Ashokan Pillar at Firoz Shah Kotla

 Delhi Heritage Trail  :  35

          Ashokan Pillar at Firoz Shah Kotla

       In the third century  BC Ashoka the great raised seven  stunningly  carved and polished  monolithic stone pillars to promulgate  his new found Buddhist  faith.  This pillar in Firoz Shah Kotla was brought  from Topra in Ambala district  in 1356 AD. The pillars were carefully  lowered  into a pile of silk cotton and transported on a 42 wheel carriage because Firoz Shah did not  want to damage  the inscriptions  in Brahmi script  although he could  not  decipher  them. Each wheel was tied with a rope and  pulled over by 200 persons   to transport  it.

       After reaching  Delhi a bridge of boats was formed by the king to cross the Yamuna river and brought to Firozabad.  The three storeyed building  on which it stands was constructed  purely to support  the pillar. Each level was constructed  around the  pillar which was raised to the next level  as each was completed.  At every level  the small rooms are linked and are part of Sultans route to the roof. The rooms on each floor form an arcade around  a solid core and some of them are now used for  Pujas. 

         The Ashokan Pillar  is 13 metres high with over a metre sunk below the platform.  Originally  when it was built  it should  have  had a Sarnath Iron Capital which  was not there when Firoz Shah brought it. He is said to have decorated the top with  friezes in Black and white stone surrounded  by a guilded copper cupola. But now  nothing is left at the top but the pillar is enormously smooth  surface with  the inscriptions visible as if carved yesterday.  

          The Brahmi inscriptions of Ashoka were deciphered by James Princep in the year 1837. Many more inscriptions  were added to this  pillar over a period of time.  It was also believed by the local folklore  in those  days that it was the  walking  stick of Bhim  one of the Pandav brothers  of Mahabharata.

Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq

 Delhi Heritage Trail : 34

        Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq 

                  This is one of the beautiful Tomb of the Sultanate Era and a architectural marvel.  A student of architecture should definitely visit this 650 year old monument.  Despite the deep rooted disapproval of monumental tombs in Islam Delhi is dotted with more than 150 tombs of  various shape,size and grandiose nature. The tomb is situated  two kms from Tughlakabad Fort near Mehrauli-Badarpur road. It has a Fortress like appearance with liberal use of Red sandstone and white marble and was once in the midst of a water body. 

    Ghiyasuddin  was Governor of Samana  near Panipat. When Allauddin Khalji expired in 1316 confusion prevailed in Delhi when usurper Khusrau Khan seized the throne. Ghiyasuddin marched to Delhi killed Khusrau Khan and declared himself Sultan in 1321 starting the Thuglaq Era. He was an able ruler an ambitious builder and kept the Mongols at bay.  The Tughlaq era monuments were known for their slopping walls of massive strength, rough stones and without much ornamentation.  Tughlakabad the fourth city of Delhi was built by them. 

      The tomb is an imposing edifice befitting a warrior king. A stone causeway led to the tomb which is now breached. The fortified outer walls of the tomb now stand in good shape and intact.  Called Darul Aman (Abode of peace) there is a sense of eerie silence and tranquility here. It is said that the sultan was enchanted by this place that he started constructing the tomb during his life time. The Sultan had a tiff with the contemporary Saint Nizamuddin Auliya and was envious of his popularity.  

     His death is also shrouded in mystery. After a victorious campaign in Bengal he was returning to Delhi and was resting in Afghanpur a days distance from Delhi. His son Mohammed (later to be crowned Mohd. Bin Tughlaq) arranged a lavish reception to him. As the Sultan sat reviewing the troops the roof of the pavilion crashed on him and he died. While some call it accident others attribute it to Mohammed’s greed and ambition to sit on the throne of Delhi earlier.

Feroz Shah Kotla( Firozabad)

 Delhi Heritage Trail  : 33

         Feroz Shah Kotla (akka) Firozabad

           Sandwitched between the Ring Road on the east and Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg on the west is the fifth  city of Delhi  Firozabad after Siri, Jahanpanah, Tughlaqabad and Lal Kot. It was built  by Firoz Shah Tughlaq in 1354. You may ask why so many Delhi?  It is the old traditions of rulers indulging in extensive building programmes partly to provide large scale employment and partly to demonstrate their might and glory.  Then there is a belief in Islam that building a city is seen as an act of piety. Firoz Shah ascended the throne in 1351 AD and after a few years set his sights on repairing existing monuments,  building new one, constructing  sarais, baolis, hospitals,  bridges and canals.

      He was called  "Patron saint of Irrigation system " because of the sheer number of canals constructed for irrigation the most prominent being Western  Yamuna Canal. Firozabad had only  a fortified inner citadel and the rest of the city was without  any protection.  This made Shajahan to use the remains of Firozabad to build  Shajahanabad between 1638 AD to 1648 AD.  The Palace  inside Fero Shah Kotla is now in ruins and there is a baoli on the north which provided water to the City.   There is Jama Masjid a biggest  of the time which is constructed  atop a series of fortified  cells on the ground  floor. 

