List of oldest minarets

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.

List of oldest minarets

See also: Minaret § Origins

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
Abu Dulaf Mosque Minaret		Samarra	Iraq	Western Asia	32	105	859	Preserved
Umayyad Mosque's minaret of the bride		Damascus	Syria	Western Asia	30+	98	lower part 9th cent., upper part 12th cent.	partially preserved	The mosque's northern and oldest minaret	[5]
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. [6]	[6]
Burana Tower		Chuy Valley	Kyrgyzstan	Central Asia	25	82	11th Century	Preserved	Originally 45 metres tall. Top destroyed by earthquake in 15th century. [7]	[7]
Uzgen Minaret		Uzgen	Kyrgyzstan	Central Asia	27.5	90	11th century	Preserved		[8]
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. [9]	[9]
Ghazni Minarets		Ghazni	Afghanistan	South Asia	20	65	12th century	Endangered	2 minaret towers. Upper portion of tower lost to earthquake in 1902 [10]	[10]
Jarkurgan minaret		Jarkurgan	Uzbekistan	Central Asia	21.6	71	1108			[11] [12]
Khosrogerd Minaret		Sabzevar	Iran	Western Asia	30	98	1112
Kalyan minaret		Bukhara	Uzbekistan	Central Asia	45.6	150	1127	Preserved		[13]
Minaret of Jam		Shahrak District	Afghanistan	South Asia	65	213	1194 [14]	Endangered	In UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger	[15] [14]
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). [16]	[17]
5 Musalla Minarets of Herat		Herat	Afghanistan	South Asia	55	180	1417	Endangered	Only 5 of original 20 minarets remain.	[11] [18]
Menara Kudus Mosque Minaret		Kudus Regency	Indonesia	Southeast Asia	18	59	1549			[19]
Great Mosque of Banten Minaret		Serang	Indonesia	Southeast Asia	24	78	1632			[20]
Eger minaret		Eger	Hungary	Central Europe	40	131	17th century	Preserved	One of three surviving minarets of Ottoman rule in Hungary.	[21]
Hiran Minar		Sheikhupura	Pakistan	Asia	110	330	17th century	Endangered	Mughal Empire

See also

• Islam portal
• Architecture portal

• Minaret
• List of tallest minarets
• List of tallest mosques
• List of the oldest mosques

References

1. Titus Burckhardt, Art of Islam, Language and Meaning: Commemorative Edition. World Wisdom. 2009. p. 128
2. Linda Kay Davidson and David Martin Gitlitz, Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. 2002. p. 302
3. "Minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (Qantara Mediterranean Heritage)". Archived from the original on 2013-05-11.
4. "Minaret". britannica.com. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
5. Darke, Diana (2010-06-15). Syria. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-84162-314-6.
6. "Kutlug Timur minaret". tourstoturkmenistan.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
7. "Burana Tower". discovery-kyrgyzstan.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
8. "The Uzgen Minaret". discovery-kyrgyzstan.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
9. Kuban, Doğan (1974). The Mosque and Its Early Development. Brill. p. 28. ISBN   978-90-04-03813-4.
10. "Ghazni Minarets". wmf.org. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
11. "7 must-see minarets in Central Asia". caravanistan.com. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
12. "Jarkurgan Minaret". silkadv.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
13. "Kalyan Minaret, Bukhara". unesco.org. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
14. "Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam". unesco.org. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
15. "Afghan historic minaret of Jam 'in danger of collapse'". bbc.co.uk. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
16. "Qutub Minar: Lesser known facts about the world's tallest brick minaret". indiatoday.in. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
17. "Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi". unesco.org. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
18. "Monuments Of Herat, Afghanistan's Ancient Cultural Capital, In Danger Of Destruction". rferl.org. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
19. Turner, Peter (November 1995). Java. Melbourne: Lonely Planet. pp. 78–79. ISBN   0-86442-314-4.
20. Zein, Abdul Baqir (1999). Masjid-masjid bersejarah di Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Gema Insani. ISBN   9789795615675 . Retrieved 31 October 2024.
21. "Eger Minaret website". minareteger.hu. Retrieved 27 September 2018.