Delhi has not always been considered the political capital of India. Throughout its history south asia has had several political centers Magda, Ujjain, Vijayanagara, Madurai, Kosala, Badami and several other cities were the centers at different points in history. Some of these cities are today empty ruins. The prominence of Delhi, historically, only begins in the 13th century with the establishment of the sultanates. The city would still not have the prominence over the subcontinent till the a few centuries after this. Even during Mughal rule the center would shift several times to Agra and Fatepur Sikri. For most of colonial rule the British capital remained Calcutta. One of the main motivators for the British to shift the colonial capital to Delhi was the revolt of 1857. This provided strategic motivations for the British to shift to the old Mughal capital on the one hand to replace the old empire and the other to have a strategic hold over the gangetic plain. The present day centrality of Delhi is mostly a consequence of the British rule which built New Delhi which would later turn into the capital of the Indian Union.