Qutab Minar

Qutab Minar

Qutab Minar, the 239ft sandstone tower is an Indo-Islamic architectural wonder of ancient India. This magnificent tower of victory stands in the Qutab Complex located at Aurabindo Marg, near Mehrauli, 14 Km south of Connaught place in Delhi.
The complex has a number of other important monuments- the gateway built in 1310, the Alai Darwaza, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque; one of the oldest existing mosques in India, the tombs of Altamish, Alauddin Khalji and Imam Zamin; the 2000 year old 7m high Iron Pillar- the Alai Minar; another tower 27m high, the Madrasa or School, great screen of Qutbuddin Aibak in the mosque etc.
King Qutubuddin Aibak of Slave dynasty laid the foundation of the Qutab Minar in 1199, adjoining the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, to proclaim the victory of Islam, after the defeat of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi. It was the Afghan, Muhammad of Ghur who ousted the last Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan in AD 1192, but he returned to his country leaving Qutbuddin Aibak as his viceroy. In 1206, on his masters death, Aibak crowned himself as the Sultan of Delhi.
The word ‘Qutab Minar’ means ‘axis minaret’. The tower which dominates the countryside for miles around has five storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony. The tower was built in three stages. Qutab-ud-Din completed the first storey. Second, third and the fourth were completed by his successor and son-in -law, Illtutmish in 1230. The minar was first struck by lightening in AD 1368 and the fallen top storey was replaced by two storeys’s, the fourth and the fifth in 1370 AD by Feroz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-88).

Camera: Nikon D700, 18-200mm Nikor VR

It got featured in Shapes & Patterns Group on 29.7.09

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