The first reference to Delhi came up in the Mahabharat, with the city of Indraprastha, names after Indra, the King of the Gods. According to myth, it was a city thriving in wealth, luxury and prosperity.
In the 13th century, the Khilji Dynasty came to power, and Allaudin Khilji built fortifications in the city, and named this city ‘Siri’ for purposes of protection against the ceaseless and aggressive Mongol invaders.
By 1321, the Tughluqs, mainly Muhammad bin Tughlaq, further extended the boundaries of the city, and in what some called a maverick and undoubtedly foolish move, decided to move the capital to Daulatabad for further supervision. This plan of his failed miserably.
Fast forward a century, when Sher Shah defeated Humayun in 1540, he built the Purana Qila Fort, or the Sher Shahi as it was known then, in southeastern Delhi.
Akbar and Jahangir further brought with them the age of engineers, architectures, astronomy and beautified the city with structures such as the Red Fort and various gates such as the Kashmiri, Turkman and Ajmeri Gates. The Mughal influence, all in all, is clearly visible on many of the tombs and monuments present in Delhi today.
Since independence, the urbanisation and undoubted transformation of Delhi into a metropolitan has been further established. The Partition of India, 1947 brought with it several thousand Hindu refugees, which were said to increase its population growth rapidly, but then again, so did the several immigrants who have been pouring in since.