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Taj Mahal History

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The magnificent Taj Mahal is a mausoleum made of white marble that was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his loving wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal, which is situated on the southern bank of the Yamuna River close to Agra, India, took 22 years to construct and was finally finished in 1653.

Visitors are awed by the stunning monument's symmetry, structural beauty, fine calligraphy, inlaid gemstones, and magnificent landscaping, which is one of the World's New Wonders. The Taj Mahal was more than just a monument built in someone's honor; it was Shan Jahan's eternal love letter to his lover who had passed away.

The Love Story

Shah Jahan, the great-grandson of Akbar, first saw his beloved in 1607. He was not the Mughal Empire's fifth emperor at the time. Prince Khurram, as he was known at the time, was sixteen years old. He flitted about the royal bazaar flirting with the females working the booths who were from prominent families.

At one of these booths, Prince Khurram met Arjumand Banu Begum, a 15-year-old girl whose aunt was married to Prince Khurram's father and whose father was soon to become the prime minister. Despite the fact that they fell in love immediately away, they could not get married right away. First, Prince Khurram had to wed Kandahari Begum. Later, he also married his third wife.

Prince Khurram wed his lover, whom he named Mumtaz Mahal ("selected one of the palaces"), on March 27, 1612. Mumtaz Mahal was gorgeous, as well as intelligent and kind. She was adored by the public, in large part because she was compassionate. In order to make sure they received food and money, she painstakingly prepared lists of widows and orphans. Only seven of the couple's 14 children survived through infancy. Mumtaz Mahal would be killed as a result of the birth of the fourteenth child.

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What Happened to Mumtaz Mahal?

Three years into Shah Jahan's rule, in 1631, a rebellion under the direction of Khan Jahan Lodi was in progress. To overthrow the usurper, Shah Jahan dispatched his forces to the Deccan, some 400 miles from Agra.

Mumtaz Mahal continued to stand by Shah Jahan's side as usual despite being extremely pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl in a lavishly furnished tent in the heart of the camp on June 16, 1631. All appeared to be well at first, but Mumtaz Mahal soon passed away.

Shah Jahan hurried to his wife's side as soon as he learned of her condition. Mumtaz Mahal passed away in the early hours of June 17, barely one day following the birth of their daughter.

Bringing Mumtaz Mahal Home

Shah Jahan requested that Mumtaz Mahal's body be excavated and transported 435 miles (or 700 kilometers) to Agra in December 1631, after the feud with Khan Jahan Lodi was resolved. Thousands of troops carried her body back in a magnificent parade, and mourners lined the streets to see her.

Mumtaz Mahal's remains were momentarily interred on land given by the nobility Raja Jai Singh when they arrived at Agra on January 8, 1632. This was not far from the site of the Taj Mahal.

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Taj Mahal construction plans

Shah Jahan was so overcome with sadness that he channeled his feelings into creating a lavish mausoleum that would put all those that had come before it to shame. It was additionally distinctive because it was the first sizable mausoleum devoted to a woman.

Even though the Taj Mahal's original architect is unknown, it is widely thought that Shah Jahan, who had a passion for architecture himself, worked on the plans personally with the assistance and input of several of the most talented architects of the day. The Taj Mahal was meant to stand in for Heaven, or Jannah, on Earth as it was considered "the crown of the region." Shah Jahan spent all of his money on making this happen.

Construction of the Taj Mahal

At the time of Shah Jahan's rule, the Mughal Empire was one of the richest empires in the world, giving him the means to build this unrivaled grand monument. He wanted it to be stunning, but he also needed it to be built quickly.

An estimated 20,000 laborers were brought in and lodged nearby at Mumtazabad, a town created particularly for them to speed up production. Craftsmen with and without experience were hired.

The massive, 624-foot-long plinth or base was first constructed, followed by the foundation. The mosque and guest house, two identical red sandstone structures that will flank the Taj Mahal, would be built on top of this.

An octagonal structure made of brick coated in marble was to be The Taj Mahal, which would sit on a second plinth. The builders built a scaffolding so they could build higher, as is typical for most huge projects. History continues to be puzzled by their peculiar choice of bricks for this scaffolding.

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Marble

One of the Taj Mahal's most remarkable and noticeable elements is its use of white marble. The marble was quarried 200 kilometers away at Makrana. The incredibly massive marble reportedly required 1,000 elephants and an undetermined number of oxen to move it to the construction site.

A vast, 10-mile-long earthen ramp was constructed to allow the enormous marble chunks to access the Taj Mahal's higher areas. A massive double-shelled dome that spans 240 feet and is made of white marble sits above the Taj Mahal. The tomb is surrounded by four tall, skinny white marble minarets that stand at the corners of the second plinth.

Flower Inlay and Calligraphy

Most images of the Taj Mahal solely display the enormous white structure. This doesn't do the actual structure credit, even though it's still beautiful. These images omit details, yet it is these elements that give the Taj Mahal its awe-inspiring femininity and opulence.

Passages from the Quran or Koran, the Islamic holy book, are calligraphed on the mosque, guest house, and big main gate at the southern end of the complex. These inlaid verses were the creation of Amanat Khan, a great calligrapher whom Shah Jahan employed.

