Dynasty Tomara dynasty | ||
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Anangpal Tomar was the first ruler to make ancient Delhi his capital.
Little is known of Anangpal Tomar, who was from the Tomara dynasty and whose ancestors had settled in the Aravalli Hills around the end of the first millennium AD. Some archaeological evidence survives of earlier settlements 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).