       There is a 14 metre tall third century  BC   Ashokan pillar which was planted atop a pyramidal  three tier structure. The Pali inscriptions on the pillar mentions about the  good deeds of Ashoka which was repeated by Firoz Shah 16 centuries later.  The main western  gate with bastion on each side with sliding rectangle holes gives an insight about the enemy attacking the Fort.

    In his memoir Malfuzat  Timur the Mangol conqueror who attacked and looted Delhi in 1398 AD mentions 

       "  I started from Delhi and marched three kos to the Fort of Firozabad which stands upon the bank of the Jamuna and is one of the edifices erected by Sultan Firoz Shah. There, I halted and went in to examine the place. I proceeded to the  Masjid e Jami and offered up my praises and thanksgiving for the mercies of the almighty"

         Timur was so impressed by what he saw that he took some of the artisans to erect a similar  mosque in Samarkand.

Alai Minar

 Delhi Heritage Trail  : 32

       Alai Minar

     The Alai Minar inside the Qutub Complex is an incomplete monument built by Allauddin Khalji ( 1296-1316) the most important Sultan of Khalji dynasty. Allauddin was of Turkic origin  and one of the most ambitious Sultan who sent his forces upto Madurai in the south for conquering and for plunder.  After one of his Deccan campaigns the Sultan dreamt of constructing a grand victory Minar excelling the Qutub Minar nearby. He wanted to build a structure which will be double the height of Qutyb Minar in order to be remembered as a Sultan who dared to build such a grand monumental edifice. 

       He increased the size of nearby Qunwat ul Islam mosque by four  times and also built  ceremonial gateways on both  sides. He wanted Alai Minar to match up to the size of the Mosque. The construction was completed  up to the first  storey to a height of 24.5 metres but unfortunately the construction stopped further because of his untimely  death at age of 50 in 1316 AD. Amir Khusro a Sufi mystic who is a contemporary of Allauddin mentions about the construction of Alai Minar in his " Tareek-i-Alai". Had he lived a long life and  completed  it during  his life time it would have been a grand  monument taller than Qutub Minar.

Smith Cupola

 Delhi Heritage Trail : 31

           Smith Cupola

        The Qutub Minar a 13th century Delhi  sultanate monument was struck by lightening in 1368 AD and the top two stories of the tower were destroyed. Firoz Thuglak the Sultan at that time  replaced the fallen storey with two floors and placed a Cupola at the top. It remained like that for more than 400 years when in 1803 a major Earthquake struck Delhi and the Qutub was damaged extensively and Firoz Shah Cupola was also  damaged heavily. In 1828 Major Robert Smith  a Military  Engineer of East India Company  was asked by the Governor  General to renovate the Minar. He in addition to doing tbe repairs placed a Cupola (a Bengali Hindu type Chatthri ) as in the  picture on tbe top of the Minar.  This was not in consonance with the Indo Islamic architecture of the Qutub Minar and remained out of place.  Finally in the year  1848 the then Governor  General Hardinge ordered to remove the Cupola and it was kept  in the northern  side of the complex. This episode in the history of the Minar is often referred as " Smiths Folly ".

Tomb of Iltumish

 Delhi Heritage Trail : 30

       

              Tomb of Iltutmish

         The Tomb of Iltutmish the second Sultan of Delhi (1210-1235) was constructed in the year 1235. It is outside the Qunwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Qutub Complex. He was the second Sultan of the  Slave dynasty founded by his father in law Qutbdin Aibak. He was originally from Turkey  sold as a slave and bought by Aibak. He stabilized the Sultanate rule by his administrative improvements. 

       The Tomb is a compact square of 42 feet each side opening on three sides and closed on western side. The exterior of the Tomb  is simple but the interior is fully decorated with rich patterns and Quranic verses inscribed interpersed on  the walls. The Tomb has no roof perhaps originally also there should not be one in keeping with the belief that Tombsshould be open to Rain and dew to be blessed.  Iltutmish completed the Qutub Minar started by his father in law  Qutbudin Aibak. The 800 year old tomb is a mute witness to the growth of Islamic Sultanate and Moghul empires in India

Mutiny Memorial

 Delhi Heritage Trail  : 29

           Mutiny Memorial 

         This four storeyed Victorian Gothic architecture tower was built in the year 1863 in memory of those officers and soldiers both British and Native who were killed  in action during the period  10th May 1857 to 20th September 1857 during the first Sepoy Mutiny(First War of Independence ). It was constructed at Government cost by Public Works Department in Kamala Nehru  Ridge. The names of the Martyrs are etched on the walls of Mutiny Memorial. The tower is octogonal shape on the exterior and circular shape from the interior with red sandstone base.

     It was renamed Ajitgarh in the year 1972 on the 25th anniversary of Independence in memory of all freedom fighters. The memorial  can be accessed from Pulbangsh metro station and is a km away from it.