Named After : Qutab-ud-din Aibak
Famous As : Highest brick tower in the world
Listed In : World Heritage Site
Houses: Quwwatu'l-Islam Mosque, The Iron Pillar, Alai Minar & Alai Darwaza
Architecture: Afghan Architecture
Built in :1193 A.D.
The tall and ever attractive monument of Delhi which can be seen from most parts of the city is called the Qutab Minar. Every body has the same question when one sees the structure for the first time. The question that is often being put up is "Why the monument is that big?" or "Was there any specific reason to build such a tall building or it was just a wish of the person who built it?" Well, the exact reason is assumed to have something related to commemorating the victory. Mughals used to build victory towers to proclaim and celebrate victories. Some say the minaret was used to offer prayer but it is so tall that you can hear the person standing on the top. Also, the minaret is not joined on to Qutuddin's mosque and the Iltutmish's mosque.
Qutab
Minar is among the tallest and famous towers in the world. The minaret
is 234 feet high and the highest individual tower in the world. Other
towers in the world are the Great Pagoda in Pekin, China and the Leaning
Tower of Pisa in Italy but these towers are not as high as the Qutab
Minar in Delhi. The Legend Of The Qutub
There exists a tradition that the Qutub-Minar was built by Prithviraj, the last Chauhan king of Delhi, for enabling his daughter to behold the sacred river Yamuna, from its top as part of her daily worship.
A Landmark In Islamic Architecture
The Minar's entire architecture, however, bespeaks an Islamic origin, with two of its prototypes in brick still existing at Ghazni, although Hindu craftsmen were certainly employed for its construction, as is evident also from certain 'Devanagari' inscriptions on its surface. Sometimes sculptured stones from temples have been found utilised in it.
Originally, it was surmounted by a cupola, which fell down during an earthquake and was replaced early in the 19th century with a new cupola in the late Mughal style, by one Major Smith. It looked, however, so incongruous that it was brought down in 1848, and may now be seen on the lawns to the south east of the minar.
The Iron Pillar
In the courtyard of the Quwwatu'l-Islam mosque stands the famous iron pillar, which bears a Sanskrit inscription in Gupta script, palaeographically assignable to the 4th century, a date which is also confirmed by the peculiar style of its 'Amalaka'-capital.
