Mystery Wonders
Taj Mahal

Home | Last Added

An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal with construction starting in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the mosque, the guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer courtyard and its cloisters were added subsequently and completed in 1653 AD. The existence of several historical and Quaranic inscriptions in Arabic script have facilitated setting the chronology of Taj Mahal. For its construction, masons, stone-cutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from the Central Asia and Iran. Ustad-Ahmad Lahori was the main architect of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is considered to be the greatest architectural achievement in the whole range of Indo-Islamic architecture. Its recognised architectonic beauty has a rhythmic combination of solids and voids, concave and convex and light shadow; such as arches and domes further increases the aesthetic aspect. The colour combination of lush green scape reddish pathway and blue sky over it show cases the monument in ever changing tints and moods. The relief work in marble and inlay with precious and semi precious stones make it a monument apart. The uniqueness of Taj Mahal lies in some truly remarkable innovations carried out by the horticulture planners and architects of Shah Jahan. One such genius planning is the placing of tomb at one end of the quadripartite garden rather than in the exact centre, which added rich depth and perspective to the distant view of the monument. It is also, one of the best examples of raised tomb variety. The tomb is further raised on a square platform with the four sides of the octagonal base of the minarets extended beyond the square at the corners. The top of the platform is reached through a lateral flight of steps provided in the centre of the southern side. The ground plan of the Taj Mahal is in perfect balance of composition, the octagonal tomb chamber in the centre, encompassed by the portal halls and the four corner rooms. The plan is repeated on the upper floor. The exterior of the tomb is square in plan, with chamfered corners. The large double storied domed chamber, which houses the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, is a perfect octagon in plan. The exquisite octagonal marble lattice screen encircling both cenotaphs is a piece of superb workmanship. It is highly polished and richly decorated with inlay work. The borders of the frames are inlaid with precious stones representing flowers executed with wonderful perfection. The hues and the shades of the stones used to make the leaves and the flowers appear almost real. The cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal is in perfect centre of the tomb chamber, placed on a rectangular platform decorated with inlaid flower plant motifs. The cenotaph of Shah Jahan is greater than Mumtaz Mahal and installed more than thirty years later by the side of the latter on its west. The upper cenotaphs are only illusory and the real graves are in the lower tomb chamber (crypt), a practice adopted in the imperial Mughal tombs.


Story continues below !











The four free-standing minarets at the corners of the platform added a hitherto unknown dimension to the Mughal architecture. The four minarets provide not only a kind of spatial reference to the monument but also give a three dimensional effect to the edifice. The most impressive in the Taj Mahal complex next to the tomb, is the main gate which stands majestically in the centre of the southern wall of the forecourt. The gate is flanked on the north front by double arcade galleries. The garden in front of the galleries is subdivided into four quarters by two main walk-ways and each quarters in turn subdivided by the narrower cross-axial walkways, on the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled in garden. The enclosure walls on the east and west have a pavilion at the centre. The Taj Mahal is a perfect symmetrical planned building, with an emphasis of bilateral symmetry along a central axis on which the main features are placed. The building material used is brick-in-lime mortar veneered with red sandstone and marble and inlay work of precious/semi precious stones. The mosque and the guest house in the Taj Mahal complex are built of red sandstone in contrast to the marble tomb in the centre. Both the buildings have a large platform over the terrace at their front. Both the mosque and the guest house are the identical structures. They have an oblong massive prayer hall consist of three vaulted bays arranged in a row with central dominant portal. The frame of the portal arches and the spandrels are veneered in white marble. The spandrels are filled with flowery arabesques of stone intarsia and the arches bordered with rope molding. Taj Mahal represents the finest architectural and artistic achievement through perfect harmony and excellent craftsmanship in a whole range of Indo-Islamic sepulchral architecture. It is a masterpiece of architectural style in conception, treatment and execution and has unique aesthetic qualities in balance, symmetry and harmonious blending of various elements.

The tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate and the overall Taj Mahal complex have maintained the conditions of authenticity at the time of inscription. Although an important amount of repairs and conservation works have been carried out right from the British period in India these have not compromised to the original qualities of the buildings. Future conservation work will need to follow guidelines that ensure that qualities such as form and design continue to be preserved.

Commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the remains of his cherished wife, the Taj Mahal stands on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in Agra, India. The famed mausoleum complex, built over more than 20 years, is one of the most outstanding examples of Mughal architecture, which combined Indian, Persian and Islamic influences. At its center is the Taj Mahal itself, built of shimmering white marble that seems to change color depending on the sunlight or moonlight hitting its surface. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983, it remains one of the world’s most celebrated structures and a stunning symbol of India’s rich history. Shah Jahan was a member of the Mughal dynasty that ruled most of northern India from the early 16th to the mid 18th-century. After the death of his father, King Jahangir, in 1627, Shah Jahan emerged the victor of a bitter power struggle with his brothers, and crowned himself emperor at Agra in 1628. At his side was Arjumand Banu Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal (“Chosen One of the Palace”), whom he married in 1612 and cherished as the favorite of his three queens. In 1631, Mumtaz Mahal died after giving birth to the couple’s 14th child. The grieving Shah Jahan, known for commissioning a number of impressive structures throughout his reign, ordered the building of a magnificent mausoleum across the Yamuna River from his own royal palace at Agra. Construction began around 1632 and would continue for the next two decades. The chief architect was probably Ustad Ahmad Lahouri, an Indian of Persian descent who would later be credited with designing the Red Fort at Delhi. In all, more than 20,000 workers from India, Persia, Europe and the Ottoman Empire, along with some 1,000 elephants, were brought in to build the mausoleum complex. Under Aurangzeb’s long rule (1658-1707), the Mughal empire reached the height of its strength. However, his militant Muslim policies, including the destruction of many Hindu temples and shrines, undermined the enduring strength of the empire and led to its demise by the mid-18th century. Even as Mughal power crumbled, the Taj Mahal suffered from neglect and disrepair in the two centuries after Shah Jahan’s death. Near the turn of the 19th century, Lord Curzon, then British viceroy of India, ordered a major restoration of the mausoleum complex as part of a colonial effort to preserve India’s artistic and cultural heritage. Today, some 3 million people a year (or around 45,000 a day during peak tourist season) visit the Taj Mahal. Air pollution from nearby factories and automobiles poses a continual threat to the mausoleum’s gleaming white marble façade, and in 1998, India’s Supreme Court ordered a number of anti-pollution measures to protect the building from deterioration. Some factories were closed, while vehicular traffic was banned from the immediate vicinity of the complex. The Taj Mahal is the epitome of Mughal art and one of the most famous buildings in the world. Yet there have been few serious studies of it and no full analysis of its architecture and meaning. Ebba Koch, an important scholar, has been permitted to take measurements of the complex and has been working on the palaces and gardens of Shah Jahan for thirty years and on the Taj Mahal itself—the tomb of the emperor's wife, Mumtaz Mahal—for a decade. The tomb is the representation of the house of the queen in Paradise, and its setting was based on the palace gardens of the great nobles that lined both sides of the river at Agra India. You will explore the entire complex of the Taj Mahal with an explanation of each building and an account of the mausoleum's urban setting, its design and construction, its symbolic meaning, and its history up to the present day. Taj Mahal was built in 22 years (1631-1653) with the orders of Shah Jahan and it was dedicated to Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah. 20.000 workers labored and 32 crore rupees were spent during the construction of the monument and it was built according to Islamic architecture. It is one of the Unesco world heritage site.




you might be interested


Iron Pillar Delhi

Largest Crab Ever

Underwater Pyramids of Cuba

Famous Petra

Santorini

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Everglades Park

Easter Island Secrets

Leshan Giant Buddha China

Antarctica

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

KAMPUNG KUANTAN FIREFLIES

Shroud of Turin

Hitler fled to Argentina ?

