The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c30.21.1

v3.c30.21.1

Of the disposition of the mosque and other buildings composing this group a clear and graphic idea can be obtained from the skilful reconstruction drawn by Mr J. A. Page (Plate III). The Qutb minar seems to have been intended as a *ma’zina* or tower from which the *mu’azzin* could summon the Faithful to prayer, though it soon came to be regarded as a Tower of Victory, akin to those afterwards erected at Chitor and Māndū. As originally designed it stood some 225 feet in height and comprised four storeys divided one from another by richly decorated balconies and further embellished by vertical flutings and horizontal bands of inscriptions inwoven with foliate designs. Many of the inscriptions are Quranic texts and demonstrate the essentially sacred character of the fabric; others contain panegyrics of the kings who built or repaired the minar, and from these as well as from architectural considerations it is evident that only a portion of the first storey was the work of Qutb-ud-dīn Aibak and that the rest was completed by his successor Iltutmish¹. In an inscription on the lowest band of the first storey Qutb-ud-dīn is referred to under his usual viceregal titles of 'The Amīr, The Commander of the Army, The Glorious, The Great,' and on the adjacent bands are eulogies of his overlord Mu'izz-ud-dīn Muhammad Ghūrī and of the latter's brother Ghiyās-ud-dīn, which leave no room for doubt that Qutb-ud-dīn was still Viceroy at Delhi when the minar was begun.