[6][7][4] After defeating Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi before the Ghurid conquest of the region,[8][9]Qutab-ud-din Aibak initiated the construction of the victory tower, but only managed to finish the first level.

Successive dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate continued the construction, and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top parts and added a cupola.

[10] It can be compared to the 62-metre all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of c. 1190, which was constructed a decade or so before the probable start of the Delhi tower.

[18] These newly arrived Muslims from the Islamic West escaped the Mongol Empire and emigrated to India, where they constructed religious centers.

The Qutb Minar serves as a central marker to these new Muslim communities as well as being a reminder of Islam's presence in the area.

[18] The architecture of the minaret varies greatly from that of the typical style and design of the mosques constructed in the Middle East.

[18] Historically, tower minarets were uncommon in South Asian-Islamic design until the 17th century, due to the slow adoption of the typical Middle Eastern style in India.

[18] It is also detached from the main mosque, showcasing how the native culture affected the design of a Middle Eastern structure.

[18] Like many mosques built in South Asia during this time period, the minaret was constructed by Hindu laborers and craftsmen but overseen by Muslim architects.

Drawing references from their Ghurid homeland, Qutub-ud-Din Aibak and Shamsu’d-Din Iltutmish constructed a minar (minaret) at the south-eastern corner of the Quwwatu’l-Islam between 1199 and 1503.

It consists of a rectangular courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and architectural members of 27 Jain and Hindu temples, which were demolished by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak as recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance.

[21] Later, a lofty arched screen was erected, and the mosque was enlarged by Shams-ud- Din Itutmish (A.D. 1210–35) and Ala-ud-Din Khalji.

[6][7] 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 some more stories.

Major Robert Smith of the British Indian Army renovated the tower in 1828 and installed a pillared cupola over the fifth story, creating a sixth.

The Ghurids, historically known as the Shansabanis, were a clan of Tajik origin that hailed from Ghur, the mountainous region of modern-day western Afghanistan.

[1] Persian-Arabic and Nagari in different sections of the Qutb Minar reveal the history of its construction and the later restorations and repairs by Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351–88) and Sikandar Lodi (1489–1517).

[26] The height of Qutb Minar is 72.5 meters, making it the tallest minaret in the world built of bricks.

[21] Delhi Police detained 80 "activists" led by Ram Krishan Gaur who congregated near the Qutb Minar and were stopped from performing the yajna inside the tower.

[21] On 18 May 2022, a former Regional Director of the Archaeological Survey of India, Dharamveer Sharma, claimed that Qutb Minar was built by Raja Vikramaditya in the fifth century to observe the changing position of the sun, without substantiating his assertion.

[35] On 21 May 2022, the Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Govind Mohan, decided to conduct excavation and iconography of idols found at Qutub Minar.

[36] On 8 December 1946 Tara Devi, a Czech actress and the sixth wife of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh, fell from the tower to her death with her two Pomeranian dogs.