Qutb Minar
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“The arcades in the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque are of great architectural interest as they are constructed from the remains of Hindu temples. The building attests the ingenuity of the Hindu artisans who reassembled the despoiled materials to meet the new demands of the Muslim rulers”.
This time we visit the Mehrauli region, one of seven ancient cities that compose the State of Delhi, here we visit the Qutb complex. It is December and the days are still warm as the winter shadows lengthen.
The cluster of monuments that make up the Qutb complex include the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque of Qutbuddin Aibak, the Qutb Minar, the Tomb of Iltutmish, the Alai Minar, the madrasa and what is considered to be the Tomb of Alauddin Khalji. We discuss two of the complex’s buildings in this story.
The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque is constructed in the form of a rectangle enclosing a central courtyard. Its origins from earlier and other Hindu temples is evident in the architectural style of the building. The central courtyard is flanked by pillared cloisters and steps lead one to the porches with their carved temple ceilings.
The Archaeological Survey of India makes the point that:
“The arcades in the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque are of great architectural interest as they are constructed from the remains of Hindu temples. The building attests the ingenuity of the Hindu artisans who reassembled the despoiled materials to meet the new demands of the Muslim rulers”.
The substantial sandstone screen that was constructed at the front of the mosque sanctuary in 1199 describes the gradual Islamisation of Indian architecture. The arch like structure was modelled on the screen at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, but was constructed by Hindu craftsmen using largely Hindu techniques adapted to the new style.
The Qutb Minar, which rises up 72.5 metres, is the tallest stone tower in India. Qutbuddin Aibak’s vision for the great Minar was that it would celebrate the victory of Islam and the fulcrum of his faith (qutb means staff or axis). It is likely that the idea for this grand structure was evolved from the towers of Jur and Firozabad in Persia, the Chaldean ziggurat observatories, Khorsabad and the Tower of Babel.
“A monument to overawe the spirit of a vanquished infidel peoples and to sustain the courage of the faithful exiled from their distant mountain land”.
The first three stories of the tower are faced with red and buff sandstone, the later two stories also include marble facings. Unlike the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the tower’s decoration is consistently Islamic in style.
The inscriptions carved into the stone tower describe its history. The final and fifth story, repaired after a lightning strike, was completed by Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351-88).
As the centuries have passed the Qutb Minar has not been free from adventure. Earthquakes and lightning strikes leaving it some two feet off the perpendicular.
The cluster of monuments that make up the Qutb complex include the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque of Qutbuddin Aibak, the Qutb Minar, the Tomb of Iltutmish, the Alai Minar, the madrasa and what is considered to be the Tomb of Alauddin Khalji. We discuss two of the complex’s buildings in this story.
The Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque is constructed in the form of a rectangle enclosing a central courtyard. Its origins from earlier and other Hindu temples is evident in the architectural style of the building. The central courtyard is flanked by pillared cloisters and steps lead one to the porches with their carved temple ceilings.
The Archaeological Survey of India makes the point that:
“The arcades in the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque are of great architectural interest as they are constructed from the remains of Hindu temples. The building attests the ingenuity of the Hindu artisans who reassembled the despoiled materials to meet the new demands of the Muslim rulers”.
The substantial sandstone screen that was constructed at the front of the mosque sanctuary in 1199 describes the gradual Islamisation of Indian architecture. The arch like structure was modelled on the screen at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, but was constructed by Hindu craftsmen using largely Hindu techniques adapted to the new style.
The Qutb Minar, which rises up 72.5 metres, is the tallest stone tower in India. Qutbuddin Aibak’s vision for the great Minar was that it would celebrate the victory of Islam and the fulcrum of his faith (qutb means staff or axis). It is likely that the idea for this grand structure was evolved from the towers of Jur and Firozabad in Persia, the Chaldean ziggurat observatories, Khorsabad and the Tower of Babel.
“A monument to overawe the spirit of a vanquished infidel peoples and to sustain the courage of the faithful exiled from their distant mountain land”.
The first three stories of the tower are faced with red and buff sandstone, the later two stories also include marble facings. Unlike the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the tower’s decoration is consistently Islamic in style.
The inscriptions carved into the stone tower describe its history. The final and fifth story, repaired after a lightning strike, was completed by Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351-88).
As the centuries have passed the Qutb Minar has not been free from adventure. Earthquakes and lightning strikes leaving it some two feet off the perpendicular.
Architectural notes: The arch in northern India
What is evident and now looks somewhat unusual to the unfamiliar eye, is that traditionally Hindu architecture dealt with the space between walls or pillars by the use of lintels or beams to span the spaces and support overhead structures such as roofs. This meant that in traditional Hindu architecture, the gateway to a temple would most likely have been flat-roofed or taking the form of mountain style shikharas.
With the invasions from the north came the tradition of arch construction using voussoirs, the wedge shaped blocks of stone now so familiar to us all, to create a half circle with a central keystone.
In the Muslim tradition it is likely that the origins of the arch came from architects who were familiar with Roman buildings and their ruins. This evolution in the construction of Muslim architecture is evident in the mosque at Samara in Iraq and then in similar buildings post AD 750.
At first the Hindu stonemasons found arch construction in the Muslim tradition difficult. So the first stage in the evolution of the arch in northern India was to build the corbelled arch, stones laid horizontally as tradition dictated, with individual stones rounded to form the curve of the archway. We will also see ogee style arches as per the style of windows found in Buddhist chaityas.
The skills to construct true archways evolved later as conditions in northern India settled enough to attract stonemasons and craftsmen from the Islamic world.
Architectural notes: The arch in northern India
What is evident and now looks somewhat unusual to the unfamiliar eye, is that traditionally Hindu architecture dealt with the space between walls or pillars by the use of lintels or beams to span the spaces and support overhead structures such as roofs. This meant that in traditional Hindu architecture, the gateway to a temple would most likely have been flat-roofed or taking the form of mountain style shikharas.
With the invasions from the north came the tradition of arch construction using voussoirs, the wedge shaped blocks of stone now so familiar to us all, to create a half circle with a central keystone.
In the Muslim tradition it is likely that the origins of the arch came from architects who were familiar with Roman buildings and their ruins. This evolution in the construction of Muslim architecture is evident in the mosque at Samara in Iraq and then in similar buildings post AD 750.
At first the Hindu stonemasons found arch construction in the Muslim tradition difficult. So the first stage in the evolution of the arch in northern India was to build the corbelled arch, stones laid horizontally as tradition dictated, with individual stones rounded to form the curve of the archway. We will also see ogee style arches as per the style of windows found in Buddhist chaityas.
The skills to construct true archways evolved later as conditions in northern India settled enough to attract stonemasons and craftsmen from the Islamic world.
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