Taj Mahal History

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to honor the loss of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, and is considered by many as one of the greatest monuments to love ever built and one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Mumtaz Mahal passed away during the birth of one of Shah Jahan's children and in her dying breath, she urged her husband to build a mausoleum for her that the world has never seen before. Shah Jahan granted his wife's wish and the construction of the Taj Mahal started one year after her death in 1632. He helped organize a labor force of over 20,000 laborers who worked to build the Taj Mahal. He ordered crews to find the finest materials from all over Asia, including all the marble and precious metal and stones that were inlaid within the Taj Mahal. There was a lot of attention paid to symmetry during the construction as nearly everything within the complex were planned to be perfectly shaped and symmetrical to each other. Construction was so expensive that it nearly bankrupted the empire and marked the beginning of end of the Mughal Empire. The height of the Mughal Empire is traditionally thought to have come to an end due to financial problems when Shah Jahan's successor, his son Aurangzeb, passed away in 1707, even though the empire continued to exist to a lesser extent for more than 100 years until the British arrived in the early 1800's. Estimates say the Taj Mahal may have cost upwards to a trillion US dollars to build in today's currency. Soon after completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son and put in confinement in Agra Fort. He passed away a few years later and is now entombed alongside his wife in the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal incorporates traditional Mughal architecture with an added emphasis on Persian and Hindu architectural styles. Emperor Shah Jahan was Mughal and the Taj Mahal's architect was Persian.

The Taj Mahal complex includes several other buildings besides the famous white-domed mausoleum. While the dome of the masuoleum and it's four standing minarets are built out of white marble, all the outlying buildings within the Taj Mahal complex are primarily built out of red sandstone (red sandstone construction was very common at the time). The Taj Mahal was built first and took around 10 years, then the outlying buildings were constructed in the following 12 years. The entire complex is located in a beautiful 300 acre garden that has reflecting pools and walkways to connect all the buildings.

The Taj Mahal: Wonder of the World

On July 7, 2007, the Taj Mahal was voted as one of New Open World Corporation's New Seven Wonders of the World. The others were The Colosseum in Rome, Christ Redeemer in Brasil, Petra in Jordan, Chichen Itza in Mexico, Great Wall of China in China, and Machu Picchu in Peru.

On March 15th, 2009, The Taj Mahal was voted as the 5th of 12 Wonders of the World on our own Wonders of the World Vote. The other four already voted in are Machu Picchu in Peru, The Colosseum in Rome, The Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, and The Great Wall of China in China.