Taj Mahal

Kayque Stoffel

The Taj Mahal has been around for a long time people in India and all around the world enjoy visiting this beautiful mausoleum. The Taj Mahal is one of the world wonders it is a very important to the people of India because it represents the rich history of India. The Taj Mahal is very unique because of how it was built the fact that they built a mausoleum this big with the tools they had back then is truly amazing. The reason why the Taj Mahal was built also attracts a lot of people to go visit the Taj Mahal every year which is around 3 million a year. The Taj Mahal is known to be the jewel of Muslim art in India.

The beautiful story of the Taj Mahal began in Agra, India when the emperor of the Mughal empire, Shah Jahan married Mumtaz Mahal. When she died he was very upset which was very strange because historians say that most emperors back then had multiple wives, but Shah Jahan did not. He ordered his men to construct a big mausoleum in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that Isa Mohammad was the chief designer of the Taj Mahal construction. There were over 22,000 people involved in the construction of the Taj Mahal. The construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632 A.D. and was finished in 1648 A.D. This was just the mausoleum itself they finished the outer courtyard in 1653A.D. In all it took them 21 years to finish the construction of the Taj Mahal. Historians believe that the Italian designer Geronimo Veroneo designed the Taj Mahal, but they do not have solid evidence to back this up. They had over 20 architects working on the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna river in the massive Mughal garden.    

The were some incredible innovations that the planners and architects of emperor Shah Jahan did to build this mausoleum. Some of these innovations were where they placed the tomb. Emperor Shah Jahan ordered them to build the two towers on the side slightly slanted away from the mausoleum to make sure that if there were any natural disasters they would fall away from the mausoleum and not destroy it. They placed it at one end of the garden instead of placing it in the center of the garden. Which added a different perspective view from a distance of the monument. The Taj Mahal is also protected by the UNESCO. UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations which is based in Paris. The Indian government provides funds for the conservation, preservation, and maintenance of the Taj Mahal. This mausoleum is unique and beautiful I’m glad that they are protecting the Taj Mahal the way they are.           

   

  

Work cited:

Shane, Tasker. “Taj Mahal: Monument to love.” World History.Jan. 2008. http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/url

Kim, Uden. “Beneath a Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal.” Beneath a Marble Sky Jun. 2004. http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/url  

Doraiswamy, Uma. “Taj Mahal: Passion and Genius at the Heart of the Moghul Empire.” Taj Mahal Feb. 2007.http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/url 

“Taj Mahal”. History Channel, 2015. http://www.history.com/topics/taj-mahal 

Links for further research:

Taj Mahal

http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048  

This article mentions the Mughal empire and the influence they had in building the Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal: Monument to Love

http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/url 

This article mentions the reason why the Taj Mahal was built. 

Taj Mahal: Wonders of the World

http://ezproxy.usca.edu:2048/url 

This article talks about the main information people need to know about the Taj Mahal. 

Five Tags:

Taj Mahal, Mughal empire, Mausoleum, Shah Jahan, Agra