LauriTym702628 at 12:26, 29 June 2025

2025-06-29T12:26:06Z

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{{Short description|Medieval Indian monuments}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
[[File:Mughal-era Kos Minar in the Delhi National Zoo.jpg|thumb|upright|Kos Minar in the [[National Zoological Park Delhi]], India]]
[[File:Kos_Minar_001.jpg|thumb|upright|Kos minar at [[Palwal]] along [[Grand Trunk Road]] in [[Haryana, India]]. Haryana has the highest number of surviving Kos Minars.]]
[[File:By-ibneazhar-aik-kos-monument-lahore-pakistan-1 15978367131 o 20.jpg|thumb|upright|Kos Minar built with [[lakhori bricks]] near the [[Tomb of Ali Mardan Khan]] in [[Lahore]], Pakistan]]

The '''Kos Minars''' (translated: ''Mile Pillars'') are [[medieval India]]n milestones along the [[Grand Trunk Road]] on the northern [[Indian subcontinent]] that were introduced by the 16th-century [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] ruler [[Sher Shah Suri]] of the [[Sur Empire]]. Kos Minars were erected to serve as markers of distance along royal routes from [[Agra]] to [[Ajmer]], Agra to [[Lahore]], and from Agra to [[Mandu, Madhya Pradesh|Mandu]] in the south.

Most of the Kos [[Minaret|Minars]] are present in [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], [[Haryana]], and [[Punjab]] by the roadsides, railway tracks, [[Paddy field|paddy fields]] and in many towns and villages.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gopinath|first=P. Krishna|title=Kos minars: Pillars of the past|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/sher-shah-suris-kos-minars-in-north-india/article31811516.ece|access-date=2021-09-27|website=@businessline|date=12 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

Kos Minars were described as a "marvel of India" by early European travellers such as [[Thomas Roe|Sir Thomas Roe]] and have been labeled as an integral part of India's "national communication system" by [[Archaeological Survey of India]].<ref name=SherShahSuri>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/sher-shah-suris-kos-minars-once-meant-to-show-way-to-travellers-stand-lost-today/articleshow/62675902.cms|title=Sher Shah Suri's kos minars once meant to show way to travellers stand lost today - Times of India|website=The Times of India|date=27 January 2018 |access-date=2018-12-21}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
A [[Kos (unit)|kos]] in Sanskrit is one fourth of a [[yojana]],<ref name=Arthashashtra>[https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation Arthashastra, Chanakya, 4th century BCE, pp151]</ref> an [[ancient India]]n unit of distance. It represented a distance of approximately {{convert|3.22|km}}. Minar is an Arabic word for tower, related to [[minaret]].

Kos Minars are solid round pillars, around {{convert|30|ft}} in height, on a masonry platform built with bricks and plastered over with lime. They are not identical. As milestones, they were an important part of communication and travel.

==History==

===Maurya period===
In the third century BC, emperor [[Ashoka]] improved existing routes linking his capital city [[Pataliputra]] to [[Dhaka]] in the east and [[Kabul]] via [[Peshawar]] in the west and further to Balkh. These routes had landmarks in the form of mud pillars, trees or wells to guide commuters.<ref name=Times2019 />

===[[Sur Empire|Sur period]]===
The 16th-century [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] ruler [[Sher Shah Suri]] introduced improved brick pillars plastered over with lime at every kos. The minars thus came to be called as Kos minars.

===Mughal period===
[[Abul Fazl]] recorded in ''[[Akbarnama|Akbar Nama]]'' that in the year 1575 AD, [[Akbar]] issued an order that, at every kos on the way from Agra to [[Ajmer]], a pillar or a minar should be erected for the comfort of the travelers.<ref>[https://www.ualberta.ca/~rnoor/minar_kos.html Kos Minar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085102/http://www.ualberta.ca/~rnoor/minar_kos.html |date=4 March 2016 }} University of Alberta.</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = A milestone on the highway | newspaper=Hindustan Times| url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/A-milestone-on-the-highway/Article1-951130.aspx| first= Nivedita | last=Khandekar| date = 27 October 2012| accessdate = 20 March 2018 | url-status = dead| archiveurl = https://archive.today/20130923040501/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/A-milestone-on-the-highway/Article1-951130.aspx| archivedate = 23 September 2013}}</ref> In addition, many [[Caravanserai|caravanserais]] (roadside inns) were built for travelers. Later emperors such as [[Shah Jahan]] continued to add to the network of Kos Minars. In the Mughal period, there were around 600 minars.<ref name=SherShahSuri /> In the north, they were extended as far as [[Peshawar]] and in the east to [[Bengal]] via [[Kannauj]].

