List of oldest minarets explained

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.

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

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
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]
Burana Tower		Chuy Valley	Kyrgyzstan	Central Asia	25	82	11th Century	Preserved	Originally 45 metres tall. Top destroyed by earthquake in 15th century.^[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]
Ghazni Minarets		Ghazni	Afghanistan	South Asia	20	65	12th century	Endangered	2 minaret towers. Upper portion of tower lost to earthquake in 1902^[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		Central Asia	45.6	150	1127	Preserved		^[12]
Minaret of Jam		Shahrak District	Afghanistan	South Asia	65	213	1194	Endangered	In UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger	^[13] ^[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).^[15]	^[16]
5 Musalla Minarets of Herat		Herat	Afghanistan	South Asia	55	180	1417	Endangered	Only 5 of original 20 minarets remain.	^[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

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

Notes and References

1. https://books.google.com/books?id=DBqId4J_sIAC&dq=kairouan+oldest+minaret&pg=PA128 Titus Burckhardt, Art of Islam, Language and Meaning: Commemorative Edition. World Wisdom. 2009. p. 128
2. https://books.google.com/books?id=YVYkrNhPMQkC&dq=kairouan+oldest+minaret&pg=PA302 Linda Kay Davidson and David Martin Gitlitz, Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. 2002. p. 302
3. Web site: Minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan (Qantara Mediterranean Heritage). dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130511205253/http://www.qantara-med.org/qantara4/public/show_document.php?do_id=1287&lang=en. 2013-05-11.
4. Web site: Minaret . britannica.com . 19 September 2018.
5. Web site: Kutlug Timur minaret. tourstoturkmenistan.com. 18 September 2018.
6. Web site: Burana Tower. discovery-kyrgyzstan.com. 18 September 2018.
7. Web site: The Uzgen Minaret. discovery-kyrgyzstan.com. 18 September 2018.
8. Book: Kuban, Doğan . The Mosque and Its Early Development . Brill . 1974 . 978-90-04-03813-4 . 28 . en.
9. Web site: Ghazni Minarets. wmf.org. 19 September 2018.
10. Web site: 7 must-see minarets in Central Asia. caravanistan.com. 19 September 2018.
11. Web site: Jarkurgan Minaret. silkadv.com. 18 September 2018.
12. Web site: Kalyan Minaret, Bukhara. unesco.org. 18 September 2018.
13. Web site: Afghan historic minaret of Jam 'in danger of collapse'. 28 August 2014. bbc.co.uk. 16 September 2018.
14. Web site: Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam. unesco.org. 18 September 2018.
15. Web site: Qutub Minar: Lesser known facts about the world's tallest brick minaret . indiatoday.in . 18 September 2018.
16. Web site: Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi. unesco.org. 18 September 2018.
17. Web site: Monuments Of Herat, Afghanistan's Ancient Cultural Capital, In Danger Of Destruction. rferl.org. 20 September 2018.
18. Web site: Eger Minaret website. minareteger.hu. 27 September 2018.