Delhi Sultanate Architecture

Who Built the Qutb Minar? History and Builders

Qutbuddin Aibak, Iltutmish, and Firuz Shah Tughluq contributed to the Qutb Minar. Ghiyasuddin Tughluq did not play a role in its construction.

Primary Reference: NCERT Class VII - Our Pasts II

Archived: 2013

Updated: 17 Sept 2025

Exam Year

2013

Evidence Source

Who among the following did not contribute to building the famous 'Qutb-Minar'?

[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2013]

The Qutb Minar is a multi-generational project that reflects the evolving engineering and stylistic preferences of different Delhi Sultanate rulers.

Qutbuddin Aibak: Laid the foundation and completed the first story (1199 CE).

Iltutmish: Added three more stories to complete the tower.

Firuz Shah Tughluq: Replaced the top story (damaged by lightning) with two smaller stories made of marble and sandstone.

Ghiyasuddin Tughluq: Focused on his own city, Tughlaqabad, and did not contribute to the Minar.

Logic 1: The project spanned centuries and involved rulers from the Slave and Tughluq dynasties.

Logic 2: Ghiyasuddin Tughluq is excluded as his architectural legacy is tied to the fortified city of Tughlaqabad, not the Qutb complex.

Conceptual Deep Dive & Logic

"Why did Firuz Shah Tughluq add to the Minar?"

The top story was damaged by lightning, and he restored it while adding an additional fifth story using white marble.

"The Qutb Minar is a rare architectural 'palimpsest' showing historical repair and stylistic change across different dynasties."

Topic Clusters (click to see related topic questions)