This article lists some but by no means all of the oldest known minaret towers in the world.
The oldest minaret still surviving is that of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia. [1] [2] It was constructed in 836 AD [3] and is considered as the prototype for all the square shaped minarets built in the Western Muslim World. [3]
Most ancient, surviving minarets were constructed adjacent to a mosque, for the Muslim call to prayer (Adhan) five times each day by a muezzin (crier). [4] A few minarets were built as watchtowers, landmarks or symbols of victory or glory of a Muslim Khanate or empire. In some instances, like the Minaret of Jam only the minaret tower survives today while the adjoining mosques and other structures were destroyed over time by nature and invaders.
This list ranks the oldest surviving minarets in the world. Only minarets built before 1900 AD. are included.
Name | Image | Location | Country | Region | Height (m) | Height (ft) | Year Built | Status | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Great Mosque of Kairouan Minaret | Kairouan | Tunisia | North Africa | 31.5 | 103 | 836 | Preserved | [3] | ||
Great Mosque of Samarra Minaret | Samarra | Iraq | Western Asia | 52 | 171 | 851 | Preserved | |||
Kutlug Timur Minaret | Konye-Urgench | Turkmenistan | Central Asia | 60+ | 197 | 1011 | Believed to be the tallest of the ancient minarets in Central Asia. Dome was destroyed in 1221 by Mongols. Only 60 meters remain. [5] | [5] | ||
Burana Tower | Chuy Valley | Kyrgyzstan | Central Asia | 25 | 82 | 11th Century | Preserved | Originally 45 metres tall. Top destroyed by earthquake in 15th century. [6] | [6] | |
Uzgen Minaret | Uzgen | Kyrgyzstan | Central Asia | 27.5 | 90 | 11th century | Preserved | [7] | ||
Ali minaret | Isfahan | Iran | Western Asia | 52-54 | 171-177 | 11th-12th Century | preserved | Formerly built for a Seljuk-era mosque, now attached to a Safavid-era mosque. [8] | [8] | |
Ghazni Minarets | Ghazni | Afghanistan | South Asia | 20 | 65 | 12th century | Endangered | 2 minaret towers. Upper portion of tower lost to earthquake in 1902 [9] | [9] | |
Jarkurgan minaret | Jarkurgan | Uzbekistan | Central Asia | 21.6 | 71 | 1108 | [10] [11] | |||
Khosrogerd Minaret | Sabzevar | Iran | Western Asia | 30 | 98 | 1112 | ||||
Kalyan minaret | Bukhara | Uzbekistan | Central Asia | 45.6 | 150 | 1127 | Preserved | [12] | ||
Minaret of Jam | Shahrak District | Afghanistan | South Asia | 65 | 213 | 1194 [13] | Endangered | In UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger | [14] [13] | |
Kutubiyya Mosque Minaret | Marrakesh | Morocco | North Africa | 77 | 253 | 1195 | Preserved | |||
Qutub Minar | Delhi | India | South Asia | 72.5 | 238 | 1311 | Preserved | Tallest minaret made of bricks(marble and red sandstone). [15] | [16] | |
5 Musalla Minarets of Herat | Herat | Afghanistan | South Asia | 55 | 180 | 1417 | Endangered | Only 5 of original 20 minarets remain. | [10] [17] | |
Menara Kudus Mosque Minaret | Kudus Regency | Indonesia | Southeast Asia | 18 | 59 | 1549 | [18] | |||
Great Mosque of Banten Minaret | Serang | Indonesia | Southeast Asia | 24 | 78 | 1632 | [19] | |||
Eger minaret | Eger | Hungary | Central Europe | 40 | 131 | 17th century | Preserved | One of three surviving minarets of Ottoman rule in Hungary. | [20] | |
Hiran Minar | Sheikhupura | Pakistan | Asia | 110 | 330 | 17th century | Endangered | Mughal Empire |
Bukhara is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents as of 1 January 2020. It is the capital of Bukhara Region.
A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (adhan) from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can have a variety of forms, from thick, squat towers to soaring, pencil-thin spires.
The Qutb Minar complex are monuments and buildings from the Delhi Sultanate at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. Construction of the Qutub Minar "victory tower" in the complex, named after the religious figure Sufi Saint Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, was begun by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who later became the first Sultan of Delhi of the Mamluk dynasty. It was continued by his successor Iltutmish, and finally completed much later by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Sultan of Delhi from the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1412) in 1368 AD. The Qubbat-ul-Islam Mosque, later corrupted into Quwwat-ul Islam, stands next to the Qutb Minar.
The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and victory tower comprising the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi's oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi, India. It was mostly built between 1199 and 1220, contains 399 steps, and is one of the most-frequented heritage spots in the city. Qutab-ud-din Aibak initiated construction of the Qutub Minar, but only managed to finish the first level. Successors continued the construction, and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top parts and added a cupola.
