Qutb Minar - wikipedia Qutb Minar Qutub Minar Qutub Minar in Delhi, India Coordinates Coordinates : 28 ° 31 ′ 28 '' N 77 ° 11 ′ 07 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 28.524355 ° N 77.185248 ° E ﻿ / 28.524355 ; 77.185248 Height 73 metres ( 240 ft ) UNESCO World Heritage Site Type Cultural Criteria Designated 1993 ( 17th session ) Reference no. 233 Country India Continent Asia Construction Started by Qutub - ud - din Aibak / completed by Iltutmish Location of Qutub Minar in India The Qutub Minar, also spelled as Qutab Minar, or Qutb Minar, is the tallest minaret in the world made up of bricks. The minaret forms a part of the Qutab complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, India. Qutub Minar is a 73 - metre ( 239.5 feet ) tall tapering tower of five storeys, with a 14.3 metres ( 47 feet ) base diameter, reducing to 2.7 metres ( 9 feet ) at the top of 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. Qutab - Ud - Din - Aibak, founder of the Delhi Sultanate, started construction of the Qutub Minar 's first storey around 1192. In 1220, Aibak 's successor and son - in - law Iltutmish completed a further three storeys. In 1369, a lightning strike destroyed the top storey. Firoz Shah Tughlaq replaced the damaged storey, and added one more. Sher Shah Suri also added an entrance to this tower while he was ruling and Humayun was in exile. The Minar is surrounded by several historically significant monuments of the Qutab complex, including Quwat - ul - Islam Mosque, which was built at the same time as the Minar, and the much older Iron Pillar of Delhi. The nearby pillared Cupola known as `` Smith 's Folly '' is a remnant of the tower 's 19th century restoration, which included an ill - advised attempt to add a sixth storey. Contents 1 History 2 Architecture 3 Accident 4 In literature 5 In popular culture 6 Gallery 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links History Kuttull Minor, Delhi. The Qutab Minar, 1805 Qutab Minar in Mehrauli in Delhi. Clifton and Co., around 1890 Qutab Minar was established along with Quwwat - ul - Islam Mosque around 1192 by Qutab - ud - din Aibak, first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. The mosque complex is one of the earliest that survives in the Indian subcontinent. The minaret is named after Qutab - ud - din Aibak, or Qutabuddin Bakhtiar Kaki, a Sufi saint. Its ground storey was built over the ruins of the Lal Kot, the citadel of Dhillika. Aibak 's successor Iltutmish added three more storeys. The minar 's topmost storey was damaged by lightning in 1369 and was rebuilt by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, who added another storey. In 1505, an earthquake damaged Qutub Minar ; it was repaired by Sikander Lodi. On 1 September 1803, a major earthquake caused serious damage. Major Robert Smith of the British Indian Army renovated the tower in 1828 and installed a pillared cupola over the fifth story, thus creating a sixth. The cupola was taken down in 1848, under instructions from The Viscount Hardinge, then Governor General of India. It was reinstalled at ground level to the east of Qutab Minar, where it remains. It is known as `` Smith 's Folly ''. Architecture The tower 's style is patterned on Afghanistan 's Minaret of Jam, and adapted to local artistic conventions by the incorporation of `` looped bells and garlands and lotus borders into the carving ''. Numerous inscriptions in Parso - Arabic and Nagari characters in different sections of the Qutab Minar reveal the history of its construction, and the later restorations and repairs by Firoz Shah Tughluq ( 1351 -- 89 ) and Sikandar Lodi ( 1489 -- 1517 ). The tower has five superposed, tapering storeys. The lowest three comprise fluted cylindrical shafts or columns of pale red sandstone, separated by flanges and by storeyed balconies, carried on Muqarnas corbels. The fourth column is of marble, and is relatively plain. The fifth is of marble and sandstone. The flanges are a darker red sandstone throughout, and are engraved with Quranic texts and decorative elements. The whole tower contains a spiral staircase of 379 steps. At the foot of the tower is the Quwat ul Islam Mosque. The minar tilts just over 65 cm from the vertical, which is considered to be within safe limits, although experts have stated that monitoring is needed in case rainwater seepage further weakens the foundation. Accident Before 1974, the general public was allowed access to the top of the minaret, via the internal staircase. On 4 December 1981, the staircase lighting failed. Between 300 and 400 visitors stampeded towards the exit, and 47 were killed in the crush and some were injured. Most of these were school children. Since then, the tower has been closed to the public. In literature Wikisource has original text related to this article : ' The Cootub Minah, Delhi ', a poem by L.E.L. Letitia Elizabeth Landon 's poem The Cootub Minah, Delhi is a reflection