DELHI, THE CITY IMPERIAL 9

boundless wealth," and his young mind began to dream
of a dominion far greater than Samarkhand. So, when
he came to India, he came to Delhi, the Capital of this
country.

Like the beads in the rosary of history six ruined
cities of Delhi, strewn haphazard, on the right bank of
the Jumna, each tell the story of its successive phases
through the centuries; while Old Delhi and New Delhi
of our day form an unbroken link between Mughal
times and the British Raj. Most ancient of all is the
solitary Old Fort (Puran Qilla) of the epic age; the
Qutb Minar marka the site where the first Mohammedan
dynasty of kings built its seat over the ruins of the
capital of the last Hindu king of Delhi, Prithviraj.
Seven temples were used in the construction of the Qufcb
Minar, and nothing now remains of the earlier city save
a few columns and arches, exquisitely carved, and a
stout metal pillar with ancient Hindu inscriptions, whose'
founding, erection, and durability puzzle archaeologist
and historian.

The ruined piles of Tughlukabad. Fort and. the
evocative peacefulness of the Kotia Gardens are filled
with the memory of the Tughlak dynasty, and the
scattered fragments of monuments that make the Delhi
golf links so unique and picturesque are all that remain
of the Lodi city. Siri was the name of Khiiji Delhi,
but that city has now completely disappeared; only the
gigantic base of a column intended to surpass the Qutb
Minar tells of Khiiji ambitions.

Delhi of the Mnghals, the seventh Delhi, still
survives with its palaces, mosques, tombs and gardens—
tokens of the love of the G-reat Mughals for art and