The Charminar is a monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana. The Charminar's long history includes the existence of a mosque on its top floor for more than 425 years. While both historically and religiously significant, it is also known for its popular and busy local markets surrounding the structure, and has become one of the most frequented tourist attractions in Hyderabad. Charminar is also a site of numerous festival celebrations, such as Eid-ul-adha and Eid al-Fitr, as it is adjacent to the city's main mosque, the Makkah Masjid.
The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Afghanistan. It is located in a remote and nearly inaccessible region of the Shahrak District, Ghor Province, next to the Hari River. The 62 m (203 ft) or 65 m (213 ft) high minaret was built c. 1190 entirely of baked bricks and is famous for its intricate brick, stucco and glazed tile decoration, which consists of alternating bands of kufic and naskhi calligraphy, geometric patterns, and verses from the Qur'an. Since 2002, the minaret has remained on the list of World Heritage in Danger, under serious threat of erosion, and has not been actively preserved. In 2014, the BBC reported that the tower was in imminent danger of collapse.
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment of Delhi as the capital of the Ghurid dynasty in 1193. Succeeding the Ghurids was the Delhi Sultanate, a series of Central Asian dynasties that consolidated much of North, East, and Central India, and later by the Mughal Empire during the early 16th century. Both of these dynasties introduced Islamic architecture and art styles from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan, also known as the Mosque of Uqba, is a mosque situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan, Tunisia and is one of the largest Islamic monuments in North Africa.
Architecture of Central Asia refers to the architectural styles of the numerous societies that have occupied Central Asia throughout history. These styles include a regional tradition of Islamic and Iranian architecture, including Timurid architecture of the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as 20th-century Soviet Modernism. Central Asia is an area that encompasses land from the Xinjiang Province of China in the East to the Caspian Sea in the West. The region is made up of the countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. The influence of Timurid architecture can be recognised in numerous sites in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, whilst the influence of Persian architecture is seen frequently in Uzbekistan and in some examples in Turkmenistan. Examples of Soviet architecture can be found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The Great Mosque of Herat or "Jami Masjid of Herat", is a mosque in the city of Herat, in the Herat Province of north-western Afghanistan. It was built by the Ghurids, under the rule of Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad Ghori, who laid its foundation in 1200 CE. Later, it was extended several times as Herat changed rulers down the centuries from the Kartids, Timurids, Mughals and then the Uzbeks, all of whom supported the mosque. The fundamental structure of the mosque from the Ghurid period has been preserved, but parts have been added and modified. The Friday mosque in Herat was given its present appearance during the 20th century.
The Jami Masjid, also known as Jama Masjid; meaning "public mosque", is a former Friday mosque, now a well-preserved heritage site, located in Champaner, in the state of Gujarat, India. The mosque is a Monument of National Importance, and, together with other structures, is part of the Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is among the 114 monuments there which are listed by the Baroda Heritage Trust. The mosque is located approximately 46 metres (150 ft) east of the city walls (Jahdnpandh), near the east gate.
There are eleven different types of buildings at the UNESCO-protected Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park in Gujarat, India, including mosques, temples, granaries, tombs, wells, walls, and terraces. The monuments are situated at the foot of and around the Pavagadh Hill. The Baroda Heritage Trust lists 114 monuments in the area, of which only 39 are maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, due to limited funding. The Forest Department owns 94% of the land here, while the temple trusts and other sectarian establishments provide facilities for boarding and lodging to pilgrims and tourists. On the southern side near the foot of the hill some dilapidated houses and the foundations of Jain temples can also be seen.
The Musalla complex, also known as the Musallah Complex or the Musalla of Gawhar Shah, is a former Islamic religious complex located in Herat, Afghanistan, containing examples of Timurid architecture. Much of the 15th-century complex is in ruins today, and the buildings that still stand are in need of restoration. The complex ruins consist of the five Musallah Minarets of Herat, the Mir Ali Sher Navai mausoleum, the Gawhar Shad Mausoleum, and the ruins of a large mosque and a madrasa complex.
Kutlug Timur minaret is a minaret in Konye-Urgench in north Turkmenistan, Central Asia. It was built in 1011 during the Khwarazmian dynasty. The height of the minaret is 60 meters with a diameter of 12 metres at the base and 2 metres at the top. In 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench where the minaret is located were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
The Uzgen Minaret also spelled as Özgön Minar or Uzgend Minaret is an 11th-century minaret tower located in Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan. It forms part of the ancient ruins in Uzgen along with three well preserved mausoleums located nearby. Uzgen Minaret is a 27.5 metres tall tapering tower, with an 8.5 metres base diameter, reducing to 6.2 metres at the top.
The Ghazni Minarets are two elaborately decorated minaret towers located in Ghazni city, central Afghanistan. They were built in middle of the twelfth century and are the only surviving elements of the mosque of Bahram Shah. The two minarets are 600 meters apart and lie in an open plain, north-east of Ghazni city.