Tutankhamun Mummy

Terracotta Army

Victoria Falls

Katmai Crater Lake

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Black Hole

Giant Stone Balls

Kukulkan Pyramid Chichen Itza

Door to Hell

Tunguska Explosion Russia

Wonder Rock

Nasca Lines

Great Pyramid of Giza

Arizona Wave

Spontaneous combustion

Mount Rushmore

Vimana Flying Machine

The Wonder Cave

Pamukkale

Blue Belize Hole

Two Headed Snake

Ancient Atomic Bomb India

3,800 year old mummy Xiahoe

Twin Town

Underwater Museum Cancún Mexico

Mount Nemrut

Ark of the Covenant

Area 51

Valley of Love Ireland

Ayers Rock

Acropolis of Athens

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Underwater Cancun

Blue Neon Waves

Stone Forest

Rio de Janeiro

Lost Heracleion City

Parícutin Vulcan

Valley of the Kings

Angel Falls

Timbuktu

Angkor Wat

Plitvice Lakes

Reed Flute Cave

Columnar Basalt

200 yo mummy not dead

The Great Wall of China

Stonehenge Stones

Banaue Rice Terraces

Pompeii After Eruption

Taj Mahal

Bermuda Triangle

Bagan Myanmar

Sailing Stones

Kittiwake Shipwreck

The Matterhorn

Leaning Tower of Pisa

GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA

Grand Canyon

Memnon Colossi

Lighthouse of Alexandria

Lencois Mranhenses Brasil

Sigiriya Sri Lanka

Machu Picchu

Colossus of Rhodes

El Chupacabra

Yellowstone Park

Zhangye Danxia

Lost Kingdom Of Cleopatra

Aurora

Borobudur Temple

Alien Skulls ?

Red Rain

Pillars of weathering

The Ancient City of Mes Aynak

Waterfalls Rio Tulija

Fly Geyser

Colosseum Rome Italy

K2 Pakistan

Natural Zhangjiaje

Crystal Underwater Pyramid Cuba

The Sahara Desert



Great Pyramid of Giza
Colossus of Rhodes
Black Hole
The Great Wall of China
Area 51
Santorini
Parícutin
Yellowstone
Hitler fled to Argentina
Shroud of Turin
Mount Nemrut
Colosseum Rome Italy
K2 Pakistan
200 yo mummy not dead
Ayers Rock
Crystal Underwater Pyramid Cuba
Angel Falls
Lost Heracleion City
Memnon Colossi
Fly Geyser
Banaue Rice Terraces
Victoria Falls
Blue Belize Hole
Nasca Lines
Tunguska Explosion Russia
Timbuktu
Everglades Park
The Wonder Cave
Borobudur Temple
Acropolis of Athens
Antarctica
Plitvice Lakes
Ancient Atomic Bomb India
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Iron Pillar Delhi
El Chupacabra
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Rio de Janeiro
Bermuda Triangle
Reed Flute Cave
Sailing Stones
Leshan Giant Buddha China
Valley of Love Ireland
Blue Neon Waves
Giant Stone Balls
Waterfalls Rio Tulija
Matterhorn Mountain
The Ancient City of Mes Aynak
Famous Petra
Grand Canyon
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Tutankhamun Mummy
Red Rain
GREAT SPHINX OF GIZA
Angkor Wat
Terracotta Army
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Underwater Museum Cancún Mexico
Spontaneous combustion
Mount Rushmore
Columnar Basalt
Paracas Skulls
Arizona Wave
Kittiwake Shipwreck
Lost Kingdom Of Cleopatra
Machu Picchu
Bagan Myanmar
Sigiriya Sri Lanka
Lencois Mranhenses Brasil
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
3,800 year old mummy Xiahoe
Stone Forest
Underwater Cancun
Kukulkan Pyramid Chichen Itza
Natural Zhangjiaje
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Underwater Pyramids of Cuba
Two Headed Snake
Easter Island Secrets
Taj Mahal
Stonehenge
Pillars of weathering
Wonder Rock
Vimana Flying Machine
Valley of the Kings
Door to Hell
Zhangye Danxia
KAMPUNG KUANTAN FIREFLIES
Pompeii After Eruption
Pamukkale
Sahara Desert
Ark of the Covenant
Largest Crab Ever
Twin Town
Aurora
Katmai Crater Lake










back to top


About Us | Privacy Policy