Temples: history, architecture and distribution

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Reused doubled Hindu temple pillars, Quwwat al-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque, Delhi A.D. 1192-6.

The Quwwat ul-Islam or 'Might of Islam' Mosque, erected on the site of Delhi's largest Hindu temple, and it contains on three sides, by rows of stone columns pillaged from some 27 local Hindu and Jain shrines. To the southeast was erected the great Qutb (pole or axis) Minar. It was haughtily erected as a tower of victory, and its inscriptions proclaim its purpose - to cast a long shadow of God over the conquered city of the Hindus. Qutub-ud-din employed the local Hindu craftsmen of Delhi, and their beautifully detailed stonework is everywhere in evidence. The pointed arches of the mosque's western screen were constructed using only traditional Hindu corbelling techniques; and around these arches and on the decorative band encircling the minar the craftsmen carved inscriptions, in elegant Naskhi script, interspersed with floral designs of Indian origin.