Taj Mahal, also known as the seventh wonder of the world, was constructed under Emperor Shah Jahan; it is an extravagant building. Shah Jahan built this structure to immortalize his deceased wife, Mumtaz Mahal. (Zahoor 56) Jahan also felt that the structure would help the citizens of Agra to be more content. (Wilkinson 25) Jahan fell into a deep depression after Mumtaz died and Jahan wanted to build something so everyone in the India would know how the emperor felt. The Taj Mahal represents the love that Jahan had for Mumtaz Mahal. (Carroll 56)
Jahan was born on October 15, 1542 in Fort Umarkot, on the edge of the Thar Desert. (Abrams 38) Jahan ascended to the throne in 1628 and ruled until1666. Mumtaz and Jahan met at the age at the age of sixteen and married four months later. (Wilkinson 24) When the two were married, Mumtaz’s maiden name was changed from Arjumand Banu to Mumtaz Mahal; this is a tradition in India when a royal woman is married. (Zahoor1) Jahan never wanted to be away from Mumtaz, she tried to involve herself with the citizens of Agra. (Crown of the Palace1) Mumtaz was Jahan’s reason to be charitable and get involved with the citizen’s of Agra as Mumtaz did. (Crown of the Palace1) Mumtaz died while giving birth to her fourteenth child (Abrams 98) in Burhanpur. Jahan was there on a military campaign; Mumtaz was there for support. (Taj Mahal 1) After Mumtaz died, Shah Jahan was over whelmed with sadness for Mumtaz was the only wife, out of many, that Jahan loved. To make his undying love for Mumtaz known, Jahan built the seventh wonder of the world, the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal, constructed from 1632 until 1654 (Tagore 1), was located in Agra, India along the Yamura River. (Tagore 1) Two canals of the Yamura River cross the building. (Wilkinson 24) The Taj Mahal took twenty thousand men and women and twenty-two years to build. (Carroll, 56) These laborers gladly volunteered to build the structure, because the laborers realized how upset Shah Jahan was by Mumtaz's death. (Crown of the Palace 1) The cost of the building was a total of thirty two million rupees, the Indian currency. (Zahoor 1) The structure is consists of red sikri on the outside, and is white marble on the inside. (Taj Mahal1) The structure consists of a mausoleum and two identical buildings to east and west of the mausoleum. The citizens of Agra believed that this gave the structure balance. (Taj Mahal 1) The mausoleum is fifty-eight feet high and stands on a stand that was twenty-three feet high; the two buildings next to the mausoleum are one hundred and eight feet tall. (Taj Mahal. 1) This is a traditional Islamic structure with excerpts from their holy book, the Koran. (Wilkinson 25) The building is surrounded with eight "paradise" gardens that look over look the city of Agra.
The main designer of the Taj Mahal was the Emperor Shah Jahan, (Taj Mahal1) but he was helped a lot by many other men. It is believed that one of the designers was an Italian man named Geronimo Verono. (Carroll, 51) It was also believed that the architect was an engineer- astrologer from Persia named Ahmad. (Carroll, 60) The true architect was a mystery for the world. The builders used the "interlocking arabesque" technique, which means each part was stable on its own, but still fit with the main building. (Zahoor 2)
The Taj Mahal, also known as the "tomb of light," (Abrams 98) the tomb contains the bodies of Mumtaz and Jahan. The tombstone for Mumtaz and Jahan is a marble mound of Mumtaz sitting. To travel to the tomb through the Taj Mahal, a person would have to walk through many corridors. (Tagore, 2) This is for beauty and to keep out any unwanted intruders in the tomb. Many Hindu followers travel to the tomb to seek blessing from the queen’s spirit. (Rothfarb 188) After praying to the queen, the Hindu people also prayed to the Emperor Shah Jahan.
Hindu was the dominant religion in Agra; the Hindus follow gods that represent different aspects of nature much like the Greek gods. (Rothfarb, 30) Hindus also celebrate the birth of one of their gods, Krishna.(Rothfarb 27) Shah Jahan and Mumtaz were Hindu, the couple had trouble excepting any other religion. In fact, Jahan hated Christianity and Mumtaz encouraged Jahan to kill any Christians who lived in Agra. (Carroll, 56)
The land of Agra is a beautiful city with a very unique climate in the region of North India. The unique climate is an aspect of the land that tourists come to experience. The cool season is from October until February, during this time India’s climate is cold with a small amount of rainfall. The hot season is from February through May, the country is hot and dry during this time, with temperatures around 115 degrees. (Carroll, 28) The wet season is from May to September, during this season it rains every day with an occasional monsoon. (Rothfarb 25) The climate makes Agra an interesting place to visit for the tourists.
The Taj Mahal still has an effect on today's world with tourism and music. Thousands of people visit the Taj Mahal and enjoy its beauty daily. Many musicians have written music about the lasting love of Mumtaz and Jahan. (Bessmen, 11) A blues band, (Shepard, 38) named "Taj Mahal," has based every one of the songs about lasting love, like Mumtaz’s and Jahan relationship. (Shepard 38) This band has been performing since 1965, ever since the band was influenced by this legacy of love. (Shepard, 38) Their approach to music explains an important piece of history. (Shepard, 38) Another band, ‘Twilight in the Taj Mahal’ wrote many songs about his main singer's wife because the singer thought that he had the same love for his wife that Jahan did for Mumtaz. (Bessmen, 11) This music receives great reviews from the public, (Bessmen, 44) for the bands that say the songs are written so the band can "sing their praise." (Bessmen 43)
The love that Emperor Shah Jahan had for Mumtaz has lasted for centuries through the beauty of the Taj Mahal. The seventh wonder of the world has affected all ages, and cultures. The building has also helped much of Hindu religion develop hope and inspiration for its followers. The structure shows how the loss of one man’s love can effect the whole world. The contributions of Shah Jahan and every one who helped design and build the Taj Mahal changed India and the world.
Did you know that...
Legend has it that Shah Jahan had planned to contruct another Taj Mahal in black marble on the other side of the river, but the war with his sons interrupted his plans
Some people think that the Taj Mahal was designed by Geronimo Veroneo, an Italian.
Supposedly, there are two staircases on the northern side of the red sandstone plinth that lead into a basement containing 17 chambers, with a third crypt in the center.
Some important studies feel that the Taj Mahal is sinking.
It is believed to have cost 35 million rupees to build the Taj Mahal. (That would be about 1 million dollars in American money.)
The name Taj Mahal when translated means "Crown Palace" or "Crown of the Palace."
Some think that the changing colors of the tomb depict the different moods of a woman
Year of Construction: 1631
Completed In: 1653
Time Taken: 22 years
Built By: Shah Jahan
Dedicated to: Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shah Jahan
Location: Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
Building Type: Islamic tomb
Architecture: Islamic
Cost of Construction: 32 crore rupees
Number of workers: 20,000
Highlights: One of the Seven Wonders of the World
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