Qutub Minar in New Delhi is a well-known landmark. Here we discussed it in detail here.
The sandstone minaret with intricately carved inscriptions and reliefs on its façade was erected at the end of the 12th century by Qutubuddin Aibak, a slave general of Muhammad Ghori, to celebrate Ghori's victory against the Rajput rulers in Delhi. It is believed that Aybak for the construction of the minaret was inspired by the creation of his contemporary, the great sultan Giyas-OD-Din, who built a similar victory tower, the Jem minaret in a remote region of Afghanistan just a few years earlier.
For the next eight centuries, Qutub Minar would be the main attraction in New Delhi. But now a hundred years have passed and …
Qutub Minar.
A little over a hundred years after the Qutuba Minaret was built, a very ambitious and ruthless ruler named Alauddin Khilji laid siege to the throne of Delhi, getting rid of his predecessor, his uncle and father-in-law, Jalaluddin. A great soldier and general, Alauddin quickly conquered the rulers of neighboring principalities and expanded the territory of the Khilji dynasty from Afghanistan in the north to the Deccan Peninsula in the south. Khilji loved to attack the Hindu principalities because the Hindu Rajas were extremely wealthy. The spoils of war kept his power afloat and the Sultan's treasury was full of plundered treasures.
Many historians describe Alauddin as a barbarian because of his brutality with which he attacked and conquered kingdoms. In 1298, 15,000 to 30,000 people near Delhi, who had recently converted to Islam, were killed in one day for fear of rebellion. After the capture of Chittor in 1303, Alauddin ordered the massacre of 30,000 local Hindus. Alauddin killed everyone he suspected of threatening to maintain his power. When he suspected two of his nephews of rebellion, he first ordered their eyes gouged out, and then beheaded them.
Alauddin Khilji.
After one particularly big victory in the Deccan, Alauddin decided to build a huge tower similar to the Qutub Minar to celebrate his victory. Only he wanted to build his own minaret even higher. He wanted the minaret to be twice the height of Qutubuddin Minar, to be remembered as the only Sultan who dared to create such a monumental masterpiece that would be greater and more impressive than the one built by Qutubuddin Aybak.
Promotional video:
However, the construction of the Alay minaret was completed shortly after the start of its construction, namely in 1316, when Alauddin Khilji was killed by his faithful slave and lover Malik Kafur. Kafur's regency lasted only a month when he was himself killed by Alauddin's former bodyguards. Alauddin's eldest son, Mubarak Shah, succeeded him as the new sultan, but after he blinded his younger brother to prevent him from climbing the throne. Given these wonderful family traditions, it is not surprising that Alauddin's son was somewhat less willing to fulfill his father's wishes to build the tower.
The unfinished Alai Minar, 24 meters high, can still be seen north of Qutub Minar.