===Deterioration and preservation===
As the British introduced [[Imperial units]] and later, independent India adopted the [[International System of Units]], the kos unit of measurement and consequently these minars went out of use. The monuments gradually went into a state of disrepair, as contemporary people ignored their significance.<ref name=Times2019 /> Only 110 Kos minars are left.<ref name=SherShahSuri /> According to a report of the [[Archaeology Survey of India]], there are 49 in [[Haryana]] alone.<ref name=YamunaNagar>{{Cite web|url=http://haryanatourism.gov.in/destination/kos-minar|title=Kos Minar|publisher=Haryana Tourism Corporation|language=en-IN|access-date=2019-03-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title =Signposts lost in history | publisher =[[Tribune India]] | url =http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060910/spectrum/main2.htm | date =2006-09-10 | accessdate =2013-09-23 | archive-date =10 February 2022 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220210111839/https://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060910/spectrum/main2.htm | url-status =dead }}</ref> There are also seven Kos Minars in [[Jalandhar district]] and five around [[Ludhiana district]] in Punjab.<ref>{{cite news |last=Khaira |first=Rachna |date=3 May 2017 |title=ASI notice on encroachment near Nakodar Kos Minar |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/jalandhar/asi-notice-on-encroachment-near-nakodar-kos-minar-401405 |work=[[Tribune India]] |location=[[Jalandhar]] |access-date=27 May 2023|quote=There are presently seven Kos Minars in the district and all were declared as monuments of national importance.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 'Monumental' treasure house | url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-12/ludhiana/28193174_1_archaeologists-city-bus-monuments | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110811054219/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-07-12/ludhiana/28193174_1_archaeologists-city-bus-monuments | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2011-08-11 |date=2009-07-12| work = [[The Times of India]] | accessdate = 2013-09-23}}</ref> Conservation work of Kos Minars situated in [[Jalandhar district]] started in 2016. Grill fencing was erected at each minar to protect the original structure of Minar.<ref>{{cite news |last=Singh |first=Dilbag |date=9 November 2016 |title=Conservation work of 'Kos Minars' in Jalandhar starts |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/conservation-work-of-kos-minars-in-jalandhar-starts/story-PiXBxmrbb3FRmZtUEZ15dK.html |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |location=[[Nurmahal]]|access-date=27 May 2023}}</ref> Restoration work for nine Kos Minars near [[Mathura]] began in 2018.<ref name=Times2019>{{Cite news
|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/these-were-the-google-maps-of-16th-century-now-theyre-lost-in-time/articleshow/68227157.cms
|title=These were the 'Google Maps' of 16th century, now they're lost in time|author=Arvind Chauhan|work=The Times of India|date=2019-03-02}}</ref> The Archaeological Survey of India has given Kos Minars protected status and courts have ordered encroachments cleared away.

== Photo Gallery ==
<gallery>
Kos_Minar,_Mughalpura,_Lahore.jpg|Mughalpura, Lahore, Pakistan
Kos_Minar,_Manhala,_Lahore.jpg|Manhala, Lahore, Pakistan
Old Grand Trunk Road.jpg|Taxla, Pakistan (old G.T.Road)
Mughal-era Kos Minar in the Delhi National Zoo.jpg|Delhi Zoo, India
Kos Minar, Uppal.jpg|Jalandhar, India
Mughal Kos Minar.jpg|Dakkhni, Jalandhur, India
Mughal milestone.jpg|UP, India
Kos minar,tirawadi,karnal.JPG|Tarawri, Karnal, India
Kos_Minar_,_the_Milestone.JPG|Karnal, India
Kos Minar 001.jpg|[[Haryana]], India
Kos Minar-Ambala-Haryana-DSC1922.jpg|[[Ambala]], Haryana, India
</gallery>

==See also==
{{commons category}}
*[[List of Monuments of National Importance in Haryana]], contains over a dozen Kos Minars in Haryana

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century]]
[[Category:Road transport in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures of the Mughal Empire]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in India]]
[[Category:Ruins in India]]
[[Category:History of transport in India]]
[[Category:Archaeological monuments in Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Road signs in India]]
[[Category:Historical markers]]
[[Category:16th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:Road signs in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Ruins in Pakistan]]
[[Category:History of transport in Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Milestones]]

Kos Minar - Revision history

LauriTym702628 at 12:26, 29 June 2025