Chor Minar

Chor Minar
Chor Minar
General information
Town or city New Delhi
Country India
Construction started Khilji dynasty

Chor Minar or 'Tower of Thieves' is a 13th century minaret with 225 holes,[1] situated just off Aurobindo Marg in the Hauz Khas area, in New Delhi.[2][3].

It was built under the rule of Alauddin Khilji[4], of the Khilji dynasty (1290–1320) in the thirteenth century.[5]

According to local legends, it was a 'tower of beheading', where the severed heads of thieves were displayed on spear through its 225 holes, to act as a deterrent to thieves[2][6], though some historian suggest that the Khilji king slaughtered a settlement of Mongol people, nearby, to stop them from joining with their brethren in another Mongol settlement in Delhi, the present day locality of 'Mongolpuri'.

During the raid of Ali Beg, Tartaq and Targhi (1305), 8,000 Mongol prisoners were executed and their heads displayed is the towers around Siri[7]

References

  1. ^ Kharehra List of Monuments - Delhi, Archaeological Survey of India.
  2. ^ a b Chor Minar
  3. ^ Delhi Monuments - Hauz Khas
  4. ^ Chor Minar
  5. ^ Chor Minar Info and images Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
  6. ^ The Minars and Minarettes of India
  7. ^ CHAPTER V 40. "Farishtah, I, 114-15; Barani, 320; Khazain, Habib, 28; Wassaf, IV, 526-27. The walls of the towers popularly known as Chor Minar in modern Hauz Khas Enclave are pierced with 225 holes. In medieval India apertures on the walls of towers were used by Muslims not only as windows but also to display heads of captured and executed prisoners. The custom was to cut off their heads and stick them into those holes, to be seen by everybody. During wars, only the heads of chiefs were displayed; those of common soldiers were simply piled into pyramids."

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Architektūr — Architektūr, im weitern Sinne soviel wie Baukunst, d.h. die Kunst, alle Arten von Baulichkeiten nach Zweck und Bedürfnis auszuführen, im engern Sinne die Hochbaukunst, die sich mit der Errichtung und Einrichtung von Hochbauten beschäftigt… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus — The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Marathi: छत्रपती शिवाजी टर्मिनस), (formerly Victoria Terminus) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and historic railway station in Mumbai which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. Situated in the Bori …   Wikipedia

  • Nehru Planetarium — Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi There are five planetariums in India named after India s first Prime Minister, [Jawaharlal Nehru]. Nehru Plantariums are located in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore and there is a Jawahar Planetarium in Allahabad.… …   Wikipedia

  • National Gallery of Modern Art — This article is about the institution in India. For other uses, see National Gallery of Modern Art (disambiguation). Three Girls, by Amrita Sher Gil, 1935, now at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, where most of her works are… …   Wikipedia

  • Doga (comics) — Doga Doga on Raj Comics yearly calendar Publication information Publisher Raj Comics …   Wikipedia

  • Buxoro — (Бухоро) (usbek.) Panorama über Buxoro Basisdaten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”