Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam
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How it came to be
In the 12th and 13th centuries the Ghurid dynasty ruled what is now Afghanistan, along with parts of eastern Iran, Central Asia and northern India. The Minaret of Jam is a baked-brick tower raised in the 12th century by Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad in a valley of the Hari Rud, about 215 km east of Herat and some 1,900 metres above sea level.
The tower rises from an octagonal base 9 metres across. Its surface is covered with geometric relief and bands of inscription, with turquoise tiles among them, and the verses include the Qur'anic chapter of Maryam. The site is thought to be Firuzkuh, the Ghurid summer capital, which the chronicler Juzjani says was destroyed by the Mongols in 1222. The minaret is held to have influenced the Qutb Minar in Delhi, begun in 1202.
The tower was little known outside Afghanistan and drew wide attention only in 1957. In 2002 it became Afghanistan's first World Heritage site and was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in the same year. Standing close to two rivers, it is exposed to erosion and floods, and the surrounding site has been damaged by looting. An earthquake in January 2022 shook bricks loose from the tower.
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