History of Delhi Timeline

The early Mughal Emperors Babur (1526–1530) and Humayun (1530–1540, restored 1556–57) ruled from Agra, unlike the preceding Delhi Sultans. During the 16th century, the city declined as the Mughal capital was shifted.

Image source: Humayun

In 1526, following the First Battle of Panipat, Zahiruddin Babur, the former ruler of Fergana, defeated the last Afghan Lodi sultan Ibrahim Lodi, ending the Delhi Sultanate and founding the Mughal dynasty which ruled from Delhi, Agra and Lahore.

Image source: First Battle of Panipat

In the mid-16th century there was an interruption in the Mughal rule of India as Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun and forced him to flee to Persia. After Sher Shah Suri's death in 1545, his son Islam Shah took the reins of north India from Delhi.

Image source: Sher Shah Suri

Akbar, the third and greatest Mughal emperor (1556–1605), continued to rule from Agra, resulting in a decline in the fortunes of Delhi.

Image source: Akbar

Meanwhile in 1553 the Hindu Hemu had become Prime Minister and Chief of Army of Adil Shah. After defeating Akbar's army on 7 October 1556 at the Tughlaqabad fort area in the Battle of Delhi, Hemu acceded to the Delhi throne and established Hindu Raj in North India for a brief period, taking the title 'Vikramaditya' at his coronation in Purana Qila, Delhi.

Image source: Battle of Tughlaqabad

In the mid-17th century, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1628–1658) built the city that sometimes bears his name Shahjahanabad, the seventh city of Delhi that is now commonly known as the old city or old Delhi.

Image source: Old Delhi

After the fall of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals ruled from Agra, Sikri and Lahore, but the city once again became the capital in 1648 during the rule of Shah Jahan. The city served as the capital of the later Mughal Empire from 1638 onward, when Shah Jahan transferred the capital back from Agra, and remained the capital until the fall of the empire.

Image source: Shah Jahan

Aurangzeb (1658–1707) crowned himself as emperor in Delhi in 1658 at the Shalimar garden ('Aizzabad-Bagh) with a second coronation in 1659.

Image source: Aurangzeb

In 1739, the Mughal Empire lost the huge Battle of Karnal in less than three hours against the numerically outnumbered but militarily superior Persian army led by Nader Shah during his invasion, after which he completely sacked and looted Delhi, followed by a massacre lasting 2 days, killing over 30,000 civilians and carrying away immense wealth including the Peacock Throne, the Daria-i-Noor, and Koh-i-Noor.

Image source: Battle of Karnal

After 1680, the Mughal Empire's influence declined rapidly as the Hindu Maratha Empire rose to prominence.

In 1737, Bajirao I marched towards Delhi with a huge army, demonstrating the growing power of the Marathas against the declining Mughal Empire.

Image source: Bajirao I

A treaty signed in 1752 made the Marathas the protector of the Mughal throne at Delhi.

Image source: Maratha Empire

In 1753, Jat ruler Suraj Mal attacked Delhi, further weakening Mughal authority over the city.

Image source: Suraj Mal

Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded North India for the fourth time in early 1757. He entered Delhi in January 1757 and kept the Mughal emperor under arrest.

Image source: Ahmad Shah Durrani

In August 1757, the Marathas once again attacked Delhi, decisively defeating Najib-ud-Daula and his Rohilla Afghan army in the Battle of Delhi (1757). The Marathas captured Delhi and continued to control it until 1803.

Image source: Battle of Delhi (1757)

Ahmad Shah Durrani conquered Delhi in 1761, after the Third Battle of Panipat in which the Marathas were decisively defeated.

Image source: Third Battle of Panipat

Under the leadership of Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Baghel Singh, Delhi was briefly conquered by the Sikh Empire in early 1783 in the Battle of Delhi (1783).

Image source: Battle of Delhi (1783)

In 1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the forces of the British East India Company defeated the Maratha forces in the Battle of Delhi (1803), ending Maratha rule over the city. Delhi was captured by the British East India Company.

Image source: Battle of Delhi (1803)

The Indian Rebellion of 1857 sought to end Company Rule in India and declared Bahadur Shah II the Emperor of India.

Image source: Indian Rebellion of 1857

Delhi passed into the direct control of the British Government in 1857 after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and the remaining Mughal territories were annexed as a part of British India.

Image source: British Raj

However, the British returned and laid siege to Delhi on 8 June 1857, ultimately recapturing the city from rebel forces.

Image source: Siege of Delhi

Calcutta was the capital of British India till 1911, but in 1911 at the Delhi Durbar of 1911, held at the Coronation Park, King George V announced the shifting of the capital to Delhi, the last inner city of Delhi designed by Edwin Lutyens.

Image source: Delhi Durbar

New Delhi, designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens, was inaugurated in 1931 after its construction was delayed due to World War I.

Image source: New Delhi

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 created the Union Territory of Delhi from its predecessor, the Chief Commissioner's Province of Delhi.

Image source: States Reorganisation Act, 1956

After 1967, relations between Hindus and Muslims deteriorated to the level that there was a significant uptick in the number of riots and other disruption of civil life in Delhi.

Image source: Delhi

The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 declared the Union Territory of Delhi to be formally known as the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Image source: Delhi

The 2020 Delhi riots took place in February 2020 in Northeast Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Image source: 2020 Delhi riots

In the 2026 Delhi Jantar Mantar Protests, students across Delhi participated in protests over issues including exam transparency, paper leaks, high coaching fees, and admission policies.

Image source: 2026 Delhi Jantar Mantar protests