File:14th century Alai Darwaza inscription eastern gate Qutb complex Delhi.jpg

English: These inscriptions are found on the gateway to the Qutb complex in Mehrauli, south Delhi.

• Sayed Ahmad Khan published the first complete set of these inscriptions in the 19th-century. Carr Stephen published the first translations of these inscriptions in the 19th-century. Ghulam Yazdani published a more scholarly analysis and revised translation of these inscriptions in early 20th-century.
• These are found on the gateway to the Qutb complex.
• Language: Persian with a strong admixture of Arabic
• Date: 1310 CE (710 AH)
• Style: bold, vigorous Naskh letters (1.5 feet high), Pathan style fonts
• Attribution: Sultan Alauddin Khalji

Summary of translation:

• Right pier: Credits the building to the Sultan, praises him and calls him the "elevator of the pulpits of Islam, reviver of the forgotten commandments", the "populator of the cities of righteousness, the destroyer of the towns of error, [...], expounder of the Holy War, the elucidator of the arguments of religious exposition, the governor of the countries of the world".
• Left pier: More praise, with some repetition, and a description of Sultan's activities. Calls him "the world conquering monarch, the shadow of Divine mercy", the "right arm of Khilafat", and the establisher of the rules of Zakat. This part refers to the Sultan as the "demolisher of the bases of idol-temples" and "the builder of mosques". It also records the date of inscription as 15th of Shawwal 710 AH (Sunday 7th March 1310 CE).
• Outer arch: credits Sultan for building this mosque with lofty pillars, calling him the defender of Islam and the Muslims.
• Inner arch: parts of this inscription are lost. The surviving parts call the Sultan as the "Alexander of his time", the "helper of the Prince of the Faithful".

Additional details and a complete translation of this inscription can be found in Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica 1917–1918, by Ghulam Yazdani (pages 23–30). Additional commentary on these inscriptions and its historical notability was published by Carr Stephen in Archaeology and Monumental Remains of Delhi (pages 54–68).

This is a photograph of a personal copy of the archived original 2D ink estampage published by Ghulam Yazdani in 1919 issue of Epigraphia Indo-Moslemica. It is in public domain. Wikimedia commons PD-Art guidelines apply. Any rights I have as a photographer, I herewith donate to wikimedia commons with public domain (CC0) license.