The Taj Mahal (/ˌtɑːdʒ məˈhɑːl, ˌtɑːʒ-/; lit.
'Crown of the Palace') is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the
river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (r. 1628–
1658) to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the
centrepiece of a 17-hectare (42-acre) complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens
bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.
Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five
years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniver-
sary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost
estimated at the time to be around ₹5 million, which in 2023 would be approximately ₹35 billion (US$77.8 million).
The building complex incorporates the design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture. It employs symmetrical con-
structions with the usage of various shapes and symbols. While the mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-
precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time. The
construction project employed more than 20,000 workers and artisans under the guidance of a board of architects led by Ustad
Ahmad Lahori, the emperor's court architect.
The Taj Mahal was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for being "the jewel of Islamic art in India and one of
the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage". It is regarded as one of the best examples of Mughal architecture
and a symbol of Indian history. The Taj Mahal is a major tourist attraction and attracts more than five million visitors a year. In
2007, it was declared a winner of the New 7 Wonders of the World initiative.
Etymology
The name "Taj Mahal" is of Urdu origin, and believed to be derived from Arabic and Persian, with the words tāj mahall meaning
"crown" (tāj) "palace" (mahall).[4][5][6] Abdul Hamid Lahori, in his book from 1636 Padshahnama, refers to the Taj Mahal as rauza-i
munawwara (Perso-Arabic: روضه منواره, rawdah-i munawwarah), meaning the illumined or illustrious tomb.[7] The name "Taj"
might have been derived from the corruption of the second syllable of "Mumtaz".[8][9]
Inspiration
Shah Jahan, 17th century painting
Artistic depiction of Mumtaz Mahal
The Taj Mahal was commissioned by Shah Jahan in 1631, to be built in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died on 17
June that year while giving birth to their 14th child, Gauhara Begum.[10][11] Construction started in 1632,[12] and the mausoleum was
completed in 1648, while the surrounding buildings and garden were finished five years later.[13] The imperial court documenting
Shah Jahan's grief after the death of Mumtaz Mahal illustrates the love story held as the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.[14]
According to contemporary historians Muhammad Amin Qazvini, Abdul Hamid Lahori and Muhammad Saleh Kamboh, Shah Ja-
han did not show the same level of affection for others as he had shown Mumtaz while she was alive. After her death, he
avoided royal affairs for a week due to his grief and gave up listening to music and lavish dressing for two years. Shah Jahan
was enamored by the beauty of the land at the south side of Agra on which a mansion belonging to Raja Jai Singh I stood and
chose the place for the construction of Mumtaz's tomb after Jai Singh agreed to donate it to the emperor.[15]
Architecture and design
The Taj Mahal complex is situated on a platform on the banks of
the Yamuna River.
Main article: Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture.[16] Inspirations for the
building came from successful Timurid and Mughal buildings including the Gur-e Amir in Samarkand (the tomb of Timur, progen-
itor of the Mughal dynasty) and Humayun's Tomb in Delhi which inspired the Charbagh gardens and hasht-behesht plan of the
site.[17][18] The building complex employs symmetrical constructions with the usage of various shapes and symbols.[16] While the
mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones, red sandstone was used for other buildings in the
complex similar to the Mughal era buildings of the time.[19] The entire complex sits on platform measuring 984 feet (300 m) in
length and 28.5 feet (8.7 m) in height on the banks of Yamuna river. The platform is built with varying patterns of dark and light
colored sandstone.[20]
Exterior
