TAJ MAHAL

ROOSHEEN AHMAD
18ARB556

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 THE TAJ MAHAL

BUILT: 1632–53
ARCHITECTURAL STYLE(S): MUGHAL ARCHITECTURE
CONSTRUCTOR: USTAD AHMAD LAHAURI.
LOCATION: AGRA, UTTER PRADESH, INDIA

The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in India, in the city of Agra. The emblematic
monument of this country, it is in white marble finely chiseled. It was built between 1631
and 1653 under the command of Shah Jahan in order to shelter the tomb of his wife,
Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth during the delivery of their 14th child. Mumtaz
Mahal was also called Arjumand Bano Begum. The Taj Mahal is a marvel of Mughal
architecture, at the crossroads of Islamic, Iranian, Persian and Indian styles.
The Taj Mahal has been able to pass through history without suffering any particular
damage, which makes it possible to admire it nowadays as it was at its construction. If the
mausoleum is the best known, it is not necessary to reduce this monument to this marble
construction.

THE CONSTRUCTION
The construction of the Taj Mahal took 22 years, from 1631 to 1653. The last 5 years
were devoted to the erection of the gardens, the mausoleum and other buildings were
finished. It is attributed to Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, but one does not really know the part he
took in this work compared to other architects, because it is attested that there were
several. The buildings were built in red sandstone, a very common stone in northern India.
The mausoleum is also in sandstone, but covered with marble, hence its white color. In
fact the builders played on the contrast between red and white, and on white they
encrusted black marble for the inscriptions, making it a very successful set.
The construction was made with 20,000 men who alternated on the construction site.
Given the mortality that can be imagined at the time, it means that some craftsmen have
spent their entire professional career on this site. They were helped by 1000 elephants that
were used to transport heavy loads. Of course, the workers used precise equipment, but the
construction techniques were not really noticed, which means that today we do not have
precise ideas on these methods of construction.

THE DECORATIONS
There are three types of decoration in the Taj Mahal: Paintings, which are rare, bas-
reliefs, mainly in marble - but not that - and pietra dura, which are precious or semi-
precious stone inlays on mineral plates, mainly marble.
If there is not much to say about the paintings, bas-reliefs are engraved in large white
marble slabs that have been placed down the walls of the mausoleum mainly, but also
from the mosque or the pavilion of the guests. Thus the mausoleum is richly decorated
with these bas-reliefs, both inside and outside, under the iwans (these large Persian-style
porches). The patterns shown are plants, essentially essentially. There are flowers too, but
no animals, let alone representations of any human being.

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 BEAUTY OF THE TAJ MAHAL

What makes it beautiful?

The arch-and-dome profile of clean white marble has become iconic, other beauties lie in the
taj mahal’s painstaking details: inlaid semiprecious stones and carvings and koranic verse in
calligraphy create an enchanting interior space where shah jahan came to visit his wife’s
remains before he was eventually interred at her side.

It is made of pure white marble with its special luster and fine texture. The marble was
obtained from makrana in Rajasthan.

The main structure is surrounded by gardens, fountains and pools.

The mausoleum is built on a 6.6 meter high plinth. The lower portion, square in design, uses
to a height of 32 meters.

The interior octagonal chambers are connected to one another by diagonal passages. This
pattern is similar to the one followed in humayun's tomb in Delhi.

The interior and the exterior of the main building are decorated with screens, calligraphy and
inlay work.

At each of the four comers of the main structure, there is a minaret.

The Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired
masterpieces of the world's heritage.