Taj Mahal: What’s the world’s prettiest building like?
We’d like to think of the Taj Mahal as a proud expression of an emperor’s love carved in living stones, rather than a piece of architecture like other structures.
True, the Taj Mahal was built as a symbol of love, but it is also a profound symbol of loss, and it exists today as a monument of a wonderful love storey that ended far too soon.
You will not only be able to recognise the Taj Mahal as a world-famous landmark by the end of this article, but you will also have a greater grasp of the narrative behind it and what it represents.
Today, we’ll tell you the storey of how the Taj Mahal, the world’s most beautiful structure, came to be.
But first, some background information.
Introduction.
In Persian, Taj Mahal means “crown over the palace,” and this edifice is renowned for its unique architecture and unparalleled splendour. This white marble mausoleum may be situated on the south bank of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra. With over 8 million people each year, it is India’s most popular destination.
The Taj Mahal is universally recognised as one of the best examples of architecture worldwide, and it’s an enduring emblem of India’s rich history, but the narrative of how this amazing monument came to be actually begins about 40 years before the first stone was set in place.
Let’s start from the beginning.
It was love at first sight.
Shahjahan was born in 1592 as Prince Khurram, and even before his birth, a prophet predicted that he would be destined for Imperial greatness. Although he was the third son of Emperor Jahangir, he was expected to become emperor at a young age.
When Khurram was 14 years old, he was walking through the market when he came across a beautiful girl selling glass beads and silk Quran. He approached her to speak with her and it was love at first sight for him.
When Khurram returned home, he went straight to his father and told him he had found the girl he wanted to marry, they quickly got engaged, but didn’t marry until five years later in 1612, the wedding date was set by chord astrologers, who determined it was the ideal date to ensure a happy marriage, and it was indeed a happy marriage.
Prince Khurram had married Kondo Harry Begum in an arranged marriage, and Arjmand was his second wife. He had his first child with her three years before.
After our Arjmand, he married eight additional spouses, all of them were political. His marriage to Mumtaz, on the other hand, was founded on genuine affection and love. In 1628, Quran became the emperor of the Mughal empire on the Indian subcontinent, and he was dubbed Sharjah Han, which means “king of the globe.”
He bestowed the title of Mumtaz Mahal on our Jimana, which means “selected one of the palace” in Persian. She became his go-to confidante and accompanied him wherever he went. Of all his spouses, she was unquestionably his favourite.
Mumtaz Mahal, however, unfortunately died in 1631 at the age of 37 while giving birth to their 14th child. Shahjahan was characterised as distraught and paralysed by grief after her death, but soon before she died, he promised Mumtaz two promises: he would never remarry and he would create a mausoleum worthy of her over her grave. After a period of grieving, he went out to accomplish his goal.
The Taj Mahal’s Construction
The Taj Mahal was quickly commissioned by Shahjahan, and building began only a few months following Mumtaz’s death. The site for the mausoleum was chosen, and in exchange, Shahjahan gave the landowner a large palace in the heart of Agra. Over 22,000 artisans, labourers, stone cutters, and artists were tasked with the construction, which was overseen by a board of architects led by the Emperor’s court architect, Ahmad Lahori. The land was cleared and levelled, and wells were dug and filled with sand.
The Taj Mahal was built almost entirely of white marble, and experts believe that over 1000 elephants were used to transport materials from all over Asia and India to be used in the construction. Teams of 20 or 30 oxen would also be used to transport the marble blocks to the site on customised waggons.
Aside from the white marble, Jasper from Punjab, Jade and Crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, and sapphires from Sri Lanka were the principal materials utilised. The white marble was inlaid with a total of 28 various types of precious stones, and Shahjahan chose these materials, personally, the two most important Mumtaz Mahal is the centrepiece of the edifice, with a distinctive marble dome on top.
The tomb’s dome is 240 feet tall at its greatest height. A mosque and smaller tombs for Shahjahan’s other wives, as well as a grander tomb for Mumtaz, his favourite servant, are among the other structures on the 42-acre compound.
On the grounds, there’s also a vast square garden and a long rectangular reflecting pool. Following the completion of construction. The tomb was finished in 1643 after roughly 12 years of building, although gardens and other aspects were added during the next ten years.
The caskets for Mumtaz Mahal and Shahjahan are displayed in the mausoleum, although they are actually buried on a lower level in the tomb, when Shahjahan died in 1666, his son had him buried next to his wife in the Taj Mahal, the caskets for Mumtaz Mahal and Sharjah Han are displayed in the mausoleum, although they are actually buried on a lower level in the tomb in the 1700s, Agra was
A restoration project was conducted to restore India’s beauty while it was under British rule. The structure was completed in 1908, and no major changes have been made since then. The total estimated cost of the original construction was 32 million rupees, which equates to about 827 million US dollars at today’s valuation.
Conclusion
One of the biggest architectural masterpieces in the world, the Taj Mahal. The Indian treasure, which is an eternal love symbol between Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal is a national treasure. It has passed the test of time and survived and in the Second World War there have been several conflicts and wars. The Indian administration was concerned that the Taj Mahal was the target of air attacks During World War II and the Indian wars in Pakistan of the 1965 and 1971 scaffolding were established around the dome in order to cover up the building and trick the pilot bomber.
However, today’s greatest threat to the Taj Mahal is pollution, which has caused the exterior to yellow, and architects are concerned that the structure may be sinking due to a lack of groundwater in the area, but rest assured that steps are being taken to ensure that the world’s most beautiful building is preserved so that its beauty and symbolism can be appreciated for generations. Check out the book Taj Mahal, Hashem, and Genius at the Heart of the Mughal Empire for a more in-depth look at how the Taj Mahal was built and the role it has played throughout India’s history and since its birth. The strong narrative and complex history of this amazing structure over the past 400 years are detailed in this book by historians Diana and Michael Preston.
Question.
Now that we’ve wrapped up our article, we’d like to hear if you’ve ever been to the Taj Mahal or if it’s on your bucket list. Please let us know in the comments, and thank you for sticking with us all the way to the conclusion.
What does this imply? bonus, A larger replica of the Taj Mahal is being built in Dubai to be used as a hotel, event centre, and wedding destination. The Taj Arabia will be up to four times larger than the original Taj Mahal and will feature a 20-story glass hotel with 350 luxury rooms. It is expected to open in 2020, and the total cost of construction is expected to be in the billions of dollars.
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