Sep 8, 2012

Photographs from the Book The Architecture of Ancient Delhi Especially the Buildings around the Kutb Minar - 1872

The Architecture of Ancient Delhi, Especially the Buildings around the Kutb Minar, By Henry Hardy Cole, Lieutenant R.E., Late Superintendent of the Archeological Survey of the North Western Provinces, India

Group of Moulders at Work at the Kutb

Ala-Ud-Din's Gateway, Doorway on the Northern Side

 Ala-Ud-Din's Gateway, Doorway on the Southern Side

 Ala-Ud-Din's Gateway, Exterior of the Gateway from the South

 Hindu Sculptures at Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam

 Imam Zamin's Tomb, Exterior View - Delhi 1872

 Shams-Ud-Din's Gateways and Tomb, Exterior

 Shams-Ud-Din's Gateways and Tomb, Interior

 Shams-Ud-Din's Gateways and Tomb, North-West Gateway 

 Shams-Ud-Din's Gateways and Tomb, South-West Gateway

 The Kutb Minar 

 The Kutb Minar, Base of the Minar from the east 

 The Kutb Minar, View from the West

 The Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam - Pillars in the Centre of the East Colonnade

 The Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam - Pillars in the North-East Corner of the Colonnade

 The Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam - Pillars in the Sanctuary of the Mosque

 View of the Iron Pillar from the West

 The Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam

 The Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam - Pillars in the North-East Corner of the Colonnade

 The Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam - Pillars in the North Colonnade

 The Masjid-I-Kutb-Ul-Islam, View of the Great Arches

 The Kutb Minar - Delhi 1872

 The Kutb Minar, Details in the Wall 

 The Tomb Called Sultan Ghori 

 Imam Zamin's Tomb, Niche in the Wall towards the West 

Tomb of Adam Khan - Delhi 1872


Read the full book here


The Qutb Minar is also spelled Qutab or Qutub, is an array of monuments and buildings at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. The construction of Qutb Minar was intended as a Victory Tower, to celebrate the victory of Mohammed Ghori over Rajput king, Prithviraj Chauhan, in 1192 AD, by his then viceroy, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who later became the first Sultan of Delhi of Mamluk dynasty. After the death of the commissioner, the Minar was added upon by his successor Iltutmish (aka Altamash) and much later by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Tughlaq dynasty, Sultan of Delhi in 1368 AD.

The complex was added to by many subsequent rulers, including Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Ala ud din Khilji as well as the British. Some constructions in the complex are the Qutb Minar, the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, the Alai Gate, the Alai Minar, the Iron pillar, and the tombs of Iltutmish, Alauddin Khilji and Imam Zamin; surrounded by Jain temple ruins.In all, Islamic fanatic ruler Qutb-ud-din Aibak destroyed 27 Hindu and jain temples and reused the building materials for construction of Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque and the Qutub Minar according to a Persian inscription still on the inner eastern gateway.

Know more about Qutb Minar Complex in Delhi in Wikipdia