TheQutb Minar, also spelledQutub Minar andQutab Minar, is aminaret and victory tower, built during theDelhi sultanate, and comprising theQutb complex, aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site inMehrauli,South Delhi,India.[3][4] It was mostly built between 1199 and 1220, contains 399 steps, and is one of the most-frequented heritage spots in the city.[5][6][3] After defeatingPrithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi before the Ghurid conquest of the region,[7][8]Qutab-ud-din Aibak initiated the construction of the victory tower, but only managed to finish the first level. It was to mark the beginning of Islamic rule in the region. Successive dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate continued the construction, and, in 1368,Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top parts and added acupola.[9]
In recent years, the Qutb Minar has been illuminated for special occasions involving international relations. In September 2023, the monument was lit up in the colours of theMexican flag to commemorate Mexico's 213th Independence Day, an event that was acknowledged and appreciated by the Embassy of Mexico in India.[15] Similarly, on October 30, the Qutb Minar was illuminated with theTurkish flag to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, an occasion that received special attention from the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi.[16]
Architecture
The tower includes elements of traditional Islamic architecture and southwestern Asian design.Elizabeth Lambourn'sIslam Beyond Empires: Mosques and Islamic Landscapes in India and the Indian Ocean studies the introduction of Islam inSouth Asia and how the region influenced the Islamic religious architecture.[17] These newly arrived Muslims from theIslamic West escaped theMongol Empire and emigrated to India, where they constructed religious centers. The Qutb Minar serves as a central marker to these newMuslim communities as well as being a reminder of Islam's presence in the area.[17] The architecture of the minaret varies greatly from that of the typical style and design of the mosques constructed in theMiddle East. The style of these structures is influenced by the local architecture such as the Indic temples. This affected the different materials, techniques, and decoration that were used in the construction of the Qutb Minar.[17]
Historically, tower minarets were uncommon in South Asian-Islamic design until the 17th century, due to the slow adoption of the typical Middle Eastern style in India.[17] It is also detached from the main mosque, showcasing how the native culture affected the design of a Middle Eastern structure.[14] The Qutb Minar is seen as the "earliest and best example of a fusion or synthesis of Hindu-Muslim traditions" according to Ved Parkash in his essayThe Qutb Minar from Contemporary and Near Contemporary Sources.[17] Like many mosques built in South Asia during this time period, the minaret was constructed by Hindu laborers and craftsmen but overseen by Muslim architects.[17] This led to a construction that synthesized bothHindu andIslamic religious architecture. Since some of the craftsmen were Hindu and unfamiliar with theQuran, the inscriptions are a compilation of disarranged Quranic texts and other Arabic expressions.[17]
History
The Qutb Minar was built over the ruins of the Lal Kot, the citadel ofDhillika.[6] Qutb Minar was begun after theQuwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. Drawing references from their Ghurid homeland,Qutub-ud-Din Aibak and Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish constructed a minar (minaret) at the south-eastern corner of the Quwwatu’l-Islam between 1199 and 1503.[18]
Kuttull Minor, Delhi. The Qutb Minar, 1805
It is usually thought that the tower is named forQutb-ud-din Aibak, who began it. It is also possible that it is named after KhwajaQutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki a 13th-centurysufi saint, because Shamsuddin Iltutmish was a devotee of his.[19]
The Minar is surrounded by several historically significant monuments of the Qutb complex. Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, to the north-east of the Minar was built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in A.D. 1199. It is the earliest extant - mosque built by the Delhi Sultans. It consists of a rectangular courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and architectural members of 27Jain andHindu temples, which were demolished by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak as recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance.[20] Later, a lofty arched screen was erected, and the mosque was enlarged by Shams-ud- Din Itutmish (A.D. 1210–35) and Ala-ud-Din Khalji. The Iron Pillar in the courtyard bears an inscription in Sanskrit inBrahmi script of fourth century A.D., according to which the pillar was set up as a Vishnudhvaja (standard of god Vishnu) on the hill known as Vishnupada in memory of a mighty king named Chandra.[20]
The mosque complex is one of the earliest that survives in the Indian subcontinent.[5][6]
The nearby pillaredcupola known as "Smith's Folly" is a remnant of the tower's 19th century restoration, which included an ill-advised attempt to add some more stories.[21][22]
In 1505,an earthquake damaged the Qutb Minar; it was repaired bySikander Lodi. On 1 September 1803, amajor earthquake caused serious damage. Major Robert Smith of the British Indian Army renovated the tower in 1828 and installed a pillared cupola over the fifth story, creating a sixth. The cupola was taken down in 1848, under instructions fromThe Viscount Hardinge, theGovernor General of India. at the time. It was reinstalled at the ground level to the east of Qutb Minar, where it remains. This is known as "Smith'sFolly".[23]
It was added to the list of World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993.
