Photographs of Old Delhi From the 19th Century

Delhi that includes the Indian capital New Delhi, stands on the Yamuna River in northern India. It is the second most populous metropolis in India after Mumbai and the largest city in terms of area.

Delhi is known to have been continuously inhabited since the 6th century BC. Through most of its history, Delhi has served as a capital of various kingdoms and empires. It has been captured, sacked and rebuilt several times, particularly during the medieval period, and therefore the modern conurbation of Delhi is a cluster of a number of cities spread across the metropolitan region. Delhi is believed to have been the site of Indraprastha, the legendary capital of the Pandavas during the times of the Mahabharata. Delhi re-emerged as a major political, cultural and commercial city along the trade routes between northwest India and the Gangetic plain during the period of the Delhi sultanates.

In AD 1639, the Mughal emperor Shahjahan built a new walled city in Delhi which served as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1649 until the Rebellion of 1857. The British captured Delhi in 1857 and the city replaced Kolkata as the seat of British government in India in 1911. A new capital city, New Delhi, was built to the south of the old city during the 1920s When the British left India in 1947, New Delhi became the national capital and seat of government. Today Delhi contains many important historical monuments, buildings and features.

Here, a collection of od photographs of Delhi from the 19th century