Topless Towers

From A Wheel of Time Wiki

The infamous Topless Towers of Cairhien are among the most famous landmarks of that city. As part of the traditional Carihienin attempt to be the best at everything, several lords commissioned the construction of the tallest towers in the land within their city, leading to a brief craze in the construction of these towers before it died off. It is not known how many towers there are, although they continue to dominate the Cairhienin skyline around the city. Although the towers are substantial in height, they are nowhere near the height of the White Tower in Tar Valon.

During the First Battle of Cairhien during the Aiel War, the Aiel set the Topless Towers alight and several were damaged. It is not known if any were destroyed outright before the Cairhienin got the fires under control. Due to the chaos of the succeededing war of succession and the following political instability, the Towers were still being rebuilt during the time of the Shaido War and Rand al'Thor's arrival in the city, some twenty-four years later.

Source

This appears to be a reference to Christopher Marlow's play "Doctor Faustus", in which Faustus has Mephostophilis invoke a vision of Helen and declares, V.i.97-98:

Was this the face that launched a thousand ships

And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?