The Qutb Minar is a tall red sandstone tower in Delhi. Qutbuddin Aibak began it, and Iltutmish raised it. Firoz Shah Tughlaq repaired it and added the fifth storey. Beside it stands the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, built after Delhi fell in 1192.
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Who built the Qutb Minar, storey by storey?
The Qutb Minar has five storeys. It rises about 70 metres. No single ruler finished it. From the first stone to the last repair took about 170 years. Qutbuddin Aibak started it. His son-in-law Iltutmish raised it further. Firoz Shah Tughlaq completed the top much later.
Who added which part?
- Qutbuddin Aibak laid the foundations in about 1200.
- Iltutmish (ruled 1211–1236) carried the work on. The first four storeys were done by about 1215.
- Firoz Shah Tughlaq added the fifth storey in the fourteenth century.
Each storey is marked by a balcony. Bands of Quranic verses run around the shaft. Balconies rest on muqarnas, the honeycomb-like carved brackets of Islamic buildings.
Think it through. Why can a tower show different stone on different storeys?
Each ruler built in his own time. Each used the stone and style he had. Later repairs add new stone beside old stone. So the colours do not match.
What is the memory hook?
Think “start, lift, top”. Aibak started it. Iltutmish lifted it. Firoz topped it.
Sources: Silk Road Seattle, Delhi Sultanate (the minaret); Cunningham, ASI Reports 1862–65, vol. 1 (storey heights).
What damaged the tower, and who repaired it?
Lightning struck the tower in the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. The repair is dated 1368. Firoz Shah wrote that he repaired it and raised it higher than before.
What did the repair change?
- The old marble cupola on top was destroyed.
- Firoz Shah rebuilt the damaged upper part.
- He added a fifth storey in marble and red sandstone.
- These stones still look different from the lower storeys.
A cupola is a small dome on a roof or tower. A tower is the tallest part of a building. Lightning often hits it first.
Think it through. How do we know the tower was lower before the repair?
A visitor named Abulfeda counted about 360 steps around 1300. Today the tower has 379. Firoz Shah also said he raised it higher than before. Both clues agree.
What is the memory hook?
Think “1368, lightning, Firoz”. A bolt from the sky made a fifth storey.
Sources: Cunningham, ASI Report 1862–63 (repairs of 1368); Silk Road Seattle, Delhi Sultanate (fifth storey).
Why was it built, and on whose land?
The tower stood in a complex built on the site of earlier Hindu and Jain temples. Aibak had them pulled down soon after taking Delhi in 1192. The tower and the mosque together showed the new rulers’ power.
Was it only a minaret?
A minaret is a tower from which the call to prayer is given. The Qutb Minar may not have been built for that. A caller’s voice would hardly reach the ground from its top. Many historians see it as a symbol of victory and of the new faith.
Think it through. Why would a ruler build the tallest tower in a new capital?
A tall tower can be seen from far away. It tells people who rules the city. It also shows the builders’ skill. So a tower can work as a public sign of power.
What is the memory hook?
Think “temple site, tower sign”. The tower stood on old temple land and announced the new rulers.
Sources: Silk Road Seattle, Delhi Sultanate (conquest of Delhi); Cunningham, ASI Reports 1862–65, vol. 1 (purpose of the column).
How was the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque built, and what is its iron pillar?
Quwwat-ul-Islam means “Might of Islam”. Aibak ordered it after taking Delhi. Work began in 1193. It was finished by about 1197. The builders were in a hurry, so they used local stone and local workers. Many pillars came from the demolished temples.
Why are its arches called corbelled?
- The big screen of arches on the west side was new.
- The arches were corbelled, not true arches.
- In corbelling, higher stone courses jut inward until they meet.
- Indian craftsmen already knew this method. The builders used what they knew.
A true arch uses wedge-shaped stones that press against each other. That method was common elsewhere in the Muslim world. It spread to Delhi later.
What is the iron pillar in the courtyard?
The iron pillar is older than the mosque. It dates to the Gupta age, around the fourth or fifth century CE. Many scholars link it to King Chandra, often taken as Chandragupta II. Once a Garuda bird stood on top. That figure is gone.
The pillar has stood in the open for about 1,600 years. It has barely rusted. Scientists at IIT Kanpur found that its iron holds more phosphorus than modern iron. A thin protective film formed on the surface and slowed rust.
Think it through. Why does the mosque use pillars from older temples?
The builders were in a hurry. Cut and carved pillars were ready to use. Reusing them saved time and labour.
What is the memory hook?
Think “corbel, not true”. The arches look new, but the building method was old and local.
Sources: Silk Road Seattle, Delhi Sultanate (the mosque); The Better India, Delhi Iron Pillar (IIT Kanpur study).
Why did Alauddin Khalji's rival tower stay unfinished?
Alauddin Khalji planned a tower nearly twice as tall as the Qutb Minar. It is called the Alai Minar. Work stopped when he died in 1316. Only the first storey stands today.
What does the Alai Minar teach us?
- It shows how big the plan was. The foundations were laid for a tower of about 145 metres.
- It shows rough rubble core hidden inside finished walls.
- It shows that a sultan’s plan could end with his death.
Rubble is rough stone packed between the outer walls. Finished monuments hide it behind smooth facing. The Alai Minar still shows it.
Think it through. Why do we study a failed project?
Surviving buildings are only the finished ones. A failed tower shows what rulers wanted. It also shows how they built.
What is the memory hook?
Think “double height, half a storey”. Alauddin planned two towers’ worth and got one storey.
Sources: Silk Road Seattle, Delhi Sultanate (the second minaret); Cunningham, ASI Reports 1862–65, vol. 1 (Delhi monuments).
How has this topic been asked in exams?
Which PYQs matter?
CAPF (ACs) 2021 General Ability Test, Q66
Qutb Minar was originally four-storied. Who among the following Delhi Sultans raised the height to the structure by adding the fifth storey? (a) Balban (b) Alauddin Khalji (c) Muhammad Tughlaq (d) Firoz Shah Tughlaq
Which traps repeat?
- Alauddin Khalji planned a bigger tower. He did not add the fifth storey.
- Aibak only began the tower. Do not credit him with the whole of it.
- The arches of the mosque are corbelled. Do not call them true arches.
- The iron pillar is from the Gupta age. It stood before the Sultanate began.
What is the memory hook?
Think “Firoz fifth, Alauddin bigger”.
Check your understanding
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Native Practice
Practise with six questions on the builders, the 1368 repair, the corbelled arches, the iron pillar and the Alai Minar. Read the connected explanation after each answer.
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