on an engraving in Fisher 's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833. In popular culture Bollywood actor and director Dev Anand wanted to shoot the song `` Dil Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar '' from his film Tere Ghar Ke Samne inside the Minar. However, the cameras in that era were too big to fit inside the tower 's narrow passage, and therefore the song was shot inside a replica of the Qutub Minar The site served as the pit stop of the second leg of the second series of The Amazing race Australia. A picture of the minaret is featured on the travel cards issued by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. A recently launched start - up in collaboration with the Archaeological survey of India has made a 360 walkthrough of Qutab Minar available. Gallery The Minar in context : Alai Darwaza ( left ), Imam Zamin 's tomb ( right ), Qutb Minar ( back ) Entrance to Minar Calligraphy on upper - base section Decorative motifs on upper levels Close - up of balcony Minar in dark views Smith 's cupola ( foreground, right ), with the Tomb of Imam Zamin, Alai Darwaza, and Qutb Minar in background Plaque at Minar See also Red Fort Agra Fort Chand Minar Taj Mahal References ^ Jump up to : `` WHC list ''. who.unesco.org. 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2011. Jump up ^ Singh ( 2010 ). Longman History & Civics ICSE 7. Pearson Education India. p. 42. ISBN 978 - 81 - 317 - 2887 - 1. Retrieved 27 October 2011. Jump up ^ `` Qutb Minar Height ''. qutubminardelhi.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015. ^ Jump up to : Qutub Minar Jump up ^ `` Qutub Minar ''. qutubminardelhi.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Quwwat - ul - Islam Mosque ''. qutubminardelhi.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015. Jump up ^ Ali Javid ; ʻAlī Jāvīd ; Tabassum Javeed ( July 1, 2008 ). World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India. Google Books. pp. 14, 105, 107, 130. Retrieved 26 May 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` Qutub Minar Height ''. qutubminardelhi.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015. Jump up ^ Ali Javid ; ʻAlī Jāvīd ; Tabassum Javeed ( 2008 ). World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India. Google Books. pp. 14, 105, 10T7, 130. ISBN 9780875864822. Retrieved 26 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` Qutub Minar and Smiths Folly - an architectural disaster. '', Wordpress. Jump up ^ `` Index 1200 - 1299 : Qutb ud - Din Aibak and the Qubbat ul - Islam mosque. '', Columbia University Jump up ^ Plaque at Qutub Minar Jump up ^ Verma, Richi ( 24 January 2009 ). `` Qutb Minar tilting due to seepage : Experts ''. The Times of India. Retrieved 30 June 2012. Jump up ^ `` Around the World ; 45 Killed in Stampede At Monument in India ''. The New York Times. 5 December 1981. Retrieved 13 February 2018. Jump up ^ Khandekar, Nivedita ( 4 December 2012 ). `` 31 yrs after tragedy, Qutub Minar 's doors remain shut ''. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 13 February 2018. Jump up ^ Mehul S Thakkar, Mumbai Mirror 22 Nov 2011, IST ( 22 November 2011 ). `` 30 years later, Qutub ready to face the camera -- Times of India ''. Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 26 September 2012. CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ `` Qutub Minar in MEHRAULI, Delhi - 360 - degree view on WoNoBo.com ''. Places.wonobo.com. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 17. Further reading Ali Javid ( July 1, 2008 ). World Heritage Monuments and Related Edifices in India ( Full Set Bound in 2 Volumes ). Algora Publishing. ISBN 978 - 0875864822. External links Media related to Qutb Minar at Wikimedia Commons Qutub Minar Archaeological Survey of India Qutab Minar and its Monuments, Delhi Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Qutb_Minar&oldid=850127459 '' Categories : Buildings and structures in Delhi Islamic architecture Towers in India Tourist attractions in Delhi World Heritage Sites in India Minarets Hindu temples in Delhi Hindu temple architecture Mamluk dynasty ( Delhi ) Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Multiple names : authors list EngvarB from October 2013 Use dmy dates from October 2013 Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca বাংলা Беларуская भोजपुरी Català Cebuano Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego ગુજરાતી 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Lietuvių Magyar मैथिली മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Norsk ଓଡ଼ିଆ Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Polski Português Русский संस्कृतम् Scots Slovenčina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు Türkçe Українська اردو 中文 44 more Edit links This page was last edited on 13 July 2018, at 19 : 51 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was the qutub minar granted the world heritage site status
Answer: 1993