The Ghurids
Decorative motifs on upper levels
The construction of the Qutb Minar was planned and financed by the Ghurids, who emigrated to India and brought Islam with them. TheGhurids, historically known as the Shansabanis, were a clan ofTajik origin that hailed fromGhur, the mountainous region of modern-day westernAfghanistan.[24] Between the late eleventh century and the early twelfth century, the different sects of this nomadic clan united, relinquishing their nomadic culture. During this time, they also embraced Islam.[24]
They subsequently expanded into modern-day India and quickly took control of a substantial part of the country.[24] The Ghurids annexed theMultan andUch in the westernPunjab in 1175–76, the northwestern regions aroundPeshawar in 1177, and the region ofSindh in 1185–86. In 1193, Qutb al-Din Aibak conquered Delhi and implemented a Ghurid governorship in the province, and the congregational mosque, theQutb Minar complex, was founded in 1193.[24] In the past, scholars believed that the complex was constructed to promote adoption of Islam amongst the Ghurids' new subjects as well as a symbol of the Ghurids' adherence to a socio-religious system.[24] There is now new information to suggest that spurring the adoption of Islam was not a top priority of the new annexes and instead the Ghurid governors sought to make a synthesis of the local culture and Islam through negotiation.[24]
Patrons and architects
Qutb-ud-din Aibak, a deputy ofMuhammad of Ghor, who founded theDelhi Sultanate after Muhammad of Ghor's death, started construction of the Qutb Minar's first story in 1199. Aibak's successor and son-in-lawShamsuddin Iltutmish completed a further three stories.[19] After a lightning strike in 1369 damaged the then top story, the ruler at the time,Firuz Shah Tughlaq, replaced the damaged story and added one more.Sher Shah Suri also added an entrance while he was ruling and the Mughal emperorHumayun was in exile.[1]
Architecture
Qutb Minar in Mehrauli in Delhi. Clifton and Co., circa 1890
Persian-Arabic and Nagari in different sections of the Qutb Minar reveal the history of its construction and the later restorations and repairs by Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351–88) and Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517).[25]
The height of Qutb Minar is 72.5 meters, making it the tallest minaret in the world built of bricks.[2][26] The tower tapers, and has a 14.3 metres (47 feet) base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres (9 feet) at the top of the peak.[27] It contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps.[28][1]
At the foot of the tower is the Quwat Ul IslamMosque. The Minar tilts just over 65 cm from the vertical, which is considered to be within safe limits.[29]
Qutb Minar was an inspiration and prototype for many minarets and towers built. TheChand Minar andMini Qutub Minar bear resemblance to the Qutb Minar and inspired from it.[30]
Levels
The stories of the Qutb Minar vary in size, style, and material due to varying architects and builders constructing each section.