The finished Quranic phrases are expertly inlaid with black marble. They are a regal yet delicate aspect of the structure. Although the curves are in stone, they resemble actual handwriting. It is reported that Amanat Khan personally chose the 22 verses from the Quran. It's interesting to note that Shah Jahan only permitted Amanat Khan to sign his work on the Taj Mahal.

The beautiful inlaid flowers that can be seen all around the Taj Mahal complex are almost more remarkable than the calligraphy. Highly talented stone cutters used a technique called Parchin Kari to carve exquisite floral designs into white marble, which were then inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones to create intertwined vines and flowers.

These flowers feature 43 different types of precious and semi-precious stones from all over the world. Lapis lazuli from Sri Lanka, jade from China, malachite from Russia, and turquoise from Tibet are among them.

The Garden Islam depicts Paradise as a garden. As a result, the Taj Mahal's garden was an important part of making it Heaven on Earth.

The Taj Mahal's garden, located to the south of the mausoleum, is divided into four quadrants. These are divided by four "rivers" of water that flow into a central pool (another important Islamic image of Paradise). The Yamuna River filled the gardens and rivers via a complex underground water system. Unfortunately, no records exist to identify the specific plants in these gardens.

Death of Shah Jahan

After the death of his favorite wife, Shah Jahan was in deep mourning for two years and never fully recovered. The fourth son of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb, was able to assassinate his three older brothers and put his father in prison as a result.

After 30 years as Emperor, Shah Jahan was deposed and imprisoned in Agra's opulent Red Fort in 1658. Shah Jahan spent his final eight years, forbidden from leaving but with most of his usual luxuries, gazing out a window at the Taj Mahal.

When Shah Jahan died on January 22, 1666, Aurangzeb had his father buried in the crypt beneath the Taj Mahal with Mumtaz Mahal. Two cenotaphs now stand on the Taj Mahal's main floor, above the crypt (empty public tombs). Mumtaz Mahal has one in the center of the room, and Shah Jahan has one just to the west.

A delicately carved, lacy marble screen surrounds the cenotaphs. It was originally a gold screen, but Shah Jahan replaced it so thieves would not be tempted to steal it.

The Taj Mahal is being demolished.

Shah Jahan was wealthy enough to support the Taj Mahal and its massive maintenance costs, but the Mughal Empire lost its wealth over the centuries, and the Taj Mahal fell into ruins.

By the 1800s, the British had defeated the Mughals and taken control of India. The British dissected the Taj Mahal for its beauty, stealing gemstones from its walls, silver candlesticks, and doors, and even attempting to sell the white marble overseas. Lord Curzon, the British viceroy of India, was the one who put and to this. Curzon worked to restore the Taj Mahal rather than loot it.

The Taj Mahal Today

With 2.5 million visitors each year, the Taj Mahal has once again become a magnificent place. Visitors can visit during the day and observe how the white marble appears to change colors throughout the day. Once a month, visitors can pay a brief visit during a full moon to see how the Taj Mahal appears to glow from the inside out in the moonlight.

UNESCO inscribed the Taj Mahal on the World Heritage List in 1983, but this protection has not ensured its safety. It is now vulnerable to pollution from nearby factories and excessive humidity from visitors' breaths.

FAQ About Taj Mahal

Q. Who and why did the Taj Mahal get built?

Ans. The Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built by the great Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan. It was erected in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their fourteenth child. The monument's construction began in 1632, and the main monument was finished in 1648. On the other hand, the outlying building and gardens were completed later in 1653. Shah Jahan was buried inside the Taj Mahal alongside his beloved Mumtaz after his death.

Q. Why taj mahal is famous?

Ans: Because of its immense beauty, the Taj Mahal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Aside from its architectural brilliance, the story behind its construction makes the Taj Mahal an epitome of love, attracting thousands of tourists each year.

Q. What is the Taj Mahal ticket price?

Ans: The Taj Mahal Ticket is INR 45 for Indians, INR 1050 for foreigners or NRIs, and INR 535 for SAARC/BIMSTEC visitors. A Taj Mahal ticket with Mausoleum access costs an additional INR 200.

Q. When is the Taj Mahal open?

Ans: The Taj Mahal is open for visitors from sunrise to sunset (6 AM to 6.30 PM). Except on Fridays, the monument is open to the public every day. It is only open to Muslims for afternoon prayers on Fridays.

Q. How do I get to the Taj Mahal?

Ans: Nearest Airport to Taj Mahal: The nearest airport to the Taj Mahal is Agra Airport, which is 13 kilometers away and will take 35 minutes to reach the monument by taxi.

The nearest railway station to the Taj Mahal is Agra Cantt, which is 6 kilometers away. The railway station is about a 13-minute drive away by car or cab.

The Idgah Bus Station, which is 6 kilometers from the Taj Mahal, is Agra's largest and most prominent bus terminal. From there, you can take a taxi or hail an Uber to the monument. It takes approximately 15 minutes. You can also hire a rickshaw puller to take you from the bus station to the Taj Mahal.

By Road: If you are driving from the Delhi NCR, you can take the Yamuna Expressway, which connects Greater Noida with Agra and is 165 kilometers long.