Siri Fort, in the city of

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, was built during the rule of

Alauddin Khalji Alauddin Khalji (; ), born Ali Gurshasp, was a ruler from the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative changes in the Delhi Sultanate, related to revenue ...

, second ruler of

Khalji Dynasty The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate for three decades between 1290 and 1320. It was the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate which covered large swaths of the Indian subcontinent.

, of

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

to defend the city from the onslaught of the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

. It was the second of the seven cities of medieval Delhi built around 1303 which at present is seen only in ruins with a few remnants due to its poor quality construction as compared to previous fort constructions in India (pictured). Near the Siri Fort ruins modern auditoriums, the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

Village Complex and residential and commercial establishments fill the modern landscape between the Khel Gaon Marg and the Aurobindo Marg in the heart of

South Delhi South Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India with its headquarters in Saket. Administratively, the district is divided into three subdivisions, Saket, Hauz Khas, and Mehrauli. It is bounded by ...

History

Alauddin is the best known of the

Khalji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate for three decades between 1290 and 1320. It was the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate which covered large swaths of the Indian subcontinent.

because he extended his dominion to

Southern India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

and established the second city of Delhi, Siri. He created Siri between 1297 and 1307 to defend against

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

invasions of India and Delhi. In response, he built Siri Fort, mimicked massive Turkish ones. The Fort served as the seat of his power during his campaigns to enlarge his territory. Due to frequent Mongol invasions of

West Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

, the Seljuqs took asylum in Delhi. The craftsmen of

Seljuq dynasty The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of the S ...

are credited with this era's architectural monuments in Delhi. In 1303, Targhi, a

general, besieged the Siri fort when Alauddin retreated during the

expedition into India. Targhi could not penetrate the fortifications of the Siri Fort and he finally retreated to his Kingdom in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. Subsequently, Alauddin's forces defeated Mongols decisively at Amroha (1306). Siri, which is now a part of New Delhi, was later linked to the fortifications of Jahanpanah. Siri was then also known as "Darul Khilafat" or ‘’Seat of Califate’’ In AD 1398,

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

lane, the Mongol ruler who invaded Delhi, wrote in his memoirs, " the Siri is around the city. Its buildings are lofty. They are surrounded by fortifications built of stone and brick, and they are very strong – from the fort of Siri to that of

Old Delhi Shahjahanabad colloquially known as Old Delhi( Hindustani: ''Purāni Dillī'') is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shi ...

, which is a considerable distance – there runs a strong wall built of stone and cement. The part called Jahanpanah is situated in the midst of the inhabited city. The fortifications of the three cities (Old Delhi, Siri and Tughlaqabad) have thirty gates. Jahanpanah has thirteen gates, Siri has seven gates. The fortifications of the old Delhi have ten gates, some opening to the exterior and some towards the interior of the city."

Legend

According to the legend of Ala-ud-din’s war exploits, the name Siri given to the Fort was because the foundation of the fort was built on the severed heads (‘Sir’ in Hindustani means "head") of about 8,000

soldiers killed in the war.

Structure

Siri Fort was built to the north-east of the Qutab Minar on an old camp near Delhi. The first city is considered to be built by Muslims, it was in an oval shape; its ruins are presently seen in an area of about . Allauddin, the second ruler of the Khalji dynasty, laid the foundation for the City of Siri in 1303 AD. The structures built in Siri were stated to have had a fine imprint of the enthusiasm of the rulers of Khalji dynasty (particularly, the first three out of six Rulers of the Dynasty) with Allauddin's deep interests in architecture and his achievements supported by the imported skills of the artists of Seljuqs richly contributing to the efforts to build the new city. Legend states that Allauddin's prolific building involved engagement of 70,000 workers. The city was built with an oval plan with palaces and other structures. There were seven gates for entry and exit, but at present only the south-eastern gate exists. The fort was once considered the pride of the city for its palace of a thousand pillars called the ''Hazar Sutan''. The palace was built outside the fort limits, and had marble floors and other stone decoration. Its ''Darwaza'' (door) is supposed to have been beautifully decorated. In eastern part of the ruins there are remnants of flame-shaped battlements, loop holes for arrows, and bastions, which were considered unique new additions of that period. In the nearby Shahpur Jat village (pictured), some dilapidated structures of the period are seen. ''Tohfewala Gumbad Masjid'' (pictured) is one such structure whose ruins show the form of domed central apartment and sloping wall characteristic of Khaljis architecture. Apart from building the Siri Fort, the citadel around it and the water supply system with a reservoir at Hauz Khas Complex (in present Hauz Khas locality) for providing water supply to Siri, his new city, Ala-ud-din also expanded the building activity around the religious city of the first city complex of

