India is known for its vibrant and varied cultural heritage. For hundreds of years, different dynasties have ruled over the country and have brought in a lot of different cultures. They all left their marks by building their own heritage infrastructures. One such structure was made by Qutub-ud-din Aibak of Mamluk or Slave Dynasty and named it after his name ‘Qutub Minar’.
Qutub Minar is known for the India’s first tallest brick minar and remained so for over 800 years or so. It was originally commissioned by Qutub-ud-din Aibak, who was also the founder of the Delhi Sultanate, around 1192 as a victory tower; although he was not able to build more than the first story. His successor Shams-ud-din Iltutmish added three more floors to the structure in 1220. Its topmost story suffered damages in 1369 due to lightning. It was reconstructed by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who added the fifth and final story to the tower while the entrance to Qutub Minar was built by Sher Shah Suri.
The magnificent Qutub Minar stands 73 meters tall and has 379 steps of its spiral staircase. The base diameter of the structure is 14.3 meters which narrows up to 2.7 meters on the top.
The Minar was known for one of the most complex and advance architectural structure. If seen closely there are Verses from the Holy Quran and some complex carvings and Floral Motifs are inscribed on the walls of the tower.
The founder of Mamluk Dynasty also built first mosque in Delhi, commonly known as Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. It was built using the remains of 27 Hindu and Jain Temples.
Quṭub al-Dīn Aibak's chronicler, Hasan Nizami, Taj-ul-Maasir quoted,
‘The conqueror entered the city and its vicinity was freed from idols and idol-worship; and in the sanctuaries of the images of the gods, mosques were razed by the worshippers of the one God.’
For several years, Qutub Minar has been a huge tourist attraction because of its vivid cultural heritage and dynamic architectural beauty. It attracts tourists from all over the globe.