The Taj Mahal History - one of the Seven Wonders of the World

November 16, 2009 in Asia

The Taj Mahal history, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is the epitome of love. This beautiful structure in white marble was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1653 at Agra in the memory of his third wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died while giving birth to their fourteenth child.

The grief – stricken emperor built this monument which is a rare combination of Persian, Muslim and Indian architecture. It took almost 22 years and thousands of artisans and craftsmen to build this monument on the banks of river Yamuna. The main structure was completed in 1648 while the magnificent area and the surrounding gardens were completed in 1653. According to rumors, the hands of these artisans and craftsmen were later cut so that something similar could never be built again.

On the main gate are inscribed the words which mean “O Soul, thou art at rest. Return to the Lord at peace with Him, and He at peace with you.” As one walks across the plush green gardens and splendid fountains, one reaches the main tomb which is square in shape and surrounded by four minarets at its four corners. This contains the false cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan.  The real cenotaphs are in a closed chamber exactly under false cenotaphs and facing towards Mecca. Shah Jahan’s cenotaph is bigger than that of his wife.

The interior of the chamber was decorated in Persian style with precious and semiprecious stones which were later robbed by the British when they conquered India and The Taj was nearly destroyed. But Lord Curzon later restored it and installed a large lamp, similar to the one in a Cairo mosque, in the interior chamber.

The magnificent monument, Taj Mahal, was constructed with materials brought from all over the world. The white marble came from Rajasthan and the red stone used for the exterior walls surrounding three sides was brought from Fatehpur Sikri, The Saphire was brought from Sri lanka and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, jade and crystal were brought from China and jasper from Punjab and many horses and elephants were used to transport it.

Shah Jahan wanted to build a monument in black marble across the river Yamuna and directly opposite to Taj Mahal.  But, he was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb, known to be the cruelest ruler in the history of India, in Red Fort at Agra, during the last days of his life, from where he would watch the Taj Mahal and weep in the memory of his wife. He died after approximately eight years and was buried next to Mumtaz Mahal with a simple ceremony. One can see the ruins of the black monument which was never built. On a moonlit night, the view of the Taj is simply breathtaking and truly romantic. – The Taj Mahal history

You can take a virtual tour on the Taj Magal monument here.

You may also want to check House of Wonders (Beit el-Ajaib), Tanzania or Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Singapore.