomas Krafft, eds.,
 Shahjahanabad / Old Delhi: Tradition and Change. Delhi: Manohar, pp. 29-44.
• Koch, Ebba. (1994). “Diwan-i Amm and Chihil Sutun: The Audience Halls of Shah Jahan”.
Muqarnas, vol. 11, pp. 143-165.
• Lowry, Glenn D. (1987). Humayun’s Tomb: Form Function, and Meaning in Early Mughal
Architecture. Muqarnas, Vol. 4, pp. 133-148
• Dickie, James (Zaki, Yakub), (1985). The Mughal Garden: Gateway to Paradise, Muqarnas, Vol.
3, pp. 128-137.
• Koch, Ebba. (1997). ‘Mughal Palace Gardens from Babur to Shahjahan (1526-1648), Muqarnas,
pp. 143-165.
• Rezavi, Syed Ali Nadeem, (2010). “The Mighty Defensive Fort’: Red Fort at Delhi Under
Shahjahan — Its Plan and Structures as Described by Muhammad Waris.” Proceedings of the
Indian History Congress 71, pp. 1108-1121.

Unit 4: This unit will discuss the developments in Shahjahanabad in the 18th century. The ‘decline’ in the
authority meant turbulence in the city, but it also empowered new groups of people and created a
cultural and social dynamism that was embraced by some and seen as a challenge by others.
(Teaching Time: 16 hours)
• Alam, Muzaffar. (2013) “Introduction to the second edition: Revisiting the Mughal Eighteenth
Century” in The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and the Punjab 1707-1748,
Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. xiii-lxiv
• Ataullah. (2006-2007). “Mapping 18th Century Delhi: the cityscape of a pre-Modern sovereign
city” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 67 pp. 1042-1057.
• Chenoy, Shama Mitra. (1998). Shahjahanabad, a City of Delhi, 1638-1857. New Delhi:
Munshiram Manohar Lai Publishers.
• Raziuddin Aquil, (2017) “Violating Norms of Conduct” in The Muslim Question: understanding
Islam and Indian History, Delhi: Penguin Random House, pp. 133-156.

Suggested readings
• Anthony Welch, ‘A Medieval Centre of Learning in India: The Hauz Khas Madrasa in Delhi’,
Muqarnas, 13 (1996): 165-90;
• Anthony Welch, ‘The Shrine of the Holy Footprint in Delhi’, Muqarnas, 14 (1997): 116- 178;
• Asher, Catherine B. (2000). “Delhi Walled: Changing Boundaries” in James D. Tracy, City Walls:
The Urban Enceinte in Global Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 247-281.

• Bayly, Christopher Alan. (1986). “Delhi and Other Cities of North India during the ‘Twilight’”,
in Delhi through the Ages: Essays in Urban History, Culture, and Society, edited by Robert Eric
Frykenberg, Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 221-36.
• Blake, Stephen P. (1991). Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India, 1639- 1739.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Chandra, Satish. (1991). “Cultural and Political Role of Delhi, 1675-1725”, in R.E. Frykenberg,
Delhi through the Ages: Essays in Urban History, Culture and Society, Delhi: Oxford University
Press, pp. 106-116.
• Hasan, Zafar. (1922). A Guide to Nizamu-d Din. New Delhi: Memoirs of the Archaeological
Survey of India #10
• Habib, Irfan. (1978). ‘Economic History of the Delhi Sultanate — an Essay in
• Interpretation’, Indian Historical Review vol. 4, pp. 287-303.
• Flood, Finbarr B. (2008). “Introduction” in Finbarr B. Flood, Piety and Politics in the Early Indian
Mosque, Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. xi-lxxviii
• Matsuo, Ara. (1982). “The Lodi Rulers and the Construction of Tomb-Buildings in Delhi”. Acta
Asiatica, vol. 43, pp. 61-80.
• Moosvi, Shireen. (1985) “Expenditure on Buildings under Shahjahan-A Chapter of Imperial
Financial History.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 46 pp. 285-
99.
• Page, J.A. (1926). An Historical Memoir on the Qutb. New Delhi: Memoirs of the Archaeological
Survey of India #22
• Page, J.A. (1937). A Memoir on Kotla Firoz Shah, Delhi. New Delhi: Memoirs of the
Archaeological Survey of India #52
• Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, (2001). “A True Beginning in the North” and “A Phenomenon called
‘Vali’” in Early Urdu Literary Culture and History, Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 109-126,
129-142.
• Shokoohy, Mehrdad. (2007). Tughluqabad: a paradigm for Indo-Islamic Urban planning and its
architectural components. London: Araxus Books.
• Singh, Upinder. ed., (2006) Delhi: Ancient History, Delhi: Social Science Press
• Flood, Finbarr B. (2003). “Pillars, Palimpsests, and Princely Practices: Translating the past in
Sultanate Delhi” RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, No. 43, Islamic Arts, pp. 95-116.
• Anand Taneja, ‘Saintly Visions: Other histories and history’s others in the medieval ruins of
Delhi’IESHR, 49 (2012).

• Pinto, Desiderios. J. (1989). "The Mystery of the Nizamuddin Dargah: the Account of Pilgrims",
in Christian W. Troll, ed., Muslim Shrines in India, Delhi: Oxford University Press, pp. 112-124.