Anangpal Tomar

File:High fortifications on the north-west.jpg

Remains of Lal Kot walls, built by Anangpal, in Mehrauli

The Iron pillar, erected by Chandragupta Vikramaditya (375–413) of the Gupta Empire, within the Qutb complex

Anangpal Tomar was the first ruler to make ancient Delhi his capital.

Little is known of Anangpal Tomar, who was from the Rajput Tomar clan and whose ancestors had settled in the Aravalli Hills around the end of the first millennium AD. Some archaeological evidence survives of earlier settlements survive in the area and may be related to a ruler called Surajpal. Of Anangpal, the primary source for information comes from the Prithviraj Raso, a history of Prithviraj Chauhan which was written much later. Physical evidence at Lal Kot (literally Red Fort), which he is thought to have built and which is the oldest identifiable city in the area, suggests that he lived in the eleventh century.

The Tomar family rule at Delhi passed to his son, Ausan Singh (Tejpal) and then his grandson Kosal Dev Singh (Mahipal) before the dynasty collapsed when challenged by Prithviraj Chauhan (1149-1192).

See also

• Anagpur Dam

Further reading

• Lalkot to Lodi Gardens: (Delhi of Sultans), by Ranjit Sinha. Published by South Asia Books, 1996. ISBN 81-7167-237-X.