Shahjahanabad

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Shahjahanabad (today mostly called Old Delhi ) is a historically and culturally significant city complex in the east of the Indian capital Delhi . It is one of the seven (or eight) settlement cores that later grew together to form the metropolis of Delhi.

Delhi - Red Fort

Location and climate

Shahjahanabad is located not far from the Yamuna River in the Central Dictrict of Delhi approx. 3 km northeast of Connaught Place at an altitude of approx. 215  m . The daytime temperatures can reach 45 ° C and more in early summer (May, June); Frosts can also occur on cold winter nights. Rain actually only falls in the summer monsoon months .

history

The building complex, which was built between 1639 and 1656 (or 1658) and which essentially includes the Red Fort and the Friday Mosque , was founded by the Grand Mogul Shah Jahan , to whom the Taj Mahal , built around the same time in Agra , can be assigned. A few years after the completion of the buildings in Delhi, Shah Jahan was imprisoned by his son and successor Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707) in the Red Fort of Agra ; He died there in 1666. Aurangzeb added some details of the Delhi facilities, but otherwise held back as a builder. In 1737, the armies of the Persian ruler Nadir Shah conquered Delhi and looted the Mughal residence; among other things, the legendary peacock throne was stolen. After the third battle of Panipat (1761) Delhi with the Red Fort was sacked again by an Afghan army under Ahmed Shah Durrani . The British destroyed after the Sepoy uprising (1857) parts of the plant and there built multi-storey barracks.

Attractions

Friday Mosque (Jama Masjid)
  • The brick architecture of the representative and private apartments of the Red Fort , built between 1639 and 1648, is covered by white marble slabs with colored stone incrustations in a similar way to the Taj Mahal. Less significant components are only clad with red sandstone slabs from Rajasthan.
  • The Friday mosque (Jama Masjid) , located approx. 500 m southwest of the fort and built between 1650 and 1656, is - probably for religious reasons - a little less decorative, but here too there is a mixture of red sandstone and white marble; In the spandrels of the main portal as well as on the side portals there are stone inlays made of black marble. It is considered to be one of the largest mosques in the Islamic world.
  • During the construction work, traders, craftsmen, day laborers and service providers of all kinds with their families settled in the area - this is how the old town of Delhi with the Chandni Chowk Bazaar , which was commissioned by Jahanara Begum , a daughter of Shah Jahan, was created .

literature

  • Swapna Liddle: Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Old Delhi. Speaking Tiger Publ. 2017, ISBN 978-9386050670 .

Web links

Commons : Red Fort  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Commons : Jama Masjid, Delhi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Chandni Chowk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Seven Cities of Delhi
  2. ↑ Old Delhi - Map with elevation information
  3. ↑ Delhi - Climate table

Coordinates: 28 ° 39 ′ 8 ″  N , 77 ° 14 ′ 12 ″  E