Inscriptions at the base
Basement
The Qutb Minar consists of five stories of red and grey sandstone. The lowest story, also known as the basement story, was completed during the lifetime ofGhiyath al-Din Muhammad, a sultan of the Ghurid dynasty.[31]
It is revetted with twelve semicircular and twelve flangedpilasters that are placed in alternating order.[31] This story is separated by flanges and by storiedbalconies, carried onMuqarnascorbels.[28] The story is placed on top of a low circular plinth that is inscribed with a twelve-pointed star with a semicircle placed with each of the angles between the star's points.[31]
There are also six horizontal bands with inscriptions inscribed innaskh, a style of Islamic calligraphy, on this story. The inscriptions are as follows: Quran, sura II, verses 255–60; Quran, sura LIX, verses 22–23, and attributes of God; The name and titles of Ghiyath al-Din; Quran, sura XLVIII, verses 1–6; The name and titles of Mu’izz al-Din; and Qur’anic quotations and the following titles in this much restored inscription: "The Amir, the most glorious and great commander of the army."[31] This level also has inscriptions praising Muhammad of Ghor, the sultan of the Ghurids.[19]
Second, third, and fourth stories
The second, third, and fourth stories were erected by Sham ud-Din Iltutmish, the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi.[32] He is considered to be the first of the Delhi Sultan dynastic line.[32] The second and third stories are also revetted with twelve semicircular and twelve flanged pilasters that are placed in alternating order.[31] These red sandstone columns are separated by flanges and by storied balconies, carried on Muqarnas corbels.[28] Prior to its reconstruction and reduction, the fourth story was also decorated with semicircular pilasters.[31] It was re-constructed in white marble and is relatively plain.[28]
Fifth story
In 1369, the fourth story was repaired after lightning struck the minaret. During reconstruction, Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq elected to reduce the size of the fourth story and then separated it into two stories.[32]
Controversy
Close-up of balcony
On 14 November 2000, Delhi newspapers reported that the Hindu nationalist groups,Vishva Hindu Parishad andBajrang Dal, planned to conduct ayajna, a ritualistic Hindu ceremony related to cleansing or purification, at the Qutb Minar complex where the minaret is located.[20]Delhi Police detained 80 "activists" led by Ram Krishan Gaur who congregated near the Qutb Minar and were stopped from performing theyajna inside the tower. Due to a police barricade, the activists instead performed the ritual on the streets outside the mosque complex.[33] Since thespolia of Jain and Hindu temples were used to construct the minaret, the right-wing Hindu groups claimed that they needed to perform a cleansing at the complex in order to "free" the Hindu icons that were "trapped" in the minaret and the mosque complex.[20]
On 18 May 2022, a former Regional Director of theArchaeological Survey of India, Dharamveer Sharma, claimed that Qutb Minar was built by RajaVikramaditya in the fifth century to observe the changing position of the sun, without substantiating his assertion.[34]
On 21 May 2022, the Secretary at theMinistry of Culture, Govind Mohan, decided to conduct excavation and iconography of idols found at Qutb Minar. The Ministry has asked the ASI to submit an excavation report. Excavation can be started in the south of the minaret at a distance of 15 meters from the mosque.[35]
Before 1976, the general public was allowed access to the first floor of the minaret, via the internal staircase. Access to the top ceased after 2000 due to suicides.
On 4 December 1981, the staircase lighting failed. Between 300 and 400 visitors stampeded towards the exit. 45 were killed and some were injured. Most of these were school children.[38] Since then, the tower has been closed to the public. This incident triggered the imposition of stringent rules regarding entry.[39]
In the 1960 comic bookTintin in Tibet, the main character Tintin and his friend Captain Haddock visit theQutab Minar, commenting that it is 238 feet high.[41]
In popular culture
1963:Bollywood actor and directorDev Anand wanted to shoot the song "Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar" from his filmTere Ghar Ke Samne inside the Minar. However, the cameras of that period were too big to fit inside the tower's narrow passage, and therefore the song was shot inside a replica of the Qutb Minar.[42]
2013: A picture of the minaret is featured on the travel cards and tokens issued by theDelhi Metro Rail Corporation. A recently launched start-up in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India has made a 360o walkthrough of Qutb Minar available.[44]
2017: TheMinistry of Tourism recently gave seven companies the 'Letters of Intent' for fourteen monuments under its 'Adopt a Heritage Scheme.' Qutb Minar has been chosen to part of that list.[45][46]
Gallery
Qutb Minar
Left to Right:Alai Darwaza, Qutb Minar, Imam Zamin's tomb
^abcdefPatel, A. (2004). "Toward Alternative Receptions of Ghurid Architecture in North India (Late Twelfth-Early Thirtheenth Century CE)".Archives of Asian Art.54:35–61.doi:10.1484/aaa.2004.0004.JSTOR20111315.
^abcShafiqullah, Shah Muhammad (1 January 1993). "The Qutb Minar: An Observation on Its Calligraphy".Islamic Quarterly.37 (4):281–286.ProQuest1304273557.
Blair, Sheila S.; Bloom, Jonathan M. (1996).The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800. Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-06465-0.
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