when did delhi became an important commercial centre
History of Delhi The Indian capital city of Delhi has a long history, and has been an important political centre of India as the capital of several empires. Much of Delhi's ancient history finds no record and this may be regarded as a lost period of its history. Extensive coverage of Delhi's history begins with the onset of the Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century. Since then, Delhi has been the centre of a succession of mighty empires and powerful kingdoms, making Delhi one of the longest serving Capitals and one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.[1][2][circular reference] It is considered to be a city built, destroyed and rebuilt several times, as outsiders who successfully invaded the Indian Subcontinent would ransack the existing capital city in Delhi, and those who came to conquer and stay would be so impressed by the city's strategic location as to make it their capital and rebuild it in their own way.[3][4] The core of Delhi's tangible heritage is Hindu, Islamic (spanning over seven centuries of Islamic rule over the city) with expansive British-era architecture in Lutyens' Delhi dating to the British rule in India.