Hiran Minar (Fatehpur Sikri)

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Hiran Minar
Plan of Fatehpur Skri (1917)

The Hiran Minar is a free-standing minaret similar round tower in the in the 1570s by the Mughal emperors I. Akbar founded residence-city of Fatehpur Sikri . However, the tower got its current name under his successor Jahangir , who had the surrounding area converted into a gazelle park ( hiran = gazelle or antelope).

location

The tower is about 150 m north of the palace area and about 400 m northeast of the Friday Mosque ( Jama Masjid ) of Fatehpur Sikri. The closest structure is the caravanserai built around a square courtyard .

architecture

The core of the approx. 21 m high structure consists of bricks , which were clad with slabs of the typical regional red sandstone ; on the door frame, the blind niches of the octagonal basement and in other places there is yellowish sandstone. The star and hexagonal decoration on the round tower shaft is made of white limestone. The actual tower rests on a square substructure on which there is an octagonal base zone. The tower shaft, which is provided with a spiral staircase, ends in a surrounding balcony, in the middle of which a lantern in the shape of a chhatris rises. The tusk-like protruding stones on the round part of the tower shaft, which have given rise to various speculations, are unusual.

meaning

For a long time it was assumed that the tusks were to be seen in connection with the elephant stalls about 200 m away, but nowadays people tend to be reluctant to interpret them. The function of the tower is generally unclear - the only thing that is certain is that it was not the minaret of a mosque. It could originally have served as a watch and / or lighthouse ; Another interpretation sees it as the starting point for distance measurements in the huge Mughal Empire. With the installation of the Gazelle Park under Jahangir, it could also have served as an observation, lookout or hunting tower.

literature

  • EW Smith: Mughal Architecture of Fathpur Sikri. Archaeological Survey of India, Allahabad 1894-97

Web links

Commons : Hiran Minar, Fatehpur Sikri  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Coordinates: 27 ° 5 ′ 58 ″  N , 77 ° 39 ′ 45 ″  E