There have been at least eight cities around modern Delhi. The first four were to the south around the area where the Qutab Minar stands. The earliest known Delhi was called Indraprastha and was centered near present-day Purana Qila. At the beginning of the 12th century the last Hindu kingdom of Delhi was ruled by the Tomara and Chauthan dynasties and was also near the Qutab Minar and Suraj Kund, now in Haryana.

This city was followed by Siri, constructed by Ala-ud-din near present day Hauz Khas in the 12th century. The third Delhi was Tughlaqabad, now entirely in ruins, which stood 10 km south-east of the Qatar Miner. The fourth Delhi dates from the 14th century and was also a creation of the Tughlaqs. Known as Jahanpanah, it also stood near the Qatar Minar.

The fifth Delhi, Ferozabad, was sited at Feroz Shah Kotla in present day New Delhi. Emperor Sher Shah, an Afghan ruler created the sixth Delhi at Purana Qila, near India Gate in New Delhi today. The Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, constructed the seventh Delhi in the 17th century, thus shifting the Mughal capital from Agra to Delhi; his Shahjahanabad roughly corresponds to Old Delhi today and is largely preserved. Finally, the eighth Delhi, New Delhi, was constructed by the British- the move from Calcutta was announced in 1911 but construction was not completed and the city officially inaugurated until 1931.
Delhi has seen many invaders through the ages. Tamerlane plundered it in the 14th century; the Afghan Babur occupied it in the 16th century and in 1739 the Persian Emperor, Nadir Shah, sacked the city and carted the Kohinoor Diamond and the famous Peacock throne off to Iran. The British captured Delhi in 1803 but during the Indian Mutiny of 1857 it was a centre of resistance against the British. Prior to partition, Delhi had a very large Muslim population and Urdu was the main language. Now Hindu Punjabis have replaced many of the Muslims, and Hindu predominates.