Taj Mahal
Shah Jahan’s white marble mausoleum on the Yamuna, a masterpiece of Mughal architecture.
The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth that year; Shah Jahan himself was later buried beside her. Work began in 1632, the main mausoleum was finished around 1648 and the wider complex was completed in 1653. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 1983.
The design is generally attributed to Ustad Ahmad Lahauri, who directed a workforce of more than 20,000 masons, craftsmen and artisans drawn from across the empire and beyond. The tomb stands on a raised plinth about six metres high, framed by four minarets, and is crowned by a bulbous double dome. Its surfaces are decorated with Qur'anic calligraphy in black marble and with pietra dura inlay using many kinds of semi-precious stone.
The mausoleum is the focal point of a walled complex laid out on a strict axis. A monumental red sandstone gateway opens onto a charbagh, a formal garden divided into quarters by raised walkways and water channels. The tomb is flanked by two red sandstone buildings: a mosque on the west side and a matching guest house, or jawab, on the east. The monument is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India and receives several million visitors a year.
Highlights
- Mughal mausoleum of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, completed in 1653
- UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983
- White marble tomb with pietra dura inlay of semi-precious stones
- Formal charbagh garden with water channels on the central axis
- Red sandstone mosque and matching jawab flanking the tomb
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