DELHI (del'i), a city of Hindustan, in the Punjab, anciently capital of the Patan and Mogul Empires, about 954 miles N. W. of Calcutta. It was at one time the largest city in Hindustan, cover ing a space of 20 square miles, and hav ing a population of 2,000,000. A vast tract covered with the ruins of palaces, pavilions, baths, gardens, mausoleums, etc., marks the extent of the ancient metropolis. The present city abuts on the right bank of the Jumna, and is surrounded on three sides by a lofty stone wall 5% miles long, strengthened by the British at the beginning of the 19th century with a ditch and glacis. The palace or residence of the Great Mogul, built by Shah Jehan, begun in 1631, and now known as "the fort," is situated in the E. of the city, and abuts directly on the river. It is surrounded on three sides by an embattled wall of reddish sandstone nearly 60 feet high, with round towers at intervals, and a gateway on the W. and S. Since the mutiny in 1857, a great portion has been demolished in order to make room for military barracks. One of the most re
markable objects in the city is the Jamma Musjid or Great Mosque, a mag nificent structure in the Byzantine-Ara bic style, built by the Emperor Shah Jehan in the 17th century. Among mod ern buildings are the government college, founded in 1792 (abolished as a college) ; the Residency, and a Protestant church. The East Indian Railway enters the city by a bridge over the Jumna. The S. W. quarter•of the town is densely occupied by the shops and dwellings of the native population; the streets are narrow and tortuous, but some of the main thor oughfares of the city are splendid streets, the chief being the Chandni Chauk, or "Silver Street." During the mutiny Delhi was seized by the Sepoys, who held possession for four months, during which many atrocities were committed. Pop. about 235,000.