Qutb al-Din Aibak takes Delhi

1193

Muhammad of Ghor's Turkic slave-general, left in charge of the newly conquered territories, took Delhi and began converting it into a Muslim capital. The Qutb Minar, a victory tower that still stands, was started under his orders on the site of a demolished Hindu temple complex. The tower's five tapering stories of red sandstone and marble, inscribed with Quranic verses, announced the permanence of Muslim rule in India.