Qutb complex 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, w ...

by making additions to the Quwwatul-Islam Mosque, which doubled its original size, additions to the Qutub Minar itself (Nagari inscriptions on the tower attribute to this tower as ''"Vijaya sthamba"'' or victory tower of Ala-ud-din) and a grandiose plan of constructing a new

Minar Minar may refer to: *Minar (Firuzabad), a structure in Iran * Minar Rahman, Bangladeshi singer-songwriter * Ivo Minář, Czech tennis player * Thomas J. Minar, American academic administrator *Minar, an alternate spelling for minaret A minare ...

(tower) bigger (double) that of the Qutub Minar. This plan was left half completed, as may be seen from the ruins at the site, due to the death of Allauddin in 1316. The destruction of the Fort is attributed to the local rulers who removed the fort's stones, bricks and other artifacts for their own buildings. In particular,

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

(1540–1545), of

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

Afghan descent from

Eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

(Bihar), took away material from Siri to build his own city. The battered walls of the fort had a wider base on the outside. A protected passage was provided within the battered walls (now seen in ruins as pictured).

Excavation

The rest of the structures remained unexplored by archaeologists and these were unknowingly buried when the Asiad Village Complex was built in 1982 for the Asiad 1982. ASI has now launched an excavation programme, since December 2008, to unearth some portions of the wall concealed for centuries which will enable exposing the entire wall providing a continuous link with the earlier excavated stretches of the wall.

Siri Fort Sports Complex

Near the ruins of the ancient fort city, the Asian Village Complex, popularly known as the Siri Fort Complex, was developed during the Asiad 1982 (the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games (), also known as Delhi 1982 (), were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olymp ...

) sports event. The complex was developed in the land around the Siri Fort ruins for the sports event involved. Among these buildings are a large sports complex of courts for tennis, badminton and basketball, a swimming pool, a golf course, gymnasium, aerobics centre, jogging tracks, cricket grounds, large auditoriums, upscale residential buildings, deluxe food joints and commercial establishments. This complex is now under further refurbishing and expansion for the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

, amidst protests and court interventions. ;Restoration works As part of beautifying the ancient monuments before the

, the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...

(ASI), the custodians of heritage monuments in Delhi, have begun restoration works of several structures which includes the Siri Fort walls. According to their evaluation of three stretches of the fort walls, the first stretch nearer to the Asiad Village is in good shape, the second stretch next to the Panchsheel Park would need conservation actions costing Rs 50 lakhs (US$100,000) and the third stretch next to the Asiad village needs conservation measures costing Rs 5 lakhs (US$10,000). In addition, the stretch adjoining Panchsheel Park, which has been evaluated as in a bad shape, has also been identified for undertaking restoration works at a cost of Rs 30 lakhs (US$60,000). ;The Location The Fort is located at the southern end of Hauz Khas and is from Delhi. It is approachable from Panchseel road in

. The road from Moolchand to Chirag Delhi passes through the middle of the fort precincts. Siri Fort Auditorium complex (four auditoriums) within the Siri Fort area run by the

Directorate of Film Festivals The Directorate of Film Festivals in India was an organisation that initiated and presented the International Film Festival of India, the National Film Awards and the Indian Panorama. Although the Directorate helped appoint members of the jury ...

, Government of India has a combined seating capacity of over 2,500. It is a prestigious entertainment centre in New Delhi where film festivals, dance performances, plays and music recitals are organized.

Gallery

File:Ruins_of_Siri_Fort_wall,_New_Delhi,_India_-_20090517.jpg, Ruins of the Siri Fort wall File:Siri Fort auditorium.JPG, Siri Fort Auditorium File:Siri Fort wall at Panchsheel Park1.jpg, Closeup view of flanking wall of the gate File:Siri Fort wall at Panchsheel Park2.jpg, Fort wall ruins in the park

References

{{Forts in India Buildings and structures completed in 1303 Forts in Delhi Architecture of the Khalji dynasty Archaeological monuments in Delhi 1303 establishments in Asia 14th-century establishments in India Monuments of National Importance in Delhi