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| Home » India Heritage and Pilgrimage Destinations » Qutab Minar |
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Qutab Minar |
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Qutab Minar, one of the splendors of Indo-Islamic architectural style in India, is a glorious tower of triumph standing in the Qutab complex of Delhi. Sited close to Mehrauli at a distance of about 14km in the south of Connaught Place, the historic monument in Delhi is flanked by several other famous monuments including the old gateway, the old 7 high iron pillar, the ancient Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the towering Alai Darwaza and the resting places of Alauddin Khilji, Imam Zamin and Altamish.
Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, the 237.8 ft Qutab Minar is a historic sandstone tower contains 399 steps going to its top. The diameter of the top floor of Qutab Minar is 2.75 meters and diameter of its base is 14.3 meters. Since its construction in 1193 this famous site in Delhi is enclosed by several beautiful structures.
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Proof exists of the presence of 20 Jain temples at the site of Qutab Minar prior to its construction. Taking inspiration from Afghanistan’s Minaret of Jam, the foremost ruler of Delhi, Qutb-ud-din-Aibak started building Qutab Minar in 1193 which was continued by Iltutmish who included another three storeys. The construction of the Qutab Minar was completed by Firuz Shah Tughluq who built the last or the fifth storey. Later renovations were done by Royal Engineers’ Major R.M. Smith in 1899 who replaced the cupola with a chhattri similar to an umbrella from Bengal. In 1848 Viceroy Lord Hardings moved it out due its disparity with the Islamic style of architecture. Embodying the shifts from one architectural style to another, the Qutab Minar is thought to have a victory tower celebrating the religion of Islam.
The Qutab Minar includes Devnagari characters and Arabic inscriptions in the simple sandstone structure of the minaret. Verses from Quran are also carved on the red fluted sandstone used in creating the structure of Qutab Minar. This historic is considered to have derived its name either from that of Qutb-ud-din Aibak, the first sultan in Delhi or Baghdad’s saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki.
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