The Qutub Complex

Subject : History

Section: Art and culture

About Qutub Minar:

Qutub Minar is a soaring, 73 m-high tower of victory.
It was built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak immediately after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu kingdom.
The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony and tapers from a 15 m diameter at the base to just 2.5 m at the top.
The first three storeys are made of red sandstone and the fourth and fifth storeys are of marble and sandstone.
At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the first mosque to be built in India.
A 7 m-high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque.
Qutab-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, commenced the construction of the Qutab Minar in 1200 AD, but could only finish the basement. His successor,Iltutmush, added three more storeys, and in 1368, Firoz Shah Tughlak constructed the fifth and the last storey.
Qutub Minar and its monuments were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.

About the Alai Darwaza

Ala’iDarwaza is the southern gateway of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in Qutub complex,
It was built by Sultan Alauddin Khalji in 1311 and is made of red sandstone,
It is a square domed gatehouse with arched entrances and houses a single chamber.
It has a special significance in Indo-Islamic architecture as the first Indian monument to be built using Islamic methods of construction and ornamentation

About Archaeological Survey of India (ASI):

It is an attached office under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham– the first Director-General of ASI.
It is the premier organization for the archaeological research and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation.
It regulates all archaeological activities in the country as per the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
It also regulates the Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972.