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| The creativity of Shah Jahan |
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| Taj Mahal. |
The Taj
Mahal , more often from Persian and Arabic, "crown of palaces",
pronounced is a white marble mausoleum
located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra. It
was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658)
to house the tomb of his favorites wife of three, Mumtaz Mahal.
Construction
of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other
phases of the project for an additional ten years. 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 32 million Indian rupees, which in 2015 would be valued
at around 52.8 billion Indian rupees ($827 million US). The construction
project employed around 20,000 artisans under the guidance of a board of
architects led by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The domed marble tomb is part of an
integrated complex consisting of gardens and two red-sandstone buildings
surrounded by a crenellated wall on three sides.
The Taj
Mahal is regarded by many as the best example of Mughal architecture and is
widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India". It is one of
the world’s most celebrated structures and a symbol of India’s rich history.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, the Taj Mahal attracts some 3
million visitors a year. On 7 July 2007 it was declared one of the Seven
winners of New7Wonders of the World (2000–2007) initiative in Lisbon.
Inspiration
In
1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mughal empire's period of greatest
prosperity, was grief-stricken when his favorite of three wives and beloved
companion, Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess, died during the birth of their
14th child, Gauhara Begum. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632. The
court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally
held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal. The principal mausoleum was completed in
1643 and the surrounding buildings and garden were finished about five years
later.
Architecture
and design
Main
article: Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal
The Taj
Mahal incorporates and expands on design traditions of Persian and earlier
Mughal architecture. Specific inspiration came from successful Timurid and
Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir (the tomb of Timur, progenitor of
the Mughal dynasty, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb
(sometimes called the Baby Taj), and Shah Jahan's own Jama Masjid in Delhi.
While earlier Mughal buildings were primarily constructed of red sandstone,
Shah Jahan promoted the use of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones.
Buildings under his patronage reached new levels of refinement.
Tomb
The
tomb is the central focus of the entire complex of the Taj Mahal. It is a
large, white marble structure standing on a square plinth and consists of a
symmetrical building with an iwan (an arch-shaped doorway) topped by a large
dome and finial. Like most Mughal tombs, the basic elements are Persian in
origin.
The
base structure is a large multi-chambered cube with chamfered corners forming
an unequal eight-sided structure that is approximately 55 metres (180 ft) on
each of the four long sides. Each side of the iwan is framed with a huge
pishtaq or vaulted archway with two similarly shaped arched balconies stacked
on either side. This motif of stacked pishtaqs is replicated on the chamfered
corner areas, making the design completely symmetrical on all sides of the
building. Four minarets frame the tomb, one at each corner of the plinth facing
the chamfered corners. The main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Mumtaz
Mahal and Shah Jahan; the actual graves are at a lower level.
