Taj Mahal, India
Taj Mahal, India [Si].Overlooking the River Yamuna, the Taj Mahal is a classic example of Moghul architecture, with the Taj itself built as a mausoleum at the northern end of an extensive formal walled garden designed in the charbagh style and structured on the Islamic theme of ‘paradise’. The whole site was built by Shah Jahan between AD 1632 and 1653 as the final resting place of his favourite wife Arjumand Bann Begum (also known as Mumtaz Mahal) who died in AD 1631 shortly after giving birth to their fourteenth child. Upon his death in AD 1666, Shah Jahan was buried alongside his wife in the Taj.
More than 20 000 workers were involved in its construction, and the marble and semi-precious stones that cover the wall faces to give it its brilliant white appearance were brought from Rajasthan, Persia, Russia, Afghanistan, Tibet, China, and the Indian Ocean. Essentially square in shape, the Taj has peaked arches cut into its sides, topped...
[The entire page is 205 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Oxford University Press Titles
