The Qutb complex is an array of monuments and buildings at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. The best-known structure in the complex is the Qutb Minar, built to honor the Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. Its foundation was laid by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who later became the first Sultan of Delhi of the Mamluk dynasty. The Minar was added upon by his successor Iltutmish, and much later by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, a Sultan of Delhi from the Tughlaq dynasty in 1368 AD. The Qubbat-ul-Islam Mosque (or, Dome of Islam), later corrupted into Quwwat-ul Islam stands next to the Qutb Minar. It was built on the ruins of Lal Kot Fort (built by Anangpal, the Tomar Gurjar ruler, in 739 CE) and Qila-Rai-Pithora (the Gurjar king Prithviraj Chauhan's city), whom Ghori's Afghan armies had earlier defeated and killed in the Second Battle of Tarain.
The complex was added to by many subsequent rulers, including the Tughlaqs, Ala ud din Khilji and the British. Apart from the Qutb Minar and the Quwwat ul-Islam Mosque, other structures in the complex include the Alai Gate, the Alai Minar, the Iron pillar, the ruins of several earlier Jain temples, and the tombs of Iltutmish, Alauddin Khilji and Imam Zamin.
Today, the adjoining area spread over with a host of old monuments, including Balban's tomb, has been developed by the Archaeological Survey of India as the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, and INTACH has restored some 40 monuments in the Park. It is also the venue of the annual 'Qutub Festival', held in November–December, where artists, musicians and dancers perform over three days.
