Taj Mahal stands on the bank of River Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide trench shielding the Great Red Fort of Agra, the centre of the Mughal Empire, until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. The Taj Mahal is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of architecture in the world. Agra, situated about 200 km south of New Delhi.
Taj Mahal was under the Muslim Emperors who ruled Northern India between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Mughals were the descendents of two of the most skilled warriors in history, the Turks and the Mongols. The Mughal dynasty reached its highest strength and fame during the reign of their early Emperors, Akbar, Jehangir, and Shah Jehan.
Taj Mahal Agra was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in the remembrance of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess.
She passed while accompanying her husband in Behrampur in a campaign to crush an uprising, after giving birth to their 14th child. Her death firmed the emperor.
When Mumtaz Mahal was alive, she requested the emperor, that he should build the Taj, should not marry again, be kind to their children and he should visit the tomb on her death anniversary. He kept the first and second promises.
Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were positioned to work on it. It was designed by the Iranian architect Istad Usa and it is best appreciated when the architecture and its adornments are linked to the passion that inspired it.
Having buried her down at Behrampur, it was time to build a tomb there itself. It was virtually impossible to transfer all the marble there, as it would cost a fortune and a lifetime.
So, astoundingly her grave was uprooted and brought to Agra, be transferred to the monument, completed twenty two years later.
The architectural complex is comprised of five main elements: the Darwaza or main gateway, the Bageecha or garden, the Masjid or mosque, the Naqqar Khana or rest house, and the Rauza or the Taj Mahal mausoleum. The actual Tomb is situated inside the Taj.
The Taj rises on a high red sandstone base with a huge white marble terrace on which rests the dome flanked by four narrowing towers. Within the dome lies the jewel-inlaid cenotaph of the queen.
Most impressive are the black and white chessboard marble floor, the four tall minarets at the corners of the structure, and the majestic dome in the middle. The impressive pietra dura artwork includes geometric elements, plants and flowers, mostly common in Islamic architecture
The only uneven object in the Taj is the chest of the emperor, which was built beside the queens, as a late addition.
The dome is made of white marble, and has a background that works its magic of colours through their reflection and transforms the view of the Taj.