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The word 'Qutab Minar' ideally means 'axis minaret'.
The tower which dominates the countryside for miles
around flaunts five storeys, each manifested by a projecting
balcony. The tower was constructed in three stages.
Qutab-ud-Din finished the first storey. Second, third
and the fourth were completed by his descendant and
son-in -law, Illtutmish in 1230. The minar was first
struck by lightening in AD 1368 and the fallen top storey
was substituted by two storeys, the fourth and the fifth
in 1370 AD by Feroz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351-88).
The decoration of the Qutab Minar is time after time
Islamic in character from base to top; though the somewhat
hybrid style of Firoz Shah's later additions is visibly
distinctive Several inscriptions in Arabic and Nagari
characters are seen as wide encompassing bands in the
plain fluted masonry of the Minar. These inscriptions
expose the history of Qutub, from its beginning in AD1199
to its renovation in between.
Qutab Minar, the 239ft sandstone tower is an Indo-Islamic
architectural marvel of prehistoric India.
Qutub-Minar in red and beige stand stone is the highest
tower in India. It has a diameter of 14.32m at the base
and about 2.75m on the top with a height of 72.5m. Numerous
inscriptions in Arabic and Nagari characters in different
places of the Minar disclose the history of Qutb.
This magnificent tower of victory stands in the Qutab
Complex located at Aurabindo Marg, near Mehrauli, 14
Km south of Connaught place in Delhi.
King Qutubuddin Aibak of Slave dynasty laid the base
of the Qutab Minar in 1199, neighboring the Quwwat-ul-Islam
mosque, to proclaim the victory of Islam, after the
conquer of the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi.
Today, this remarkably ornate tower has a slight tilt,
but otherwise has worn the centuries remarkably well.
Touroftajmahal.com provides best information about
Qutab Minar in Delhi.
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