The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Western Afghanistan, by the Hari Rud river. It was discovered in 1957 and included on the World Heritage List in 2002 as Afghanistan's first World Heritage site. It was also inscribed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Danger, to account for the precarious state of preservation of the minaret. The name under which it was inscribed is The Minaret and Archeological Remains of Jam. It is located in the Shahrak District, Ghowr Province. UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... Site #86: Memphis and its Necropolis, including the Pyramids of Giza (Egypt). ... The Hari Rud is a river flowing from the mountains of central Afghanistan to Turkmenistan, where it disappears in the Kara-Kum desert. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... These are 35 sites which the World Heritage committee has decided to include on a list of World Heritage sites in danger; this list also shows the year in which the World Heritage committee added the site to this list. ... Ghowr (sometimes spelled Ghor) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ...

The minaret, located in a river gorge with surrounding mountains that reach up to 2000 meters, is thought to have been built to commemorate the victory of the Ghurid (Ghorid) dynasty over the Ghaznevid Empire in the 12th century. It is 65 meters high, built entirely of bricks and well-known for its intricate brick, stucco and glazed ceramics decoration, consisting of alternating bands of kufic calligraphy and geometric patterns. The circular minaret rests on an octagonal base, contains several balconies and is topped by a lantern. It is thought to have been a direct inspiration for the Qutub Minar in Delhi. After the Qutub Minar, the Minaret of Jam is the second-tallest brick minaret in the world. Minarets (Arabic manara منارة, but more usually مئذنة, and Urdu minra pl. ... The Ghaznavid Empire was a state in the region of todays Afghanistan that existed from 977 to 1186. ... Kufa (الكوفة al-Kufa in Arabic) is a city in Iraq, about 170 km south of Baghdad, and 10 km northeast of Najaf. ... Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ... The Qutub Minar and surrounding ruins. ...

The minaret of Jam belongs to a group of around 60 minarets and towers built between the 11th and the 13th centuries in Central Asia, Iran and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, for instance, Ghazni is another example of such towers. The minarets are thought to have been built as a symbol of Islam's victory, while other towers were simply landmarks or watchtowers. This last use might be the reason why it was spared by the Mongols during their destruction of the surrounding city. Minaret, July 2001 Ghazni is a city in central Afghanistan, situated on a plateau at 7280 feet above sea level. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( (help· info)), submission (to the will of God)) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second-largest religion. ...

The minaret of Jam is currently threatened by erosion, water infiltration and floods, due to its proximity to the Hari Rud and Jam Rud rivers. Another threat is earthquakes, which happen frequently in the region. Looters and illegal escavations have also damaged the surroundings of the minaret. The tower has also started to leaning, but stabilisation works have halted that evolution.

The site of Jam also includes the ruins of a palace, fortifications and a Jewish cemetery.

History

See also: History of Afghanistan // History of Afghanistan Afghanistans history, internal political development, foreign relations, and very existence as an independent state have largely been determined by its geographic location at the crossroads of Central, West, and South Asia. ...

The Minaret of Jam is probably located at the site of the Ghurid dynasty's capital, Firuzkuh (Firuz Koh). The Ghurids controlled, in the 12th and 13th century, not only Afghanistan, but also parts of Northern India, the region of Kashgar in Western China, and parts of Pakistan. An inscription on the minaret gives 1194 as the date of construction. It would thus commemorate the victory of the Ghurid sultan Ghiyas ud-Din over the Ghaznevids in 1192 in Delhi - therefore its surname of Victory Tower. This would also explain why the minaret seems to have been disproportionate compared to the modest mosque it was attached to. The Ghurid Empire's glory waned after the death of Ghiyas ud-Din, as it was forced to cede territory to the Khwarezmid Empire. The town of Firuzkuh was destroyed in 1222 by the Mongols. The comparatively small mosque to which the minaret belonged is thought to have been destroyed by a flood. Location of Kashgar Kashgar (Uyghur: قەشقەر/K̢ǝxk̢ǝr; Chinese: 喀什; Hanyu Pinyin: , 39°28′N 76°03′E), is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article deals with the metropolis of Delhi. ... The Khwarezmid Empire (also known as the Khwarezmian Empire) was a Muslim state in the 11th century in Khwarezmia that lasted until the Mongol invasion in 1220. ... The Mongols are an ethnic group that originated in what is now Mongolia, Russia, and China, particularly Inner Mongolia. ...

For centuries, the minaret was forgotten by the outside world. It was rediscovered in 1957 by the Afghan Historic Society's president Ahmed Ali Kohzad, and the French archeologist André Maricq. In 1964, the nearby ruins of a bazaar were destroyed to make way for a hotel.

The minaret was damaged during the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan, and the subsequent civil war period. The ousting of the Taliban regime, however, is not thought to have affected it. Flag flown by the Taliban. ...

References

• Dan Cruickshank (ed.), Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture, Twentieth edition, Architectural Press 1996, ISBN 0750622679

External links

• UNESCO World Heritage Committee website
• UNESCO site on threats to the minaret
• www.redtailcanyon.com
• www.orientalarchitecture.com
• www.thewalt.de