Interesting facts of Taj Mahal

• What is meaning of Taj Mahal?



Taj Mahal in Agra is the combination of 2 words. Taj means "crown" and Mahal means "Palace", But as you know it's not a living place it's a mausoleum or a tomb of Mumtaz Mahal.

• Who built the Taj Mahal and Why?



Taj Mahal in Agra was built by fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his loving wife Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal is the tomb of Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal also known as building of eternal love. Shah Jahan he was the boy who born with the golden spoon, and he became men with the campaign taste who never compromise with quality.

• Who was Shah Jahan?



Shah Jahan was the fifth Mughal Emperor of India. He was the richest person of the world at that time like his Father Jahangir and his grandfather Akbar. Back then 27% GDP of the world was from India. If we considered all time inflation Shah Jahan was the richest person of the world ever.

• How many wife Shah Jahan have?



Shah Jahan was husband of four beautiful wife (as per most of historians). Mumtaz was second and most beautiful wife she was Persian and Persian ladies are known for there spotless beauty.

• Who was Mumtaz mahal?



Mumtaz was from a noble family. Her grand father Mirza Ghiyath Beg was the prime minister of Jahangir. Her Aunt Nur Jahan was 20th wife of Jahangir.

• What is History of Taj Mahal?



Taj Mahal built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife. This is her tomb When Mumtaz died she was only 38 years old and she was delivering 14th child of Shah Jahan, only 7 children were survived 4 boys (Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja, Aurangzeb and Murad Baksh) and 3 daughters (Jahanara Begum, Roshanara Begum and Gauhar Ara Begum).
She died in the child birth, but that baby survived she was Shah Jahan's third daughter Gauhar Ara. Mumtaz died in June 1631 and Taj Mahal construction started after 6 months death of Mumtaz.

(One American author of Indian origin, Indu Sundaresan she wrote a wonder book about Mumtaz death and Taj Mahal construction "Shadow Princess" (Taj Mahal Trilogy #3) that's I would like to recommend you. It has 80% history and 20% Fiction)

Taj Mahal work stated in December 1631 and finished in 1653, it took 22 years to be complete main white Taj Mahal Mausoleum took 17 years and red sand stone structure took 5 years. More then 20 thousand workers were involved in the construction of Taj Mahal. 40 million Indian rupees that was the cost construction of the Taj Mahal then.
Then gold was about 1 Indian rupee per gram and today is about 3500 Rs per gram. So today's Taj Mahal construction cost would be around 2 billion Us Dollars. This is just the construction cost of Taj Mahal historical value is much more like it priceless.
Taj Mahal become UNESCO world heritage site in 1983 but after 7th July 2007 (07/07/2007) this become first men made wonder of the world. So now Taj Mahal is first among seven men made wonder of the world.
Taj Mahal minarets are 2 degree diagonal towards the corner so if earthquake occur they will not fall over the Taj Mahal, they will fall outside.

• Architecture of Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is the combination of 10 buildings and fusion of 4 architectures. Ustad Isa khan Afrandi was the Architect of Taj Mahal. For the Taj Mahal he brought idea from different buildings.

Taj Mahal is the combination of 10 Buildings
1. Taj Mahal main building concept got from 2nd Mughal Emperor Humayun's tomb which is in Delhi.
2. Taj Mahal main gate (royal gate) concept from 3rd Mughal Emperor Akbar's tomb which is in Agra.
3. Taj Mahal minarets (4 towers) concept from 4th Mughal Emperor Jahangir's tomb which is in Lahore Pakistan.
4. Taj Mahal white marble and marble Inlay work concept was from Itmad ud daulah's tomb which in Agra that is also know are "baby Taj Mahal" or "jewel box".
5. Taj Mahal kiosk (chhatri) concept was from Mandu Fort which is in ?Dhar district of M.P state.
6. Taj Mahal Raised platform concept from previous dynasty Lodi dynasty.
7. Taj Mahal four garden concepts were from Persia (modern Iran) and called Paradise garden.
8. Taj Mahal facade and row of the fountain concept from Alhambra Granada.
9. Taj Mahal double dome concept was from great Mosque of Damascus Syria.
10. Taj Mahal Dado, Zali (screen) and wall relive carving are part of Hindu Architecture.

Taj Mahal is the the fusion of 4 Architecture
1. Hindu.
2. Persian.
3. Islamic.
4. Ottoman architecture.


• Stones used in Taj Mahal construction

White Marble
Taj Mahal basic structure in on bricks and Marble used as veneer (6 inch to 2 feet). For the Taj Mahal Shah Jahan brought all white marble from Makrana. Makrana marble is considered hardest and purest marble in the world, even it's 10 times stronger then Italian marble Carrara. Carrara marble is porous, but Makrana marble is impervious. In India we have more then 100 types of the marble but Makrana marble is the best.

Red sandstone
Red color stone which was mainly used to built mosque and guest house in the Taj Mahal complex. This red sandstone was from 50 KM away of Agra.

Semi precious Gems Inlay on Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal is beautifully decorated with marble Inlay work. This art is also called pietra dure. Semi precious stones are use to inlay on the Taj Mahal.


List of semi precious stones used in Taj Mahal Inlay

About 28 different types of Gems stones are inlay on the Taj Mahal.
here is the list of semi-precious stone use in Taj Mahal: Lapis lazuli, Jade, Malachite, Carnelian, Garnet, Black onyx, Blood stone, yellow Jasper, Gold sand Stone, Red Jasper, Sodalite, Rhodonite, Quartz, Topaz, white Jade, Turqoise, Oplite, Red Agate, Green Agate Etc.