Minaret of Jam

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv
Reference	211
UNESCO region	Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription	2002 (26th Session)
Endangered	2002–present
Location of Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan.

The Minaret of Jam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western Afghanistan. It is located in a remote and nearly inaccessible region of the Shahrak District, Ghor Province, next to the Hari River. The 62-metre (203 ft) high minaret was built around 1190 entirely of baked bricks and is famous for its intricate brick, stucco and glazed tile decoration, which consists of alternating bands of kufic and naskhi calligraphy, geometric patterns, and verses from the Qur'an. As of 2013 the minaret remained on the list of World Heritage in Danger, under serious threat of erosion, and was not actively being preserved. In 2014 the BBC reported that the tower was in imminent danger of collapse.

Site

The circular minaret rests on an octagonal base; it had 2 wooden balconies and was topped by a lantern. Its formal presentation has a striking similarity to the minaret built by Masud III in Ghazni. It is thought to have been a direct inspiration for the Qutub Minar in Delhi, which was also built by the Ghurid Dynasty. After the Qutub Minar in Delhi, India, which it inspired, 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, ranging from the Kutlug Timur Minaret in Old Urgench (long considered the tallest of these still in existence) to 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 archaeological landscape around Jam also includes the ruins of a 'palace', fortifications, a pottery kiln and a Jewish cemetery, and has been suggested to be the remains of the lost city of Turquoise Mountain.

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 in Danger, due to the precarious state of preservation of the minaret, and results of looting at the site.

History

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See also: History of Afghanistan

File:1502-Babur advancing through the mountains to Kabul.jpg

Timurid conqueror Babur advances through Jam and the mountains to Kabul.

The Minaret of Jam is probably located at the site of the Ghurid Dynasty's capital, Firozkoh. During the 12th and 13th century, the Ghurids controlled what is now 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 1174/5. It could thus commemorate the victory of the Ghurid sultan Ghiyas ud-Din over the Ghaznevids in 1186 in Lahore. However, Dr. Ralph Pinder-Wilson, a British Archeologist and Director of the British Institute of Afghan Studies in the 1970s wrote a major study of the Minarets of Jam and Ghazni and believed that the minaret was built to commemorate the victory of Mu'izz ad-Din, Ghiyath ud-Din's brother, over Prithviraj Chauhan which allowed for the spreading of Islam. Pinder-Wilson's believed that the minaret was built in the style of the time which included a tradition of early Islamic victory towers proclaiming the conquering power of Islam.

It is assumed that the Minaret was attached to the Friday Mosque of Firozkoh, which the Ghurid chronicler Abu 'Ubayd al-Juzjani states was washed away in a flash-flood, some time before the Mongol sieges in the early 13th century. 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 Khwarezm Empire. Juzjani states that Firuzkuh was destroyed by the Mongols in 1222.

The Minaret was little known outside of Afghanistan until Sir Thomas Holdich reported it in 1886 while 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 Gaston Wiet. Later, Werner Herberg conducted limited surveys around the site in the 1970s and Ralph Pinder-Wilson completed his major study of the site in the 1970s before the Soviet invasion of 1979 once again cut off outside access.

Inscriptional content

• The uppermost band consists of the Muslim confession of faith; "I bear witness there is no god but Allah (and that) Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
• Below this, are upper two bands that consists of verse 13, surat al-Saff LXI;"Help from Allah and present victory. Give good tidings (O Muhammad) to believers. O ye who believe."
• The band below this consists of names and titles of Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad bin Sam
• Located below this is a band containing an amplified version of Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad's names and titles in turquoise mosaic tiles.
• An oblong hexagon with two lines of naskhi underneath, (1)"The work of 'Ali ibn...", (2)undeciphered
• An inscription, "Abu'l-Fath", heavily damaged, due to being made of stucco.
• Interlaced bands consisting of surat Maryam XIX.
• Facing north is a Kufic inscription, "On the date of the year five hundred ninety"(equivalent of 27 December 1193 to 16 December 1194).

Threats

The Minaret of Jam is threatened by erosion, water infiltration and floods, due to its proximity to the Hari and Jam rivers. Another threat are the earthquakes which happen frequently in the region. The tower has been tilting and stabilisation work has been carried out at various times.

Following his 2002 visit, British explorer and Member of Parliament Rory Stewart reported that looters and illegal excavations have also damaged the archaeological site surrounding the minaret.

Gallery

• Jam afghanistan ghorprovince islamic architecture.jpg

  Minaret of Jam, Decorative inscriptions on the exterior

• Jamafghanistangrorharirud.jpg

  Minaret of Jam, detail view

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  Minaret of Jam, part of decorative exterior inscription

• Jam Minaret decoration.jpg

  Decorated exterior of the Minaret of Jam, August 2005

• Jam afghan architecture inside structure.jpg

  Minaret of Jam - interior

• Jam1.jpg

  Minaret of Jam on the bank of Hari Rud River

• Paving near Jam.jpg

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

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  The Minaret of Jam and Qasr Zarafshan, August 2005

• Ghor Province Afghanistan Jam Village.jpg

  Farmstead on the way to the minaret

Further reading

• Dupree, Nancy Hatch (1977): An Historical Guide to Afghanistan. 1st Edition: 1970. 2nd Edition. Revised and Enlarged. Afghan Tourist Organization
• Freya Stark: The Minaret of Djam, an excursion in Afghanistan, London: John Murray, 1970
• 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.
• Stewart, Rory. 2006. The Places In Between. Harvest Books. ISBN 0-15-603156-6.
• Thomas, David, 2004. Looting, heritage management and archaeological strategies at Jam, Afghanistan
• 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., G. Pastori & I. Cucco, 2005. The Minaret of Jam Archaeological Project at Antiquity
• 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.

External links

• Minaret of Jam Archaeological Project
• UNESCO site on threats to the minaret
• UNESCO World Heritage Center-Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam
• Asian Historical Architecture: Minaret of Jam
• Turquoise Mountain Foundation
• Hidden jewel of Afghan culture BBC News 3 May 2008