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 preserved in the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia.[1]

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
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]
Eger minaret Eger Hungary Central Europe 40 131 17th century Preserved One of three surviving minarets of Ottoman rule in Hungary. [18]
Hiran Minarate Sheikhupura Pakistan Asia 110 330 17th century Endangered Mughal Empire

See also

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. "Kutlug Timur minaret". tourstoturkmenistan.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  6. "Burana Tower". discovery-kyrgyzstan.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  7. "The Uzgen Minaret". discovery-kyrgyzstan.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  8. Kuban, Doğan (1974). The Mosque and Its Early Development. Brill. p. 28. ISBN 978-90-04-03813-4.
  9. "Ghazni Minarets". wmf.org. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  10. "7 must-see minarets in Central Asia". caravanistan.com. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  11. "Jarkurgan Minaret". silkadv.com. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  12. "Kalyan Minaret, Bukhara". unesco.org. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  13. "Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam". unesco.org. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  14. "Afghan historic minaret of Jam 'in danger of collapse'". bbc.co.uk. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  15. "Qutub Minar: Lesser known facts about the world's tallest brick minaret". indiatoday.in. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  16. "Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi". unesco.org. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  17. "Monuments Of Herat, Afghanistan's Ancient Cultural Capital, In Danger Of Destruction". rferl.org. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  18. "Eger Minaret website". minareteger.hu. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
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