Many people who have seen Taj Mahal may not have heard of Taj Mahal history. If you visit Taj Mahal, there are many tour guides who will explain you the interesting history of this exotic monument. The well known fact is that this is a symbol of love. It reflects the love of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal. He ruled over the Mughal Empire from 1628 to 1658. He is the son of the emperor Jahangir and grandson of the great Mughal emperor Akbar.

He met Anjuman Bano Begum in 1607 when she was just 14 years old. After five years of love he married her in 1612. They lived together for 19 years and bore him fourteen children. She used to accompany him wherever he went and went with him even to the battlefield. It was in 1931 during the birth of her 14^th child that she died at her age of 39. During this time he was trying the control the rebellion at Burhanpur in Central India. During her last days, she expressed her last wish to have a tomb built in her memory.

In memory of his soul mate, Shah Jahan decided to build Taj Mahal and called the artisans, craftsmen, builders and designers from all over the world. The architecture was designed by the Persian architect, Ustad Isa and Isa Muhammad Effendi. The chief architect was Puru from Benarus and the chief sculptor was Chiranjilal from Delhi. Ismail Khan of Ottoman Empire designed the main dome. The calligraphy was done by Amanat Khan from Shiraz in Iran and the final golden touch up was casted by Qazim Khan from Lahore. Muhammad Hanif supervised the masons while Mir Abdul Karim and Mukkarimat Khan of Shiraz looked after the finances and day to day managements.

After the toil of twenty thousand men for a period of 22 years the great Taj Mahal was completed in the year 1653. The total amount spent was 32 million rupees. It was built with marble and the mausoleum is standing on the square plinth. The whole building was constructed in Agra on the banks of River Yamuna. The color of Taj Mahal changes from time to time and season to season. It appears pink in morning time, milky white in evening time and in golden color during full moon days.

The whole complex consists of a mosque in the west of Taj Mahal built of red sandstone and a guest house, mausoleum, garden with long walkways, four waterways that divide the garden and a pool at the center. The white marble that was used to build this magnificent shrine was brought from Makrana region in Rajasthan, the yellow marble and the rockspar were brought from the banks of Narmada River and the red sandstone was obtained from Sikri. There were many gems fixed on the Taj Mahal like turquoise, jade, crystal, chrysolite, sapphires, agates, coral, amethyst, quartz, malachite and diamonds. They were brought from different places like Tibet, China, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Himalayas, Russia and Hyderabad. The Taj Mahal history attracts many foreigners to visit the place.

The tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are situated inside the main building. The building lost its glory during the Indian rebellion of 1857 and in 1908 it was restored by the restoration project launched by the British Viceroy Lord Curzon. In 1983 it became a place of world heritage in the UNESCO list and is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. What lies behind the Taj Mahal history is the true ardent love of a king for his queen.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On December 07, 2011lView All Articles

Suhaina Mazhar is a freelance content writer and blogger with five years experience in content writing. http://sumazla.blogspot.com is her blog.

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taj mahal history , history of taj mahal , story of taj mahal