A signature monument of Delhi, Qutub Minar is a minaret that forms part of the Qutb complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of Delhi.
Made of red sandstone and marble, Qutub Minar is a 73-metre (240 feet) tall tapering tower of five storeys, with a 14.3 metre (47 feet) base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres (9 feet) at the peak. It contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps. Its design is thought to have been based on the Minaret of Jam, in western Afghanistan.
Qutb-Ud-Din-Aibak, founder of the Delhi Sultanate and first Muslim ruler of Delhi, started construction of the Qutub Minar's first storey around 1192. In 1220, Aibak's son-in-law, Shamsuddin Iltutmish, completed a further three storeys. (chaugan). Iltutmish had ascended to the throne of Delhi Sultanate after a brief reign of Aram Shah after the death of Qutb-ud-din in 1210.
In 1369, a lightning strike destroyed the top storey of the structure. Firoz ShahTughlaq (1309-1388) replaced the damaged storey, and added one more.
Qutb Minar is named after Qutb-Ud-Din-Aibak. However, according to some historians, the tower derives its name from the famous Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki, a disciple of Moinuddin Chisti, the founder of the Chisti order in India. The tomb of Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki is half km from Qutb Minar.
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