Minaret of Jam

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The Minaret of Jam and Qasr Zarafshan, August 2005
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The Minaret of Jam and Qasr Zarafshan, August 2005

The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Afghanistan. It is located in the Shahrak District, Ghowr Province, by the Hari Rud river. The 65 metre high minaret, surrounded by mountains that reach up to 2400 meters, is built entirely of baked-bricks. It is famous for its intricate brick, stucco and glazed tile decoration, which consists of alternating bands of kufic and nashki calligraphy, geometric patterns, and verses from the Qur'an (the surat Maryam, relating to Mary, the mother of Jesus).

For centuries, the Minaret was forgotten about by the outside world, until it was re-discovered in 1886, by Sir Thomas Holdich, working for the Afghan Boundary Commission. It did not come to world attention, however, until 1957 through the work of the French archaeologists André Maricq and Wiet. Herberg conducted limited surveys around the site in the 1970s, before the Soviet invasion of 1979 once again cut it off for the outside world.

The archaeological site of Jam was successfully nominated as Afghanistan's first World Heritage site in 2002. It was also inscribed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in Danger, due to the precarious state of preservation of the minaret, and results of looting at the site.

Decorated exterior of the Minaret of Jam, August 2005
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Decorated exterior of the Minaret of Jam, August 2005

The circular minaret rests on an octagonal base; it had 2 wooden balconies and was topped by a lantern. It is thought to have been a direct inspiration for the Qutub Minar in Delhi, which was also built by the Ghurids. After the Qutub Minar, the Minaret of Jam is the second-tallest brick minaret in the world.

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, eg. the tower at Ghazni. The minarets are thought to have been built as symbols of Islam's victory, while other towers were simply landmarks or watchtowers.

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 are the earthquakes which happen frequently in the region. Looters and illegal excavations have also damaged the archaeological site surrounding the minaret. The tower has started to lean, but stabilisation work is in progress to halt this danger.

The archaeological landscape around Jam also includes the ruins of a 'palace', fortifications, a pottery kiln and a Jewish cemetery.

Qasr Zarafshan, August 2005
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Qasr Zarafshan, August 2005

[edit] History

See also: History of Afghanistan

The Minaret of Jam is probably located at the site of the Ghurid dynasty's summer capital, Firuzkuh (Firuz Koh). The 12th and 13th century Ghurids controlled not only Afghanistan, but also parts of eastern Iran, Northern India and parts of Pakistan.

The Arabic inscription dating the minaret is unclear - it could read 1193/4 or, more likely, 1174/5. It could thus commemorate the victory of the Ghurid sultan Ghiyas ud-Din over the Ghaznevids in 1192 in Delhi, or the defeat of the Ghuzz Turks at Ghazna in 1173. The assumption is that the Minaret was attached to the Friday Mosque of Firuzkuh, which the Ghurid chronicler Juzjani states was washed away in a flash-flood, some time before the Mongol sieges. Work at Jam by the Minaret of Jam Archaeological Project, has found evidence of a large courtyard building beside the minaret, and evidence of river sediments on top of the baked-brick paving.

The Ghurid Empire's glory waned after the death of Ghiyath ud-Din in 1202, as it was forced to cede territory to the Khorezm Empire. Juzjani states that Firuzkuh was destroyed by the Mongols in 1222.

Baked-brick courtyard paving near the Minaret of Jam, August 2005
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Baked-brick courtyard paving near the Minaret of Jam, August 2005

[edit] References

  • Dan Cruickshank (ed.), Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture, Twentieth edition, Architectural Press 1996, ISBN 0-7506-2267-9
  • Herberg, W. with D. Davary, 1976. Topographische Feldarbeiten in Ghor: Bericht über Forschungen zum Problem Jam-Ferozkoh. Afghanistan Journal 3/2, 57-69.
  • Maricq, A. & G. Wiet, 1959. Le Minaret de Djam: la découverte de la capitale des Sultans Ghurides (XIIe-XIIIe siècles). (Mémoires de la Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan 16). Paris.
  • Sourdel-Thomine, J., 2004. Le minaret Ghouride de Jam. Un chef d'oeuvre du XIIe siècle. Paris: Memoire de l'Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres.
  • Thomas, D.C., G. Pastori & I. Cucco, 2004. “Excavations at Jam, Afghanistan.” East and West 54 (Nos. 1-4) pp. 87-119.
  • Thomas, D.C., & A. Gascoigne, in press. Recent Archaeological Investigations of Looting at Jam, Ghur Province, in J. van Krieken (ed.) Afghanistan’s Cultural Heritage: its Fall and Survival. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

[edit] External links

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