DELHI (ancient name, Indraprestiut, or Indoput; Mohammedan name, Shahjehana bad), a celebrated city of northern India, in 28° 39' n. lat., and 77° 18' c. long., capital of the province and district •of the same name, is situated on an offset of the river Jumna, at about a mile from the right bank of that river, and at an estimated elevation of 800 ft. above the level of the sea. The modern city, which was founded by shah Jelman in 1631, has a circumference of about 7 miles. It is protected by ramparts, bastions, etc., and is entered by 11 gates. The greater number of the streets in D. are narrow, but the Chandni Chauk is an exception, being 90 ft. broad, and 1500 yards in length, and intersected by an aqueduct. The other principal street is 120 ft. wide, and 1 m. in length. D. has many monuments of its former magnificence. The mogul's palace was thought by bishop Heber to surpass the Kremin. The Jumma Musjid, or principal mosque, was commenced by shah Jehan in the 4th year of his reign, and com pleted in the 10th, at a cost of f'100,000. This magnificent building has been restored by the British government. The Delhi college was founded in 1792, and in 1829 the sum of 170,000 rupees was bequeathed to it by a minister of the king of Oude. The interest of this sum, together with grants from government, raises its annual revenue to 40,580 rupees. For each of the languages, English, Arabic, Persian, and Sanscrit, there is a separate department. According to the census of 1868, D. contained 154,417 in habitants, of whom about one half are Hindus, and the other half Mohammedans. D. has railway communication, by the East Indian railway, with Calcutta, distant 1019 m. ; with Bombay, distant 870 m.; and with intermediate places. The mean temperature of the day has been ascertained, by observations extending over three years, to be as follows: Jan., 56°; Feb., 61°: Mar., April, 83°; May, 91'; June, 92°; July,
Aug., 83°; Sept. 83°; Oct., 77°; Nov...65°; Dec., 58°. The vestiges of ancient D., on the e. bank of the Junnia, consisting of ruined tombs, gardens, serais, and palaces, cover an area of about 30 m. in circumference, and present a remarkable scene of desolation, The modern city is noted for its needle-work, and here the shawls of Cashmere are embroidered in silk and gold. The D. goldsmiths are famous for the delicacy and beauty of their work. D. was the capital of the Afghan or Patan, and afterwards of the Mogul empire. It was taken by a British army under lord Lake, Sept. 8, 1803, and has ever since—if we except the brief period it was held by the mutineers in 1857—con tinued under British rule.
In ourown time, D. has been rendered memorable by the events of 1857. The march on the city of the mutineers from Meerut; the terrible 11th of May, the explosion of the powder-magazine by Willoughby and his heroic band, the tragic scenes that followed, the siege, the assault (Sept. 14), when the city was won (Sept. 20) gate by gate and quarter by quarter—a success saddened by the death of the gallant Nicholson; the sub sequent daring capture of the king of D. by Hodson of Hodson's horse, and the capture and shooting of his miscreant sons by the same officer, are historical facts still fresh in the recollection of the world. See The History of the Indian Revolt, published by the Messrs. Chambers in 1859; The Punjab and Delhi in 1857, by the Rev. J. Cave Browne, (Edin. and Lond., 1861); Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India, edited by the Rev. George H. Hodson, M.A. (Lend., 1859).